Hey family!

 Had a good week this last week. Our investigator D is being baptized this Sunday. He is a pretty awesome kid, he has soaked up the gospel like a sponge since we have started teaching him. Ill get some pictures on Sunday and send them to you hopefully next Monday.

We also got 4 new investigators this past week which are two older couples, so thats been pretty sweet. One of these couple houses just looks like a regular house, but actually has a swimming pool inside! It was pretty crazy but I guess thats how they get all of there excersize. 

Haha yesterday we got to go to the temple again with two families in our ward to go check out the lights and go to the visitor center. They had some christmas violin and singing performance at the theater there. They all seemed to have liked it. It was fun and the [whole ]clan brought tons of food to eat so that was cool.

Honestl,y thought thats about all that happened this last week. The mission Christmas party is on Friday in Ellicott city, so that will be a fun long drive haha. I also get to go to Luray on exchanges this week with elder J a buddy from the MTC who is from park city, so that will be fun especially since Luray is a crazy place.

But anyway I am glad you are all doing well. Happy birthday 44th birthday pops! Are you receiving any old folks ads yet!? Haha just kidding. In the state of Virginia the average is seriously like 72, there is no young people here at all. I hope your party was fun with the family. I missed being there with all of you guys! Your the best 44 year old baller I know for sure, you did learn from the best though ;) BTW I havent played basketball in like 3 weeks, it really stinks. I think im just going to get fat now that I dont get to play ball very much. But I work out hard in the apartment for 30 minutes everyday! Happy anniversary too! I love the picture you included when you were married haha, but I hope you a had a good time.

Well I better wrap this up, but I hope you are enjoying your christmas season and you get to relax a little for a change, im excited to skype you on Christmas I will be giving you a five minute phone call to figure out when we can skype. I love you all, thanks for the pictures! Good job Sarah and Lynz in your dances im sure you did awesome. The picture of Brandi was pretty funny as well haha. Have a good week Love you all very much!

Love Wes

Hey guys!

You guys sounded like you had a fun week! So on Friday we got to go to the temple visitor center with our investigator and two of his Young Single Adult friends from the ward. It was pretty awesome, Donald enjoyed it a lot and so did me and Elder Zander. I got to talk to of the sisters who are missionaries there who I knew in the MTC, so that was cool.

It took us 2 hours to get to the temple and because we stayed until 5:30 to see the lights turn on, we left right in the middle of rush hour and we got stuck in the DC and northern Virginia traffic and it was an absolute joke. It took us about 4 hours and some change to get home. Oh yeah, on Tuesday I got to go on exchanges with Elder Eves (Elder Dallin Smith's MTC companion) who is one my favorite missionaries out here, so we had a lot of fun. 

These last 3 or so days have been calling for snow out here, and everyone makes it such a big deal, its pretty funny. It finally snowed early yesterday morning and had freezing rain which iced all the roads. So they cancelled all the church in the area yesterday, and the mission grounded our car because of the rain. So we spent about 8 hours yesterday going around and shoveling snow. We shoveled our entire apartment complex and then we had to walk the church and we shoveled that. Then we walked to a couple members houses near by and shoveled them. 

We then got a ride from a member over to the a member's house and we shoveled there back porch and then shoveled there elderly neighbors drive way. It was pretty funny, the old guy living there tried to pay us like 4 times while we were over there, and so we explained who we were and all that and the guy just couldn't believe someone would just do that for him and his wife. It was pretty awesome, they said they were Episcopal but said they had a lot of respect for us and that there prayers were with us and then gave them a mormon.org card. 

Then we went over with that [member's house to another one's house] where we had dinner with the whole... clan and that was good as it always is. We then went to the our newly baptized members and visited them for a couple minutes and came back and watched the awesome Christmas Devotional with the another family. So I had a pretty good week this week. 

Our ward Christmas party is on Saturday and the mission Christmas party is on the 20th. President Richards said we get an hour to Skype you on Christmas, so that's pretty sweet. I am glad to here that you are all staying busy and having fun for the most part. Dad thanks for the box scores and stats! Me and Elder Zander were pretty stoked to look at those.  I got to go, as always I love and miss you guys very much, I hope you are all having a fun holiday season! Have a good week :)

Love Wes 

"We had tons of good food and was I felt like I had to be rolled out of there by the time it was all said and done."

Hey guys!

I had a very good week this last week! Thanksgiving was a fun time; we had dinner over at with some new members and another family.  We had tons of good food and was I felt like I had to be rolled out of there by the time it was all said and done.

We also did some service by helping a sister… shop for something called the empty stocking fund, where we had a 60 dollar limit for some less fortunate kids and got to shop for them!

So the weather has gotten flipping cold here, the cold here is wayyyy worse than in Utah haha. Knocking on doors and standing outside certainly is not fun. Anyways yesterday we had a lesson with our 20 year old investigator and it went very well.  He told us that since reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it that he had really felt the spirit in his life. He committed to be baptized on the 21st of December! We are pretty stoked about it! We are also going to the temple with him on Friday with his “fellowshipper.”  We are so excited, haha!  I cant believe I will be able to go to the temple for the second time on my mission already.

Having the district leader as a companion is pretty fun.  I got to go to Front Royal twice this last week with the zone leaders and I had a pretty good time. I get to go to Luray this next week in the sticks to go hang out with the funny people over there. We have zone conference tomorrow so that should be fun.

We already have the Wrights and another Sister who’ve signed [us] up [to spend]… Christmas, so that will be pretty awesome considering they are like our two favorite people out here. I know President Wright reads these emails on the blog so I hope he appreciates that shout out haha.

It sounds like you had an awesome Thanksgiving in St George, that’s pretty funny that you saw Coach Smith there, I love that guy.

Thanks for the package; we both like the Christmas decorations a lot! I will try and write her a letter today. So Dad thanks for the sports update!  Keep me updated on the NBA, not being really able to play basketball or watch has been kind of hard not going to lie

Sarah and lynz thank you so much for you notes, reading them always makes my day:))) I miss you guys a lot:)   Anyways I got to go, cant wait to get another package from ya! Have an awesome week!

Love Wes

"I weighed myself like 6 times"

Dear Familia,

It has been a great week! Lots of stuff has happened this last week. Yesterday our branch became a ward finally after 30 years of people praying for it to become a ward. It was pretty awesome, President Wright told us about 3 days ago that something big was going on this Sunday.  You should have seen the members of the now wards faces when the stake presidency walked in, it was pretty funny. 

It was a really big day for Woodstock. Anyway, I'm glad that president wright sent you the pictures of the baptism.  [The investigator that was baptized a couple of weeks ago] received the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday.  He will be baptizing his daughter on the December 7th i think. We gave (the daughter) over to the sisters to teach because she is a 10 year old girl. 

Transfers on Wednesday were fun. I didnt have to do absolutly anything, so that was nice, I got to talk to all my buddies and hang out with them, so that was fun. I didnt see Dallin but I did see my boy taylor. I did have to wait for a long time while Elder Zander was in his meeting though. [A member] took us and the sister missionaries to transfers and bought us Cafe Rio after:)) Yesterday after the big day at church we were invited over to a members house with the [family who was recently baptized and some of their friends for an early thanksgiving dinner! It was very good and we got to play some baseball in the sub flippin zero temps we are having, they live up in the mountains too so it was fun. But the weather here is sooooooooooo bitter cold it is not even funny. 30 degrees here feels like 0 degrees back home. 

By the way, we split wood with a splitter and a member's house on Friday and I forgot my camera but the wood pile we split was 6 feet tall by 30 feet wide. It was insane how much we wood we split. Anyways so I have been working out a lot in the apartment lately and eating lots of food so I finally decided to weigh myself because I looked at myself in the mirror the other day and noticed I was getting big. So i weighed myself and I weigh 171 [lbs]!!!!!!!!! It was a nice scale too. I weighed myself  like 6 times to check too, and this is with my shirt off and everything. I cant believe I have gained that much.  I have been benching a lot in the apartment though lately and can lift about 15 more pounds and do about 20 reps more than I could at the beginning of my mission. I was kind of freaked out at first, but I like I am really glad now. 

But anyway, I hope you are all having a great week and Have fun on Thanksgiving! We dont have to proselyte on Thanksgiving so thats cool, we will be over at the[new member's house] for awhile then we get to go play basketball with our district in Front Royal, so I am excited for that.  I have to go, but I love all you guys very much. I forgot to mention we got an awesome young kid about 20 years old who is a new investigator and is very interested in the gospel. Hope to here from you soon. Sarah and Lynz I love you a lot stay out of trouble! ;)

Love wes

"This past week has been the best week of my mission hands down!"

Hey guys!

                This past week has been the best week of my mission hands down! So first off one the traveling assistant came out [tracking] with Elder Z and I from Thursday to Sunday.  He goes home one Wednesday and served in Woodstock earlier this year and wanted to come back here for his last week, so it was really good and pretty fun to have him with us and have a tripanionship.

                We had a super fun and good week and did crazy amounts of service, just one of the many things we did was rake a acre of leaves that completely covered the whole yard. It took about 4 hours with us three, the two sister missionaries and another person. I have a HUGE blister on my finger from it haha.
                And of course the best part was the Hodges were baptized on Saturday and confirmed by is on Sunday! It was such an awesome experience and it was so nice to see our hard work pay off.
          Elder Z and I baptisms are the only baptisms for the month of November for our huge two part zone. President Wright was stoked, he was telling us about how extremely rare it was to have a couple baptized out here in Virginia; he said it has been a number of years since it has happened. He is taking us to a Mexican restaurant on Tuesday with his best bud Brother Funk on Tuesday.
                So anyways Elder Z and I are both staying in Woodstock! When its all said and done Elder Zander will have been here at least 6 months and I will have been here for 4 and half [months]! That’s a very long time for people to be in an area.
                Elder R also said that to have the same companion for 3 transfers is almost unheard of. Elder Z was called to be the new district leader here too, to replace our old district leader who is going home. So yea you could say it has been a crazy week but it was sooo awesome.
                We still have to go to transfer meeting two and a half hours away though so Elder Z can go to the meeting for district leaders, but its cool because we get Cafe Rio after :)) ha-ha. So because I am the district leader’s companion I will be going on lots of exchanges with other elders because Elder Z has to go out with every elder at least once a transfer in our district. I will also have some weird extra free time because he will be on the phone a lot.
                But anyway, I hope you are all doing well. Tell Sarah to watch out or else I might have to come home early and throw some little boys heads together, ha-ha just kidding. I am glad to here all is going well with you guys and yes mom you were defiantly blessed to have such good children, just like we have been telling you all along, (ha-ha, just kidding).
                 Anyways I love you all very much and am so grateful for all of you. I hope you have a great week :)

I’m so glad that I decided to come on a mission, I know that there is no way I could be spending my next 21 months any better then on a mission."

Hey family! 

Don't drink the beer Elder!

I think president Wright told you that I was not going to be able to email you yesterday because we had mission conference with Elder Carlson of the seventy. The conference was pretty awesome, it was an 8 hour meeting and Elder Zander and I had to wake up at 4:45 in the morning to get showered and car pool with the sister missionaries down to Fredrick, Maryland.

Elder Carlson talked for about 4 hours about how to consecrate ourselves as missionaries and answered lots of questions that missionaries had. We all got to talk to him and shake his hand; he is a retired four star general.

Besides the awesome instruction that we received I also got to see all of my missionary friends and hang out with all of them so that was cool. After the meeting half of the missionaries went to Cafe Rio in Fredrick and man it was soooo good haha.

This last week has been a pretty good one. [One family investigators] are on date for the 16th so no one has been baptized yet but they will. The word of wisdom is a killer out here, but they are doing very well with it.

Thanks for the letters you all sent me this last week as well as the emails your letter and emails always make me smile. I’m glad Sarah and Lynz are doing well and are enjoying school. Enjoy your time in school because you will miss it when it’s over. So anyway the weather here is pretty dang cold.  It doesn't really ever snow here, but the humid cold is terrible sometimes, haha. Its pretty crazy that transfers are only two weeks away and I could be somewhere else, I really hope not because we already have 3 dinner appointments set up for thanksgiving!

I’m so glad that I decided to come on a mission, I know that there is no way I could be spending my next 21 months any better then on a mission. I feel like I have been the one that has learned so much on my mission so far.  I’m so grateful for the testimony builder that it has been so far.

Anyways I hope you all have a great week and that everything goes well! Dad I am glad to here the Jazz are doing terrible because they will be good when I get back haha. I love you guys very much, I am so proud of you guys and your efforts to try and teach those guys the gospel.

If all the members in the world did what you guys did and helped the missionaries, then this work would be able to move so fast. If you get a chance watch the original hastening the work video, it is way good and helps me remember how important missionary work is.

Love Wes

"We got a new investigator this week who read to Mosiah in one week,"

Hey guys!

 

How are you all doing? I’m glad you got to go to Sutton’s farewell! He emailed me and said it went really good. Dallin Noble also had his farewell on Sunday. Almost everyone is finally out now and that makes me really happy to here.  

So our investigators are being baptized on November 16th hopefully with there 10 year old daughter. I will keep you posted on that. We got a new investigator this week who read to Mosiah in one week which was super awesome and surprising. He is 84 years old and is probably the nicest guy I have ever met.  He is a free mason so that is pretty cool.

So we got an email from our [Mission] President saying we are not allowed to proselyte on Halloween, we have had like 5 people that we shouldn’t got out on Halloween because there are so many people out here who do like legit witch craft and crazy stuff like that.  We [also] heard [that] there is like a big Satan worshiping [group] a couple cities away. Some people are crazy out here.

 

Elder Zander and I are working hard. I’ll be sending more pictures soon so keep a look out for that. President told us this week that we can only write letters on Mondays now, so that kinda stinks but oh well. Tell mom my face isn’t getting fatter I must have just looked weird, haha trust me I would notice if my face were getting fatter. But, by the way, I guess I never told you guys how big my area is. My area is about as big as Salt Lake would be to Spanish Fork, if that gives you a good picture in your head of how big my area is. There are probably only 50000 people in my entire area. Anyways I have to wrap this up but I love and miss you guys and hope you are all doing well. That experience that you told me about with that kid Sarah is going on a date with made me laugh pretty hard.

I’ll talk to ya soon!

 

love Wes