Hi Mom,
I love how you referred to the time with Kody as precious time :D It's very true. I got to experience a little bit of that over the weekend he visited!
What?! The MTC sign isn't even there anymore?! I am glad that you found the new way of dropping Kody off easier than when you dropped me off. I would think it'd be a little bit harder...but I'm glad it wasn't. Emotional is a given ;)
HAHA! I shouldn't laugh but I found the description of your numb state sort of funny. I'm glad that you miss us :D I'm going to be home in 2 months from Saturday so no worries lol. You'll be wishing I was gone shortly thereafter ;) J/K
I love being able to sleep in on Sundays...we just changed schedules too obviously and now we have church at 9 a.m. which means that every other Sunday we have meetings at 7:15 and that means waking up earlier than 6:30 :P Blech! Ah well, it's nice to have the rest of the day ;)
Oh no! You haven't been able to bake goodies for Kody?! You'll totally have to do that :D I know I LOVED receiving those! HAHAHA! That's the spirit! You WILL do it :D Ya, things to pack would be really really bad, especially in the MTC. I don't know about him, but I LOVE banana chocolate chip cupcakes, those cinnamon rolls were amazing but I don't know if that's an option this time, chocolate chip cookies are really yum! Hmmm...I don't know what else. Pretty much any goodies are great. I don't remember if he was much for cookie dough but I LOVED when you sent the dough, cupcakes, and then I bought some milk from the vending machine and it was AWESOME!
The church open house will be discussed in my mass email.
Things with Amanda are going relatively well but she was sick this week so she didn't make it to church.
Love you tons Mom!
My week was great. Hopefully you enjoy the mass email.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
That would be pretty weird writing to two Elder Davis'! I haven't looked very closely but I don't believe I got an email from Kody. I don't know if he's emailed yet or not, but will you please make sure I get a copy of his email just in case he doesn't remember? Thank you!
HAHA! Sounds like a very different experience dropping Kody off. Sounds quite intense! Mom said it was easier, what's your take?
I'm super duper looking forward to seeing the bunches of pictures with Kody when I get home :D Thanks for attaching your favorite.
That's fine that the place that Kody had won't be there when I get back, I will be able to find some other position somewhere. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to look into for work while I'm going to college. Should be interesting. You should be thinking of good ideas :D That's still pretty cool that you hired Dan. No apologies necessary :) Business is business ;)
That's awesome that BYU is doing so well in basketball! Thank you again for the update.
That's pretty cool that the snow is still there :D I'm hoping that there will either be old snow or new snow when I get home so I can have a little taste before it all goes away again :) I'm going to freeze my BUTT off!
Yep, things in Wheatland are going great and I plan to send a mass email with details about some awesome advances in the work this past week. I'm super glad that Sister Shumway has enjoyed my piano playing and stuff. I really like her even though I haven't gotten to know her as well as other members. She's just a really loving lady. Kody's visit is definitely remembered by a lot of people and I believe it will be for a while. That's awesome that Kody used it as a highlight in his farewell talk.
I haven't heard any details about travel plans yet. I'm sure I'll get my "trunky papers" shortly. Yeah, coordination shouldn't be too hard though I don't think that Sacramento airport is all that big.
Yes, me emailing Kody is allowed. Elder Duval is okay enough to make a few visits but not full days. We'll be able to keep the momentum up at least.
Sorry for the delay in my email. Weird day and then a lesson in between my emailing. I'm finishing up my time now lol.
Thank you for your email dad.
Love you tons!
Elder Jay Davis
Dear All!
Things here in Wheatland are going incredibly well! I am really excited to write about all of the things that happened this week.
We picked up three new investigators this week. Two were picked up while I was away from the area on Wednesday, then on Friday in the morning we picked up another investigator named Justin. Justin said that if he comes to know that the Book of Mormon is true he will be baptized. That's the first step, now he just needs to read and pray and he will know and then he'll be ready to get baptized :D Sounds so simple sometimes lol!
Then after we picked up Justin we had what's called a zone blitz. A zone blitz is where a bunch of missionaries from the zone all come into one proselyting area and tract a bunch of the streets! We did this in preparation for the open house of our new church building. We had already taken out a bunch of flyers, but we wanted to give Wheatland a great big glorified reminder :D We tracted, with the help of five other companionships of missionaries, almost all of Wheatland. From these efforts we found 10 yes TEN potential investigators. We planned to pick them up yesterday, but Elder Duval was very under the weather. We now plan to do it tomorrow considering that we don't have district meeting because of zone conference on Friday.
Then on Saturday we had the actual open house. We had a very interested lady feel the spirit which was way way awesome! She said she was going to come to church every Sunday from then on. However, through some adverse circumstances she didn't make it yesterday. We also had a member bring her friend who's not a member. Then, yesterday she made it to church! She stayed for two hours which is amazing for the first time. Hopefully the member will be able to help us begin teaching her.
As for lessons, as a mission we have a goal of teaching 20 lessons a week. Not a quota, just a goal. Well this week we were able to teach 18 lessons which is HUGE for Wheatland. Actually, it's pretty good for any area. Anyway, the numbers aren't all that important but they do give a good representation of how things are going in the area. We are very excited to see the growth.
Well, I think those are the most important things that happened this week.
Oh! I was going to mention that zone conference is this Friday. It's in Auburn which I'm excited about because that is the zone that I was "born" into on my mission. Also, it's my last zone conference of my mission, which is really scary! This means that I will be giving my departing testimony on Friday! Wow! It's pretty weird to see something that seems like what I've been doing forever coming to a close.
Anyway, my time is up and I've written a lot. I'd better wrap up.
Love you all!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Monday, January 10, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
January 3, 2011
Hey Mom,
You are correct that I already saw the email with Clay's address. Thank you again. That's awesome that you were able to get a hold of Andrea :D She's AWESOME! Yeah, from what I've heard in my limited amount of letters there are a lot of people looking for it.
That's awesome that you had enough time to do a lot of nothing :D That's one of the things I am really looking forward to for a few weeks or so after I come home ;) Then it'll be back into the real world ;)
The work in Wheatland is really starting to pick up. It's a lot of fun to see.
I love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe that Kody goes into the MTC in 2 days either! I was thinking about that last night! Scary! I'm pumped for him too! :D Packing his bags will definitely be interesting! I'm glad I stayed in the states. Some things aren't as cool, but it's WAY more convenient ;)
Glad the week was good and that you had fun as a family.
I will send a mass email if I have time this week to update you on Wheatland :)
Things in general are great. We are finding lots of new people to teach and it's fun to see things starting to bud ;) Lot's of work before they blossom though!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hello!
Wheatland is going well. I am enjoying myself more and more. The work is picking up more and more. We are finding new people to teach. None of them are super duper promising at this point but they are all prospects and definitely God's children!
We talked to a young lady on the street who we'd never met before and she turned out to be a member (which we found out during our first appointment with her). Her name is Amanda. She has been less-active for a while now. She is really ready to come back though and is very open with any concerns she has. She'll definitely progress well. We are excited to teach her. She came to church yesterday and plans to attend mutual (she's 17 until April) on Wednesday, which is also when our next appointment with her is. It's exciting.
As for very many other things going on in Wheatland...we're just preparing for the open house for the new church building that opened about a month ago. It should be a great missionary opportunity to find people who are interested in learning about the church.
Things are great...I am happy and smiling.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
You are correct that I already saw the email with Clay's address. Thank you again. That's awesome that you were able to get a hold of Andrea :D She's AWESOME! Yeah, from what I've heard in my limited amount of letters there are a lot of people looking for it.
That's awesome that you had enough time to do a lot of nothing :D That's one of the things I am really looking forward to for a few weeks or so after I come home ;) Then it'll be back into the real world ;)
The work in Wheatland is really starting to pick up. It's a lot of fun to see.
I love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe that Kody goes into the MTC in 2 days either! I was thinking about that last night! Scary! I'm pumped for him too! :D Packing his bags will definitely be interesting! I'm glad I stayed in the states. Some things aren't as cool, but it's WAY more convenient ;)
Glad the week was good and that you had fun as a family.
I will send a mass email if I have time this week to update you on Wheatland :)
Things in general are great. We are finding lots of new people to teach and it's fun to see things starting to bud ;) Lot's of work before they blossom though!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hello!
Wheatland is going well. I am enjoying myself more and more. The work is picking up more and more. We are finding new people to teach. None of them are super duper promising at this point but they are all prospects and definitely God's children!
We talked to a young lady on the street who we'd never met before and she turned out to be a member (which we found out during our first appointment with her). Her name is Amanda. She has been less-active for a while now. She is really ready to come back though and is very open with any concerns she has. She'll definitely progress well. We are excited to teach her. She came to church yesterday and plans to attend mutual (she's 17 until April) on Wednesday, which is also when our next appointment with her is. It's exciting.
As for very many other things going on in Wheatland...we're just preparing for the open house for the new church building that opened about a month ago. It should be a great missionary opportunity to find people who are interested in learning about the church.
Things are great...I am happy and smiling.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
December 27, 2009
Mom,
I'm glad you enjoyed talking to me on Saturday! I'm glad you think I look and sound great lol. I sometimes wonder personally but that's ok ;) No worries about not having much to write about today, neither will I.
Sounds like a really good Sacrament meeting. I would have loved to hear the different musical numbers! Kody was thinking a lot about which songs to do while he was here. It was fun to sing with him and Elder Duval.
That's awesome that you had a very big crowd :D You're very right that extra food is better than not enough food. Besides, ham makes for GREAT leftovers!
That's totally fine that the email was all about Kody's farewell. I've been curious about it anyway :) So thank you for the information!
We did a puzzle after the phonecall on Christmas, it was a lot of fun, though we had to leave before it was completed. Stinkin' curfew ;)
Love you tons Mom!
I don't really have a lot to say, sorry.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
That is a pretty big bummer that the audio didn't get recorded. I'm sorry that it didn't work out better. At least you could still hear me right? ;) You're right, we'll be seeing each other VERY shortly! Pretty crazy!
Wow! 40 pounds of ham! That's a LOT! That's cool that Kody reported to the High Council yesterday.
HAHA! What a surprise that you were stressed out to be part of the quartet ;) I'm sure you did AWESOME though! lol, singing is one thing that I don't get all that stressed out performing anymore. I mean I get nervous just before I go on stage but then I'm much more calm. Piano...similar, but I'm SUPER nervous once I get on stage, but I just don't think about it until the last second ;)
That's AWESOME that Alex came! WAY cool! That's also awesome that you had a less-active member there too! Way to be a missionary Dad!
I miss the Canfields :D That had to have been quite the bunch with all of their kids there :)
I'm glad to hear that Kody's talk went so well. I know he put a TON of thought into it because he was preparing it while he was out here! Sounds like he included some pretty awesome stuff in it.
That's good that other than the potatoes, which sorta makes me laugh, the day went well! That's INSANE that you had so many people there and that they were there until so late :) I bet Kody was just having a blast! (Though I have no doubts you are all pooped today lol)
That's awesome that Kody used the experience out here to explain how missionary life actually brings the stories to life. I've never really looked at it that way, but it's very true!
The rest of the holiday season is going to be just working hard, except on New Years Eve we have to be in by 6. I hate those days because that evening is always so boring...ah well...it happens ;) I'll find some way to keep myself busy. Then on New Years Day we have a full p-day so we are planning on spending it with some members again which should be fun. Nothing really super specific that I can think of that we are going to be doing. I plan to make clam dip for New Years Eve though ;)
Elder Duval seems to be feeling MUCH better and I'm pretty much in full health again so we should be much more effective at least until one of us gets sick again (it almost feels inevitable at this rate lol). You are exactly right, it's dark at 5, people in California seem to be asleep or shut in by 6:30 or 7 and then...pretty tough. Luckily we have the Preach My Gospel training DVD's that Kody may have told you a bit about. Our mission president has authorized us during the evening hours when we don't have set appointments and can't contact anybody to watch those DVD's. It's a pretty good learning experience. Thank you for your encouragement! We will definitely keep trying to find people even at night :) It's true, we try to do our tracting at around 4 or so in order to find more people home. It works okay.
Anyway, I have very little to write about that you haven't already heard. I don't believe I'll be sending out a mass email this week so don't look for one ;)
Good luck getting Kody packed and ready when the time comes and have fun hanging out until then!
Love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
I'm glad you enjoyed talking to me on Saturday! I'm glad you think I look and sound great lol. I sometimes wonder personally but that's ok ;) No worries about not having much to write about today, neither will I.
Sounds like a really good Sacrament meeting. I would have loved to hear the different musical numbers! Kody was thinking a lot about which songs to do while he was here. It was fun to sing with him and Elder Duval.
That's awesome that you had a very big crowd :D You're very right that extra food is better than not enough food. Besides, ham makes for GREAT leftovers!
That's totally fine that the email was all about Kody's farewell. I've been curious about it anyway :) So thank you for the information!
We did a puzzle after the phonecall on Christmas, it was a lot of fun, though we had to leave before it was completed. Stinkin' curfew ;)
Love you tons Mom!
I don't really have a lot to say, sorry.
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
That is a pretty big bummer that the audio didn't get recorded. I'm sorry that it didn't work out better. At least you could still hear me right? ;) You're right, we'll be seeing each other VERY shortly! Pretty crazy!
Wow! 40 pounds of ham! That's a LOT! That's cool that Kody reported to the High Council yesterday.
HAHA! What a surprise that you were stressed out to be part of the quartet ;) I'm sure you did AWESOME though! lol, singing is one thing that I don't get all that stressed out performing anymore. I mean I get nervous just before I go on stage but then I'm much more calm. Piano...similar, but I'm SUPER nervous once I get on stage, but I just don't think about it until the last second ;)
That's AWESOME that Alex came! WAY cool! That's also awesome that you had a less-active member there too! Way to be a missionary Dad!
I miss the Canfields :D That had to have been quite the bunch with all of their kids there :)
I'm glad to hear that Kody's talk went so well. I know he put a TON of thought into it because he was preparing it while he was out here! Sounds like he included some pretty awesome stuff in it.
That's good that other than the potatoes, which sorta makes me laugh, the day went well! That's INSANE that you had so many people there and that they were there until so late :) I bet Kody was just having a blast! (Though I have no doubts you are all pooped today lol)
That's awesome that Kody used the experience out here to explain how missionary life actually brings the stories to life. I've never really looked at it that way, but it's very true!
The rest of the holiday season is going to be just working hard, except on New Years Eve we have to be in by 6. I hate those days because that evening is always so boring...ah well...it happens ;) I'll find some way to keep myself busy. Then on New Years Day we have a full p-day so we are planning on spending it with some members again which should be fun. Nothing really super specific that I can think of that we are going to be doing. I plan to make clam dip for New Years Eve though ;)
Elder Duval seems to be feeling MUCH better and I'm pretty much in full health again so we should be much more effective at least until one of us gets sick again (it almost feels inevitable at this rate lol). You are exactly right, it's dark at 5, people in California seem to be asleep or shut in by 6:30 or 7 and then...pretty tough. Luckily we have the Preach My Gospel training DVD's that Kody may have told you a bit about. Our mission president has authorized us during the evening hours when we don't have set appointments and can't contact anybody to watch those DVD's. It's a pretty good learning experience. Thank you for your encouragement! We will definitely keep trying to find people even at night :) It's true, we try to do our tracting at around 4 or so in order to find more people home. It works okay.
Anyway, I have very little to write about that you haven't already heard. I don't believe I'll be sending out a mass email this week so don't look for one ;)
Good luck getting Kody packed and ready when the time comes and have fun hanging out until then!
Love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
December 21, 2009
Hi Dad!
My week was great and was finished with an awesome weekend! Thank you so much for helping Kody come visit :D We had a wonderful experience that I'm sure he'll be able to tell you all about! I'll try to tell you some stuff lol
Thanks for the conference bridge info again. I am thinking that I would rather stagger my phonecall with Elder Duval so we're not both on the phone at the same time and the members are just waiting around for us ya know? So I am thinking perhaps 2 p.m. my time so 3 p.m. Utah time...does that sound okay?
That's awesome that our young team just dominated at the bowl game. Any bowl game is amazing considering how the season started out! Kody seemed pretty enthused for the upcoming season and I am as well! Should be great!
That's a HUGE bummer that the undefeated BYU Basketball team lost its first game. Oh well, hopefully we won't drop too much in the rankings.
Oh my goodness! We had a blast! Again, thank you so much for helping Kody come! We got to show him the ropes with missionary work and he got to fill me in on some of his college endeavours (sp?) and it was just a ton of fun! He got to meet my favorite family in the area that we are spending Christmas with! It was just a lot of fun. He is getting really good at playing the piano. I am very impressed! The memories will certainly last forever!
I realized something pretty scary/cool today. I only have 12 weeks left on my mission. What a short amount of time! I have fewer weeks than Elder Duval has months! (I've always wanted to use one of those sayings lol)
That's funny that they wrapped you into singing in the quartet. I'm sure you did great! Kody is pretty darn excited to have you participate in his farewell! I was really proud of Kody this weekend! He has grown up a lot (not that he hadn't before).
I will tell more details about Kody's visit in a mass email which I am determined to send this week lol This week has been great, hope your week turns out well too! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Dear Mom,
My weekend was AWESOME! Kody and I had to chuckle when we'd imagine you and Dad just being TOTALLY jealous at home. It was such a great experience to take him out as my very own mission companion for a weekend :D He has grown up so much! I can't believe how much alike he and I are! We think very similarly!
Kody's gift was AWESOME! I figured I'd keep it and send heavy stuff home with him, because it'll be cheaper. I know the Shumways LOVED the doily but I didn't see the response of the Nichols. They didn't open it while I was there. I just sort of dropped Kody off...and ran...so I didn't get too emotional.
Elder Duval is still working on getting better, mostly his past medical history is what's keeping him from getting better. I'm pretty much in full health now, and I highly doubt Kody's going to get any of the illness. We kept him pretty warm. Thank you for forcing him to bring his coat :D
Nope, we weren't affected by the flooding in Sacramento but we sure did get a lot of rain and there were a lot of "ponds" around town that Kody got to see :D Pretty cool!
That's awesome that you got a good amount of snow :D A white Christmas would be awesome!
Yeah, I vaguely remember my Christmas two years ago...but I just remember it being as fun as any other Christmas, I remember socks and stuff, but I don't remember it being all mission stuff ya know? You guys have always been good at that. Thank you! lol, sounds like a pretty stressful time preparing for Christmas :D I think you may want to take Dad's advice so you can more focus on preparing for Kody's farewell! How awesome that is that he gets to do it right after Christmas! Kinda gonna keep some people from coming, but hopefully he'll have a good turn out! I'll be there in thought ;)
I'm glad that Dad did a good job with the musical number that they performed. That's cool that Brother Green was able to convince him :) I love Martin!
No change for me for transfers...PHEW! I would not have been a happy camper after making all of my Christmas plans!
HAHAHA! Yep, the phone call is this week! I set up with Dad to call in to the conference bridge at 3p.m. your time.
Love you tons Mom! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hello!
This week has been a pretty good week in Wheatland. We were still taking it easy due to Elder Duval being under the weather.
However, this weekend we had the blessing of getting to have Kody join us for 2 1/2 days. He leaves on his mission to Bolivia on Jan. 5th and I go home March 15th so we would have overlapped and not have seen each other for four years. I got special permission from my mission president to have him visit! It was a great experience. We worked VERY hard. We tracted (Kody (Elder Davis the younger) did a great job on the doors that he took), visited less-active members, and had dinner with active members. It was just an altogether great experience that I will never forget! That young man is definitely prepared for his mission in Bolivia! It would be quite an experience to be a fly on his suit coat (wall didn't work) during his mission, he will make a remarkable missionary!
I can hardly believe that Christmas is already here! I've had a really good time this Christmas season. More so than ever before I have really felt the TRUE Christmas spirit of Charity. I am grateful for such an opportunity. I don't know that I ever would have FULLY grasped it without a mission. I am grateful at this time of year for the amazing traditions that my family raised me with. I have the blessing of continuing those traditions for myself on my mission and it will be a joy (as our mission president and his wife reminded us) to be able to implement these traditions into our future families!
I don't have a lot of realy specific stories to tell this week because I left my list at the apartment, but hopefully what I've shared has been enough.
I am not planning on doing very many, if any, Christmas presents this year. I apologize in advance, but know that I love you and am thinking about you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
My week was great and was finished with an awesome weekend! Thank you so much for helping Kody come visit :D We had a wonderful experience that I'm sure he'll be able to tell you all about! I'll try to tell you some stuff lol
Thanks for the conference bridge info again. I am thinking that I would rather stagger my phonecall with Elder Duval so we're not both on the phone at the same time and the members are just waiting around for us ya know? So I am thinking perhaps 2 p.m. my time so 3 p.m. Utah time...does that sound okay?
That's awesome that our young team just dominated at the bowl game. Any bowl game is amazing considering how the season started out! Kody seemed pretty enthused for the upcoming season and I am as well! Should be great!
That's a HUGE bummer that the undefeated BYU Basketball team lost its first game. Oh well, hopefully we won't drop too much in the rankings.
Oh my goodness! We had a blast! Again, thank you so much for helping Kody come! We got to show him the ropes with missionary work and he got to fill me in on some of his college endeavours (sp?) and it was just a ton of fun! He got to meet my favorite family in the area that we are spending Christmas with! It was just a lot of fun. He is getting really good at playing the piano. I am very impressed! The memories will certainly last forever!
I realized something pretty scary/cool today. I only have 12 weeks left on my mission. What a short amount of time! I have fewer weeks than Elder Duval has months! (I've always wanted to use one of those sayings lol)
That's funny that they wrapped you into singing in the quartet. I'm sure you did great! Kody is pretty darn excited to have you participate in his farewell! I was really proud of Kody this weekend! He has grown up a lot (not that he hadn't before).
I will tell more details about Kody's visit in a mass email which I am determined to send this week lol This week has been great, hope your week turns out well too! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Dear Mom,
My weekend was AWESOME! Kody and I had to chuckle when we'd imagine you and Dad just being TOTALLY jealous at home. It was such a great experience to take him out as my very own mission companion for a weekend :D He has grown up so much! I can't believe how much alike he and I are! We think very similarly!
Kody's gift was AWESOME! I figured I'd keep it and send heavy stuff home with him, because it'll be cheaper. I know the Shumways LOVED the doily but I didn't see the response of the Nichols. They didn't open it while I was there. I just sort of dropped Kody off...and ran...so I didn't get too emotional.
Elder Duval is still working on getting better, mostly his past medical history is what's keeping him from getting better. I'm pretty much in full health now, and I highly doubt Kody's going to get any of the illness. We kept him pretty warm. Thank you for forcing him to bring his coat :D
Nope, we weren't affected by the flooding in Sacramento but we sure did get a lot of rain and there were a lot of "ponds" around town that Kody got to see :D Pretty cool!
That's awesome that you got a good amount of snow :D A white Christmas would be awesome!
Yeah, I vaguely remember my Christmas two years ago...but I just remember it being as fun as any other Christmas, I remember socks and stuff, but I don't remember it being all mission stuff ya know? You guys have always been good at that. Thank you! lol, sounds like a pretty stressful time preparing for Christmas :D I think you may want to take Dad's advice so you can more focus on preparing for Kody's farewell! How awesome that is that he gets to do it right after Christmas! Kinda gonna keep some people from coming, but hopefully he'll have a good turn out! I'll be there in thought ;)
I'm glad that Dad did a good job with the musical number that they performed. That's cool that Brother Green was able to convince him :) I love Martin!
No change for me for transfers...PHEW! I would not have been a happy camper after making all of my Christmas plans!
HAHAHA! Yep, the phone call is this week! I set up with Dad to call in to the conference bridge at 3p.m. your time.
Love you tons Mom! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hello!
This week has been a pretty good week in Wheatland. We were still taking it easy due to Elder Duval being under the weather.
However, this weekend we had the blessing of getting to have Kody join us for 2 1/2 days. He leaves on his mission to Bolivia on Jan. 5th and I go home March 15th so we would have overlapped and not have seen each other for four years. I got special permission from my mission president to have him visit! It was a great experience. We worked VERY hard. We tracted (Kody (Elder Davis the younger) did a great job on the doors that he took), visited less-active members, and had dinner with active members. It was just an altogether great experience that I will never forget! That young man is definitely prepared for his mission in Bolivia! It would be quite an experience to be a fly on his suit coat (wall didn't work) during his mission, he will make a remarkable missionary!
I can hardly believe that Christmas is already here! I've had a really good time this Christmas season. More so than ever before I have really felt the TRUE Christmas spirit of Charity. I am grateful for such an opportunity. I don't know that I ever would have FULLY grasped it without a mission. I am grateful at this time of year for the amazing traditions that my family raised me with. I have the blessing of continuing those traditions for myself on my mission and it will be a joy (as our mission president and his wife reminded us) to be able to implement these traditions into our future families!
I don't have a lot of realy specific stories to tell this week because I left my list at the apartment, but hopefully what I've shared has been enough.
I am not planning on doing very many, if any, Christmas presents this year. I apologize in advance, but know that I love you and am thinking about you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
December 14, 2009
Dear ...My...Mom,
lol, didn't have anything unique to say like Elder Jay ;)
I think it's good to be riding the bike more too. However, as I am just about over my illness Elder Duval is now about in the middle stages of something similar. No fun! So we've had a lot of down time and definitely no biking lately! HAHAHA! I know the drill of doing well for a week and then getting lazy! That's how my journal has been my whole mission...mostly off, but I'm doing REALLY well right now :D
I'm super duper excited to see Kody too! Elder Duval is excited about Kody coming. Don't worry, we plan to use Kody to get more "member present lessons." It should be a lot of fun :) Plus, if Elder Duval doesn't improve quickly we could very possibly be staying in the apartment anyway, or just driving around staying out of the rain ya know? We'll see what happens. Regardless we are going to have a blast.
lol, sorry my response is so short, but hopefully like you said I'll have time for a mass email today.
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
Quick emails are fine :) I'm just glad to hear from you!
Thanks for the information for Christmas. It's looking like Elder Duval will be calling around 1 p.m. so I don't know if I'll call before or after...likely after. However, the member's we will be with only have cellphones and not landlines so there is a good possibility that we could both call at the same time to reduce the amount of time used...although then the members wouldn't have either of us to chill with lol. I'm not sure, I'll have it nailed down by my next email. Kody actually gets to meet these members while he's here :D That'll be awesome!
The missionaries that go home this transfer are going home on Saturday instead of the typical Tuesday because of Christmas so one of the Elders in my zone (a ZL actually) got special permission from his stake president to watch the BYU game even though he won't be released yet ;)
I'm pumped to see Kody. You'd better believe we're going to have him involved in all of the missionary activities! He counts as a member present so we're going to go out and get as many lessons with him there as possible! ;) I'll make sure we give him some tracting time too ;) Maybe not TOO much though lol!
I am looking forward to loaning him one of my tags just for fun ;)
Love you tons Dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Once again I am short on time due to having dinner on base and needing a bit extra time to check in! (military base)
Stories of note for the week...My companion's been sick so we've been stuck in the apartment most of the week with limited excursions out. It's been some good rest time considering I was recovering from illness as well.
Hmm...I think I will just say that I am looking forward to Christmas. I have some great stories to tell but don't have time to do them justice in this email.
I appreciate all of your thoughts and hope you know that mine are with you as well (but not enough to draw me away from the work!).
I love you tons!
Elder Jay Davis
lol, didn't have anything unique to say like Elder Jay ;)
I think it's good to be riding the bike more too. However, as I am just about over my illness Elder Duval is now about in the middle stages of something similar. No fun! So we've had a lot of down time and definitely no biking lately! HAHAHA! I know the drill of doing well for a week and then getting lazy! That's how my journal has been my whole mission...mostly off, but I'm doing REALLY well right now :D
I'm super duper excited to see Kody too! Elder Duval is excited about Kody coming. Don't worry, we plan to use Kody to get more "member present lessons." It should be a lot of fun :) Plus, if Elder Duval doesn't improve quickly we could very possibly be staying in the apartment anyway, or just driving around staying out of the rain ya know? We'll see what happens. Regardless we are going to have a blast.
lol, sorry my response is so short, but hopefully like you said I'll have time for a mass email today.
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
Quick emails are fine :) I'm just glad to hear from you!
Thanks for the information for Christmas. It's looking like Elder Duval will be calling around 1 p.m. so I don't know if I'll call before or after...likely after. However, the member's we will be with only have cellphones and not landlines so there is a good possibility that we could both call at the same time to reduce the amount of time used...although then the members wouldn't have either of us to chill with lol. I'm not sure, I'll have it nailed down by my next email. Kody actually gets to meet these members while he's here :D That'll be awesome!
The missionaries that go home this transfer are going home on Saturday instead of the typical Tuesday because of Christmas so one of the Elders in my zone (a ZL actually) got special permission from his stake president to watch the BYU game even though he won't be released yet ;)
I'm pumped to see Kody. You'd better believe we're going to have him involved in all of the missionary activities! He counts as a member present so we're going to go out and get as many lessons with him there as possible! ;) I'll make sure we give him some tracting time too ;) Maybe not TOO much though lol!
I am looking forward to loaning him one of my tags just for fun ;)
Love you tons Dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Once again I am short on time due to having dinner on base and needing a bit extra time to check in! (military base)
Stories of note for the week...My companion's been sick so we've been stuck in the apartment most of the week with limited excursions out. It's been some good rest time considering I was recovering from illness as well.
Hmm...I think I will just say that I am looking forward to Christmas. I have some great stories to tell but don't have time to do them justice in this email.
I appreciate all of your thoughts and hope you know that mine are with you as well (but not enough to draw me away from the work!).
I love you tons!
Elder Jay Davis
December 6, 2010
Hey Dad,
lol, it sounds like you were already aware that I was there :) I mentioned that in an email just now. Glad you had fun hearing me in the background. Could you hear me telling her that you're a worry-wart and would want to get every detail perfect? Don't worry, I said it with a smile and in an endearing way :)
I'm excited that BYU actually made it to some bowl and it's not the Las Vegas Bowl AGAIN! ;) That's a bummer that Kody's going to be missing the game, but you're probably right about him not missing much lol. For all we know if it's a night game it might be on when we are out to dinner (I plan to take him out for his birthday).
I would think the conference bridge again will be perfect. As for times, we'll figure that all out this week with our Christmas Dinner appointment and what not and let you know in the next email. Worst case I can always tell Kody when he's here...but hopefully it won't have to be that short notice lol! We could probably find Skype as well.
That's awesome that you all went to the 1st part of the last Harry Potter movie! I'm really jealous, but as Kody said it had a really major cliff-hanger ending so it'll be nice for me to be able to watch both parts right in a row when I get home :)
Oh my gosh! They serve Banana Nutella Crepes in Vegas! I know where I'm going when I get home ;) Gotta go see my favorite cousin's baby and eat some crepes ;) Woot! Speaking of which, will you make sure I know when Allison has her baby? Thanks.
Thanks Dad! I know you are proud of me. I am super proud of you too :D I have the best parents ever! I told Kody that in his email today. :)
Love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Mom!
I know! I am having a hard time believing that I only have 99 days left! Double digits! HAHAHA! Don't worry...I'm not too trunky ;)
HAHAHA! That's hilarious that everywhere except your house it looks like Christmas ;) I hate putting up decorations so I don't blame you for not having them up yet ;) I'm glad you liked my reaction to the frost...no, Elder Duval was relatively indifferent.
lol, we were riding our bikes more at the time for mileage reasons, but we have been encouraged by our mission president to get on our bikes more so we can talk to more people. Now it's raining so I'm trying to manage miles on the car so I can stay in it more and not on the bikes while it's wet ;) I don't mind walking in the rain...but the bikes...they're a mess!
That's really sad that Uncle Sylvan died! I really liked him too! I remember when Kody mistook him for Grandpa! LOL! I didn't realize Uncle Sylvan was that old! Well good luck with singing at the funeral and graveside!
:D I'm glad you enjoyed hearing me in the background at the Shumway's! Or knowing I was there. I am very grateful for them also. They are great!
:D You rock Mom! I loved the little paragraph about loving me. You might be a dork, but then what would that make me? I love you back!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
lol, it sounds like you were already aware that I was there :) I mentioned that in an email just now. Glad you had fun hearing me in the background. Could you hear me telling her that you're a worry-wart and would want to get every detail perfect? Don't worry, I said it with a smile and in an endearing way :)
I'm excited that BYU actually made it to some bowl and it's not the Las Vegas Bowl AGAIN! ;) That's a bummer that Kody's going to be missing the game, but you're probably right about him not missing much lol. For all we know if it's a night game it might be on when we are out to dinner (I plan to take him out for his birthday).
I would think the conference bridge again will be perfect. As for times, we'll figure that all out this week with our Christmas Dinner appointment and what not and let you know in the next email. Worst case I can always tell Kody when he's here...but hopefully it won't have to be that short notice lol! We could probably find Skype as well.
That's awesome that you all went to the 1st part of the last Harry Potter movie! I'm really jealous, but as Kody said it had a really major cliff-hanger ending so it'll be nice for me to be able to watch both parts right in a row when I get home :)
Oh my gosh! They serve Banana Nutella Crepes in Vegas! I know where I'm going when I get home ;) Gotta go see my favorite cousin's baby and eat some crepes ;) Woot! Speaking of which, will you make sure I know when Allison has her baby? Thanks.
Thanks Dad! I know you are proud of me. I am super proud of you too :D I have the best parents ever! I told Kody that in his email today. :)
Love you tons!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Mom!
I know! I am having a hard time believing that I only have 99 days left! Double digits! HAHAHA! Don't worry...I'm not too trunky ;)
HAHAHA! That's hilarious that everywhere except your house it looks like Christmas ;) I hate putting up decorations so I don't blame you for not having them up yet ;) I'm glad you liked my reaction to the frost...no, Elder Duval was relatively indifferent.
lol, we were riding our bikes more at the time for mileage reasons, but we have been encouraged by our mission president to get on our bikes more so we can talk to more people. Now it's raining so I'm trying to manage miles on the car so I can stay in it more and not on the bikes while it's wet ;) I don't mind walking in the rain...but the bikes...they're a mess!
That's really sad that Uncle Sylvan died! I really liked him too! I remember when Kody mistook him for Grandpa! LOL! I didn't realize Uncle Sylvan was that old! Well good luck with singing at the funeral and graveside!
:D I'm glad you enjoyed hearing me in the background at the Shumway's! Or knowing I was there. I am very grateful for them also. They are great!
:D You rock Mom! I loved the little paragraph about loving me. You might be a dork, but then what would that make me? I love you back!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
November 29, 2010
Hi Mom,
Things are going really well. I'm continuing to enjoy my experience here in Wheatland. I have had a good week yes. It was slow number wise but we've been busy all week. Nope, I still have a cough, about the same, it is kinda persistent. I also have a touch of congestion...but not usually too bad.
I am SOOO jealous that you have so much snow! I woke up this morning and looked out the window and guess what? We had FROST on the grass! I was SO excited that I shouted to Elder Duval :D I had to laugh at myself ;)
I'm glad your Thanksgiving was enjoyable. Mine was also. It was simple, quiet, and fun. We had dinner with the Shumways that Kody will be staying with. It was good. Then the rest of the free time that day I pretty much played the piano while Elder Duval wrote letters, which is what he likes to do in his free time lol
I knew you'd like the mass email. I had some pretty good stories last week. I have some this week but due to time I will forgo sending a mass email this week so it'll be critical that you all share your emails with each other.
I have pretty well given up on slimming down. I'm just looking to maintain my weight now which I'm doing pretty well, especially since we're riding our bikes more often. I totally called it! I told Elder Duval you'd have clam dip for the game. I didn't even think about guacamole and little smokies :D I love those three!
:D Yep, I am certainly finding joy in the journey :)
I love you Mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
I'm jealous that snow has come fast and hard for you :D I really miss the snow extra lately! Read Mom's email for more details on this morning and how desperate I am! ;)
That's awesome that you were able to just work from home because of the snow :) Isn't it nice to be able to do that when you need to?
Awesome, the Shumways will love to hear from you. They showed me the room he'll be staying in when he comes. It even has a TV! lol, they were worried it'd be too quaint...not at all, he'll like it!
I asked a family here in Wheatland if they could possibly pick Kody up or if they knew anybody who would be willing. They said there isn't a lot they can do (they're older) but driving is one of them so they'd probably be able to pick him up. If you'd like I could solidify things with them and get back to you next week.
That reminds me...be thinking about what you want to do for the Christmas call and let me know in my next email...I'm not 100% sure what plans will be like on my end, so give me a rough estimate of your end and I'll work on my end, and then we'll solidify things.
That's awesome that you had so much time to spend with Kody :D Sounds like a blast! What movie did you see?
Don't worry, pictures won't make me homesick :D I LOVE seeing the pictures! I can't wait to see what the snow looks like...I'm not quite to the bottom yet ;)
Thanksgiving was very simple but enjoyable dinner with the Shumways, lots of piano playing at the brand new church building here in Wheatland (exactly the same layout as ours at home), and relaxing.
I just started doing better at writing in my journal. Hopefully you're still saving my emails so I have that as a journal too ;) I'm trying to do better at pictures...but still not all that great. Did I ever send my Halloween pictures?
Thanks Dad!
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Things are going really well. I'm continuing to enjoy my experience here in Wheatland. I have had a good week yes. It was slow number wise but we've been busy all week. Nope, I still have a cough, about the same, it is kinda persistent. I also have a touch of congestion...but not usually too bad.
I am SOOO jealous that you have so much snow! I woke up this morning and looked out the window and guess what? We had FROST on the grass! I was SO excited that I shouted to Elder Duval :D I had to laugh at myself ;)
I'm glad your Thanksgiving was enjoyable. Mine was also. It was simple, quiet, and fun. We had dinner with the Shumways that Kody will be staying with. It was good. Then the rest of the free time that day I pretty much played the piano while Elder Duval wrote letters, which is what he likes to do in his free time lol
I knew you'd like the mass email. I had some pretty good stories last week. I have some this week but due to time I will forgo sending a mass email this week so it'll be critical that you all share your emails with each other.
I have pretty well given up on slimming down. I'm just looking to maintain my weight now which I'm doing pretty well, especially since we're riding our bikes more often. I totally called it! I told Elder Duval you'd have clam dip for the game. I didn't even think about guacamole and little smokies :D I love those three!
:D Yep, I am certainly finding joy in the journey :)
I love you Mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hi Dad,
I'm jealous that snow has come fast and hard for you :D I really miss the snow extra lately! Read Mom's email for more details on this morning and how desperate I am! ;)
That's awesome that you were able to just work from home because of the snow :) Isn't it nice to be able to do that when you need to?
Awesome, the Shumways will love to hear from you. They showed me the room he'll be staying in when he comes. It even has a TV! lol, they were worried it'd be too quaint...not at all, he'll like it!
I asked a family here in Wheatland if they could possibly pick Kody up or if they knew anybody who would be willing. They said there isn't a lot they can do (they're older) but driving is one of them so they'd probably be able to pick him up. If you'd like I could solidify things with them and get back to you next week.
That reminds me...be thinking about what you want to do for the Christmas call and let me know in my next email...I'm not 100% sure what plans will be like on my end, so give me a rough estimate of your end and I'll work on my end, and then we'll solidify things.
That's awesome that you had so much time to spend with Kody :D Sounds like a blast! What movie did you see?
Don't worry, pictures won't make me homesick :D I LOVE seeing the pictures! I can't wait to see what the snow looks like...I'm not quite to the bottom yet ;)
Thanksgiving was very simple but enjoyable dinner with the Shumways, lots of piano playing at the brand new church building here in Wheatland (exactly the same layout as ours at home), and relaxing.
I just started doing better at writing in my journal. Hopefully you're still saving my emails so I have that as a journal too ;) I'm trying to do better at pictures...but still not all that great. Did I ever send my Halloween pictures?
Thanks Dad!
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
November 22, 2010
Hey Mom,
That's awesome that you are living in a winter wonderland. I'm jealous! We've had A TON of rain this week. It's been annoying for missionary work, but I do enjoy a good rain. I used to hate rain, but I've grown to love it. That's a bummer that you only have an inch of snow and have to deal with all the slipperiness of it, but ah well ;)
HAHAHA! I have been listening to Christmas music intermittently since Halloween! Since I can't listen to KOSY 106.5 and FM100 I figured I'd at least give them a tribute. ;)
My health has been good until today. I have a little bit of a cough now, but it's really really really mild and it won't keep me from anything. I was definitely able to recover fully from my last illness though ;) I have no idea what illness I had. It was bizarre. I had a fever for a while and was ALWAYS cold no matter what I did. However it didn't act like the flu at all. I wasn't nauseous (sp?) or anything, no cough like a cold. Just congested and sore throat and a fever. I wonder if it might have been some sort of sinus infection.
Things with Elder Duval are good. I'm not having to try very hard to get along and be patient so prayers are definitely working :) He has mellowed out a lot since I served around him before. Serving with him is a good thing for me for sure. I am the senior companion and for some reason he really has a mindset of there being an importance between senior and junior which is funny because most missionaries don't. I mean, he just makes sure that I take the lead in everything, which is totally not me, but it'll be a good growing experience for me so I'll be more decisive ;) I am quite enjoying serving with him. Not my favorite companion but we don't argue or anything.
(This paragraph is in response to me telling him that Brother Gunn called to tell us that our son is a great person whom they enjoyed having in their ward.) HAHAHA! I love Bishop Gumm (not Gunn, just FYI)! He and his wife are hilarious! Probably one of my favorite bishops thus far. Very much a sarcastic gentleman which you probably discovered as you talked to him ;) Yep, I was extremely sad to leave the area, glad that he was able to tell :) Yeah...in other words...President Pendleton keeps shotgunning/whitewashing (putting two different missionaries in at the same time) Anderson Ward...in fact...he just did it again with this transfer which Bishop Gumm probably told you. The Ward mission leader there is NOT happy! Brother Berry the WML is AWESOME but pretty perturbed about the whole situation. It had already happened two or three times before I got there! Sounds like typical Bishop Gumm to me :) Funny guy!
Yep, we have great families here. I hope I'm still here for Christmas :) Transfers are just before Christmas (I'll actually find out what's happening with transfers while Kody is here :D) I have found a place for him to stay...I'm a little hesitant to ask somebody to pick him up from the airport...but I could try.
:D I love you bunches too! I hope you have a good Thanksgiving week as well. I'm sure mine will be great! I'm thankful for great parents who are willing and able to support their sons ;)
I love you Mom!
There will be a mass email this week for sure. I have a list ;)
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
I'm glad this week was good :)
That's awesome that you got to see Kody go through the temple! I can't wait until we can go as a family!
That's AWESOME that we blew out New Mexico! I hope that we indeed give Utah a run for their money! I am looking forward to hearing about the game ;) Though I'm not expecting a win either, but we'll see! Quite the comeback for sure!
As for Kody coming out here it sounds like you have most everything set which I appreciate. I asked the Shumway family if he could stay at their house and they said absolutely.
That's a bummer that we've only had limited amounts of snow but at least you got some eh? ;)
Wow! That sounds like it must have been a WAY intense drive from Spanish Fork home! Knowing you, if you are making it up to be as bad as you are, it was probably WAY worse! Glad to hear you are safe and sound ;)
Sounds like an awesome Thanksgiving. Kind of a bummer that none of Kody's BYU friends ended up coming, but it'll be a nice last bang as a family right :) Then Kody will be down to the nitty gritty and won't have a lot of time to do all of the relaxing ;) I'm actually having Thanksgiving dinner at the Shumway's where Kody will be staying. As for what we are able to do, they cut our normal P-day (today) in half and give us a full P-day on Thanksgiving. So we get to hang out with members, play games, (only stuff we can do on a normal P-day, but still) etc. So we should have an enjoyable day ;)
I love you Dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey!
I have 6 minutes so I'll cram what I can into this email before my time runs out ;) Luckily this week I have a list that I created on the whiteboard Mom sent me for my birthday. (Don't worry, I transferred it into my planner before coming to the library lol)
This week my companion and I got kissed by a random lady that we talked to while riding our bikes around. She just walked up, grabbed Elder Duval's face and kissed him on the cheek. Then she walked over to me, and before I could figure out how to get out of it, she planted one on my cheek as well...not my most pleasant experience of my mission. She was probably in her late 50's. It was gross.
I made Clam dip this past week and I finished it off (mostly all me, E. Duval had a little) before the end of the week! I went through a TON of it :D It was yummy!
We helped a less-active man cover the roof that he was only halfway finished roofing. That was a blessing because he said he normally would turn the Elders away but we got there at the right time and then we were able to set up a return appointment to teach him :) Pretty sweet! We are very blessed here in Wheatland area. We are working hard to turn this little area into a booming missionary area.
I love you all!
Elder Jay Davis
That's awesome that you are living in a winter wonderland. I'm jealous! We've had A TON of rain this week. It's been annoying for missionary work, but I do enjoy a good rain. I used to hate rain, but I've grown to love it. That's a bummer that you only have an inch of snow and have to deal with all the slipperiness of it, but ah well ;)
HAHAHA! I have been listening to Christmas music intermittently since Halloween! Since I can't listen to KOSY 106.5 and FM100 I figured I'd at least give them a tribute. ;)
My health has been good until today. I have a little bit of a cough now, but it's really really really mild and it won't keep me from anything. I was definitely able to recover fully from my last illness though ;) I have no idea what illness I had. It was bizarre. I had a fever for a while and was ALWAYS cold no matter what I did. However it didn't act like the flu at all. I wasn't nauseous (sp?) or anything, no cough like a cold. Just congested and sore throat and a fever. I wonder if it might have been some sort of sinus infection.
Things with Elder Duval are good. I'm not having to try very hard to get along and be patient so prayers are definitely working :) He has mellowed out a lot since I served around him before. Serving with him is a good thing for me for sure. I am the senior companion and for some reason he really has a mindset of there being an importance between senior and junior which is funny because most missionaries don't. I mean, he just makes sure that I take the lead in everything, which is totally not me, but it'll be a good growing experience for me so I'll be more decisive ;) I am quite enjoying serving with him. Not my favorite companion but we don't argue or anything.
(This paragraph is in response to me telling him that Brother Gunn called to tell us that our son is a great person whom they enjoyed having in their ward.) HAHAHA! I love Bishop Gumm (not Gunn, just FYI)! He and his wife are hilarious! Probably one of my favorite bishops thus far. Very much a sarcastic gentleman which you probably discovered as you talked to him ;) Yep, I was extremely sad to leave the area, glad that he was able to tell :) Yeah...in other words...President Pendleton keeps shotgunning/whitewashing (putting two different missionaries in at the same time) Anderson Ward...in fact...he just did it again with this transfer which Bishop Gumm probably told you. The Ward mission leader there is NOT happy! Brother Berry the WML is AWESOME but pretty perturbed about the whole situation. It had already happened two or three times before I got there! Sounds like typical Bishop Gumm to me :) Funny guy!
Yep, we have great families here. I hope I'm still here for Christmas :) Transfers are just before Christmas (I'll actually find out what's happening with transfers while Kody is here :D) I have found a place for him to stay...I'm a little hesitant to ask somebody to pick him up from the airport...but I could try.
:D I love you bunches too! I hope you have a good Thanksgiving week as well. I'm sure mine will be great! I'm thankful for great parents who are willing and able to support their sons ;)
I love you Mom!
There will be a mass email this week for sure. I have a list ;)
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
I'm glad this week was good :)
That's awesome that you got to see Kody go through the temple! I can't wait until we can go as a family!
That's AWESOME that we blew out New Mexico! I hope that we indeed give Utah a run for their money! I am looking forward to hearing about the game ;) Though I'm not expecting a win either, but we'll see! Quite the comeback for sure!
As for Kody coming out here it sounds like you have most everything set which I appreciate. I asked the Shumway family if he could stay at their house and they said absolutely.
That's a bummer that we've only had limited amounts of snow but at least you got some eh? ;)
Wow! That sounds like it must have been a WAY intense drive from Spanish Fork home! Knowing you, if you are making it up to be as bad as you are, it was probably WAY worse! Glad to hear you are safe and sound ;)
Sounds like an awesome Thanksgiving. Kind of a bummer that none of Kody's BYU friends ended up coming, but it'll be a nice last bang as a family right :) Then Kody will be down to the nitty gritty and won't have a lot of time to do all of the relaxing ;) I'm actually having Thanksgiving dinner at the Shumway's where Kody will be staying. As for what we are able to do, they cut our normal P-day (today) in half and give us a full P-day on Thanksgiving. So we get to hang out with members, play games, (only stuff we can do on a normal P-day, but still) etc. So we should have an enjoyable day ;)
I love you Dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey!
I have 6 minutes so I'll cram what I can into this email before my time runs out ;) Luckily this week I have a list that I created on the whiteboard Mom sent me for my birthday. (Don't worry, I transferred it into my planner before coming to the library lol)
This week my companion and I got kissed by a random lady that we talked to while riding our bikes around. She just walked up, grabbed Elder Duval's face and kissed him on the cheek. Then she walked over to me, and before I could figure out how to get out of it, she planted one on my cheek as well...not my most pleasant experience of my mission. She was probably in her late 50's. It was gross.
I made Clam dip this past week and I finished it off (mostly all me, E. Duval had a little) before the end of the week! I went through a TON of it :D It was yummy!
We helped a less-active man cover the roof that he was only halfway finished roofing. That was a blessing because he said he normally would turn the Elders away but we got there at the right time and then we were able to set up a return appointment to teach him :) Pretty sweet! We are very blessed here in Wheatland area. We are working hard to turn this little area into a booming missionary area.
I love you all!
Elder Jay Davis
November 16, 2010
Hi Mom!
My week was good. I have been sick since Saturday, but I am finally recovered. Yesterday was good, today I'm pretty much 100% :) This week will be the true test to see how things will be :D
The package you sent me was AWESOME! I very much enjoyed it! I thought the description of each thing was great. I loved the star(s) for the Christmas tree :D Almost my favorite part is that you FedEx'd it so that it would arrive on my birthday even though it's a holiday! I was so surprised and impressed! Uh...no, it didn't feel too Christmasy :) I thought it was fun. As for anything special for my birthday not really. Especially since I was sick. That's okay though.
Tee hee, I couldn't resist making the teasing remarks about preparing for Christmas ;) :D I loved the stuff you got for the package! Did you make all of the bell ornaments and everything else that was crocheted?! That's impressive! Thank you Mom!
LOL! Halloween was great. Glad you enjoyed the pictures! They were a hit at half mission conference ;)
:D Yeah, Elder Garcia's last day was great. I can't wait until the four of us get to do a family sing along again either :D Should be great fun!
That's AWESOME that Kody is receiving his Endowments today! You're probably just getting back right now if you aren't still there! WOOT!
For Thanksgiving we are having dinner with the Shumways, a very nice family. I do not know what we will do the rest of the day considering it's a full P-day. Things to do in Wheatland are very limited and our miles are even more limited, especially this month due to some extenuating circumstances with regards to miles. Should be fun though. I'm excited for Christmas. The Millers are having us and they are way awesome! We'll be on the military base for Christmas ;)
Thanks Mom!
I love you!
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
The B-day package was AWESOME! I was so excited! I hadn't even thought about Christmas decorations! I mean at the Littlefields they were already there. I can definitely tell that a LOT of thought and time went into it! It looked like she made many of the ornaments! (I particularly liked the extension cord, even though it's practical and I needed it, it was a funny thought :D I liked it!)
Thank you for the details of Kody's travel. I am so...what's the word...honored that Kody would travel on his B-day to come spend time with me! I will definitely have to take him out for Dinner!
I have yet to solidify my decision on who would be best to ask for a place for him to stay. I will hopefully have that set by next week so I can tell you!
:D I don't know what's allowed by my mission president either, he didn't specify, so I'm pretty sure I have an open decision :) We'll definitely do some celebrating for his birthday, and then we'll take him with us to whatever we would normally do :) Should be fun!
WOOT! I am PUMPED that BYU won yet another game and that it was on the rode :D WOOOHOOO!!!
That's a bummer that you didn't feel good this weekend. Neither did I. I was VERY ill (luckily no throwing up) from Saturday night until yesterday. I felt pretty good yesterday and pretty much 100% today :) Wait...it started LAST Saturday and lasted until yesterday. Because I was sick over my birthday. Ah well :) What can ya do? Hope you are feeling better.
That is AWESOME that Kody gets to go through the temple.
Holy cow! You already sent my Christmas gift?! I guess that makes sense, but that's way early! I guess I spoke too late. Ah well ;) Thank you so much!
HAHAHA! I liked the way you related sending a missionary out to a wedding :) I thought it was pretty funny! I understand it's expensive! I really appreciate the time and money you spent for me and I know Kody appreciates it too! Thanks again!
I will for sure let you know when I find where Kody can stay. I'm sure they would be super excited to receive a phone call :) I have a place in mind but it's a ways out from our apartment so it might be easier if I try to find another one. I know the first would be willing, the second I don't know about but I'll ask. Both parents work and they have a 13 year old son. So it'd probably be a good place for him to just have a place to sleep ya know? So we'll see.
Thanks for everything Dad!
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
My week was good. I have been sick since Saturday, but I am finally recovered. Yesterday was good, today I'm pretty much 100% :) This week will be the true test to see how things will be :D
The package you sent me was AWESOME! I very much enjoyed it! I thought the description of each thing was great. I loved the star(s) for the Christmas tree :D Almost my favorite part is that you FedEx'd it so that it would arrive on my birthday even though it's a holiday! I was so surprised and impressed! Uh...no, it didn't feel too Christmasy :) I thought it was fun. As for anything special for my birthday not really. Especially since I was sick. That's okay though.
Tee hee, I couldn't resist making the teasing remarks about preparing for Christmas ;) :D I loved the stuff you got for the package! Did you make all of the bell ornaments and everything else that was crocheted?! That's impressive! Thank you Mom!
LOL! Halloween was great. Glad you enjoyed the pictures! They were a hit at half mission conference ;)
:D Yeah, Elder Garcia's last day was great. I can't wait until the four of us get to do a family sing along again either :D Should be great fun!
That's AWESOME that Kody is receiving his Endowments today! You're probably just getting back right now if you aren't still there! WOOT!
For Thanksgiving we are having dinner with the Shumways, a very nice family. I do not know what we will do the rest of the day considering it's a full P-day. Things to do in Wheatland are very limited and our miles are even more limited, especially this month due to some extenuating circumstances with regards to miles. Should be fun though. I'm excited for Christmas. The Millers are having us and they are way awesome! We'll be on the military base for Christmas ;)
Thanks Mom!
I love you!
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad!
The B-day package was AWESOME! I was so excited! I hadn't even thought about Christmas decorations! I mean at the Littlefields they were already there. I can definitely tell that a LOT of thought and time went into it! It looked like she made many of the ornaments! (I particularly liked the extension cord, even though it's practical and I needed it, it was a funny thought :D I liked it!)
Thank you for the details of Kody's travel. I am so...what's the word...honored that Kody would travel on his B-day to come spend time with me! I will definitely have to take him out for Dinner!
I have yet to solidify my decision on who would be best to ask for a place for him to stay. I will hopefully have that set by next week so I can tell you!
:D I don't know what's allowed by my mission president either, he didn't specify, so I'm pretty sure I have an open decision :) We'll definitely do some celebrating for his birthday, and then we'll take him with us to whatever we would normally do :) Should be fun!
WOOT! I am PUMPED that BYU won yet another game and that it was on the rode :D WOOOHOOO!!!
That's a bummer that you didn't feel good this weekend. Neither did I. I was VERY ill (luckily no throwing up) from Saturday night until yesterday. I felt pretty good yesterday and pretty much 100% today :) Wait...it started LAST Saturday and lasted until yesterday. Because I was sick over my birthday. Ah well :) What can ya do? Hope you are feeling better.
That is AWESOME that Kody gets to go through the temple.
Holy cow! You already sent my Christmas gift?! I guess that makes sense, but that's way early! I guess I spoke too late. Ah well ;) Thank you so much!
HAHAHA! I liked the way you related sending a missionary out to a wedding :) I thought it was pretty funny! I understand it's expensive! I really appreciate the time and money you spent for me and I know Kody appreciates it too! Thanks again!
I will for sure let you know when I find where Kody can stay. I'm sure they would be super excited to receive a phone call :) I have a place in mind but it's a ways out from our apartment so it might be easier if I try to find another one. I know the first would be willing, the second I don't know about but I'll ask. Both parents work and they have a 13 year old son. So it'd probably be a good place for him to just have a place to sleep ya know? So we'll see.
Thanks for everything Dad!
I love you!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
November 8, 2010
HI MOM!
I don't know why, but I'm super excited to talk with all of you this week. Especially you (no offense to anybody else reading this lol). Like I said, I don't know why :) But I love you!
I am not being transferred. I will be remaining here in Wheatland.
It's been raining pretty good here lately. I love it! I have missed having moisture. I'm jealous that you'll probably get snow soon ;) Three days of snow! AHHH!!! I can't wait! That's funny that you're actually looking forward to the snow!
HAHAHA! That's funny that my comments on my favorite families made you think of Brian Regan! I didn't even think of that but it's very much the same ;) Although I don't know if I have a "more favorite."
Thanks for the Birthday Wishes! I don't know why I capitalized those, but whatever.
I love you tons Mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
Well I have good news for you. We found out about transfers today. I will be staying in Wheatland. The next transfer would happen on December...21st lol! So I would find out on the 20th and pack that evening and leave the 21st if I were going. So our plans will work out just fine. It won't be a problem even if I get transferred.
I like the idea that Kody had about the details of flying out on his birthday going to church and then spending P-day as well. I think that's a grand idea. My thought is that if you haven't booked the flight to Sacramento yet that you may want to look into the closer airports if that's possible. If it's not as convenient then it'd be fine to go to Sacramento. I will also start looking for a member who would be willing to house Kody for the two nights. I'm sure I could find that easily. Let me know what you are thinking with regards to that stuff. I know that he's not allowed to stay at our apartment.
It would be PERFECT for Kody to bring his missionary suit and we could just have a normal day Sunday (we don't generally have too many appointments other than church and dinner on Sundays, well and our meetings before). Sounds like a great plan to me!
That's fine. I will make sure that Kody has a place to stay that's close so that I can pick him up and what not.
That's AWESOME that BYU finally had a good game :D Well it sounds like it wasn't really a "good" game, but at least it was a heck of a win for us :D
That's weird that they just had a random stake conference but that's pretty cool that it was just because he'd been directed to do so by the Quorum of the Twelve! That's a bummer that Elder Scott didn't get to attend ours...maybe it's a blessing for me so that I'm more likely to see an Apostle when I get home ;)
Dude! I am so jealous that you guys have the possibility of snow! I can't wait to return to snow!
:D Thanks Dad! I can hardly believe I turn 21 this week either! I know how much effort Mom puts into each and every package and I'm sure she puts extra effort into my birthday package.
As I sort of mentioned, I'm not getting transferred so my mailing address is the same. I believe I've already told you the one here in Wheatland. If not, we're out of luck for now because I can't remember it lol!
Speaking of gifts. I have been thinking a lot about Christmas. I already mentioned that I don't really want anything serious because I'll just be coming home and I can get stuff then instead. However, I think I'd just like for you guys to donate "my" Christmas to somebody in need who could better use it. I'll let you guys decide, but I think that would be really cool.
Thank you so much for the updates from home, for your love and support, and for being my dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey!
Well first things first, I am staying in Wheatland for at least another six weeks.
My new companion will be Elder Duval...but I'll get to that in a bit.
It's been a pretty strange experience sending off a companion for home! He actually left at 11:30 today. I was picked up by some other Elders in the zone and I'll be staying with them until tomorrow when my new companion arrives. It's pretty bizarre because I feel almost like a transcient (sp?) missionary or something you know?
I really enjoyed serving with Elder Garcia so it's going to be tough having him gone. That leads into talking about Elder Duval...I'll just say that he's VERY well known amongst the mission because he is one of the missionaries who is...may we say...overly gung ho about the mission. lol, I'm sure he'll be fun to serve with and I'll get lots of laughs at his...naive comments haha :) I think it's going to be a fun transfer and we will grow to love each other. However, I would ask for your special prayers that I will have the patience and courage to get along well with my new companion :D
Umm...I'm pretty sure I had some other stuff to say...but my mind is a little bit blank.
Well I really enjoy this Wheatland ward. It's been pretty weird knowing that my companion was going to go home. He had his birthday last week so he got a lot of recognition and stuff which was awesome. Then yesterday was probably one of the coolest days I've experienced, because everything just fell into place perfectly to make for the best last day of a mission (as he said). Church was fabulous, Elder Garcia had the opportunity of confirming Sis. Williams who got baptized on Saturday. The baptism went great! Her husband has been pretty hard-hearted for a number of years and thus has been less-active, but due to some recent events his heart has really been softened and he is making HUGE strides! It has been very humbling to see prayers answered in many regards.
Then, continuing with yesterday, we had dinner at the Bishop's house. His family is EXTREMELY musical. It really reminds me of Mom's family. We were waiting for dinner to be ready so I played the piano (upon request) while the family sang hymns. It was really spiritual. Then we had a great dinner, a great message, and as we were leaving the house the whole family paraded out the door singing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" in perfect harmony. It was VERY touching! I was able to hold the tears back, but had it been for me I would have lost it ;) I really enjoyed being able to see him have a great day!
Alright, well I'm nearly out of time and I have a couple other quick emails to write.
Hopefully this was a little better mass email ;)
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
I don't know why, but I'm super excited to talk with all of you this week. Especially you (no offense to anybody else reading this lol). Like I said, I don't know why :) But I love you!
I am not being transferred. I will be remaining here in Wheatland.
It's been raining pretty good here lately. I love it! I have missed having moisture. I'm jealous that you'll probably get snow soon ;) Three days of snow! AHHH!!! I can't wait! That's funny that you're actually looking forward to the snow!
HAHAHA! That's funny that my comments on my favorite families made you think of Brian Regan! I didn't even think of that but it's very much the same ;) Although I don't know if I have a "more favorite."
Thanks for the Birthday Wishes! I don't know why I capitalized those, but whatever.
I love you tons Mom!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey Dad,
Well I have good news for you. We found out about transfers today. I will be staying in Wheatland. The next transfer would happen on December...21st lol! So I would find out on the 20th and pack that evening and leave the 21st if I were going. So our plans will work out just fine. It won't be a problem even if I get transferred.
I like the idea that Kody had about the details of flying out on his birthday going to church and then spending P-day as well. I think that's a grand idea. My thought is that if you haven't booked the flight to Sacramento yet that you may want to look into the closer airports if that's possible. If it's not as convenient then it'd be fine to go to Sacramento. I will also start looking for a member who would be willing to house Kody for the two nights. I'm sure I could find that easily. Let me know what you are thinking with regards to that stuff. I know that he's not allowed to stay at our apartment.
It would be PERFECT for Kody to bring his missionary suit and we could just have a normal day Sunday (we don't generally have too many appointments other than church and dinner on Sundays, well and our meetings before). Sounds like a great plan to me!
That's fine. I will make sure that Kody has a place to stay that's close so that I can pick him up and what not.
That's AWESOME that BYU finally had a good game :D Well it sounds like it wasn't really a "good" game, but at least it was a heck of a win for us :D
That's weird that they just had a random stake conference but that's pretty cool that it was just because he'd been directed to do so by the Quorum of the Twelve! That's a bummer that Elder Scott didn't get to attend ours...maybe it's a blessing for me so that I'm more likely to see an Apostle when I get home ;)
Dude! I am so jealous that you guys have the possibility of snow! I can't wait to return to snow!
:D Thanks Dad! I can hardly believe I turn 21 this week either! I know how much effort Mom puts into each and every package and I'm sure she puts extra effort into my birthday package.
As I sort of mentioned, I'm not getting transferred so my mailing address is the same. I believe I've already told you the one here in Wheatland. If not, we're out of luck for now because I can't remember it lol!
Speaking of gifts. I have been thinking a lot about Christmas. I already mentioned that I don't really want anything serious because I'll just be coming home and I can get stuff then instead. However, I think I'd just like for you guys to donate "my" Christmas to somebody in need who could better use it. I'll let you guys decide, but I think that would be really cool.
Thank you so much for the updates from home, for your love and support, and for being my dad!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
Hey!
Well first things first, I am staying in Wheatland for at least another six weeks.
My new companion will be Elder Duval...but I'll get to that in a bit.
It's been a pretty strange experience sending off a companion for home! He actually left at 11:30 today. I was picked up by some other Elders in the zone and I'll be staying with them until tomorrow when my new companion arrives. It's pretty bizarre because I feel almost like a transcient (sp?) missionary or something you know?
I really enjoyed serving with Elder Garcia so it's going to be tough having him gone. That leads into talking about Elder Duval...I'll just say that he's VERY well known amongst the mission because he is one of the missionaries who is...may we say...overly gung ho about the mission. lol, I'm sure he'll be fun to serve with and I'll get lots of laughs at his...naive comments haha :) I think it's going to be a fun transfer and we will grow to love each other. However, I would ask for your special prayers that I will have the patience and courage to get along well with my new companion :D
Umm...I'm pretty sure I had some other stuff to say...but my mind is a little bit blank.
Well I really enjoy this Wheatland ward. It's been pretty weird knowing that my companion was going to go home. He had his birthday last week so he got a lot of recognition and stuff which was awesome. Then yesterday was probably one of the coolest days I've experienced, because everything just fell into place perfectly to make for the best last day of a mission (as he said). Church was fabulous, Elder Garcia had the opportunity of confirming Sis. Williams who got baptized on Saturday. The baptism went great! Her husband has been pretty hard-hearted for a number of years and thus has been less-active, but due to some recent events his heart has really been softened and he is making HUGE strides! It has been very humbling to see prayers answered in many regards.
Then, continuing with yesterday, we had dinner at the Bishop's house. His family is EXTREMELY musical. It really reminds me of Mom's family. We were waiting for dinner to be ready so I played the piano (upon request) while the family sang hymns. It was really spiritual. Then we had a great dinner, a great message, and as we were leaving the house the whole family paraded out the door singing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" in perfect harmony. It was VERY touching! I was able to hold the tears back, but had it been for me I would have lost it ;) I really enjoyed being able to see him have a great day!
Alright, well I'm nearly out of time and I have a couple other quick emails to write.
Hopefully this was a little better mass email ;)
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Jay Davis
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