Dusty's Email - 03/30/09

ok i wrote you a message but it dissappeared.

ok so transfers went well there were alot of surprises, the biggest was the i was put with an american. which never ever happens. only once but its was cuz there was special transfers and it only lasted about 4 weeks. all President said was the he expects big things frm us. so im excited. we get along real well. and yes we talk english but in the house. we are excited to be together and work and teach really well at least we feel that way. im in a city called Tecamac. its really big and there are a ton of people. My comp is ELder Pickup, hes from Texas and is all about football. he played in Texas and has a ton of stories. we got the same humor so its alot of fun. this transfer is gonna rock. our zone is about to just explode so we are just preppin for it.

yes i got your package. and everything was inside, even your picture. thanks for that. im glad that you sent me the pics of CJ. i wanna print them out. he looks fierce. dad im jealous that you got to do that tour i hope to do it some day and i didnt know that the first presidency was the presidency over that mission. ok well im real excited for this weekend to hear from the Prophet and his counselers. i hope that youre all excited to. well gotta run.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 3/23/09

Familia

It’s good to hear from you and to get your photos.

This last week has been such a ride I’m glad that it’s over. It started on Sunday when my watch broke and now I have to buy a new one. (which I did today). Then we went to lady’s house to eat and she had this piano book that I asked if I could borrow, to copy some of the music. She said yes, so being the moron that I am, instead of leaving the book in our house, I took it to the church, to play out of it. While I was doing that the other Elders were bringing their baptism papers to me so that I could take them to Tecamac; about an hour bus ride from Pachuca. So I get all the papers and go to the bus station, get on the bus, and go to Tecamac. When I get off with my companion, we go to where we`re going , meet the zone leaders, and I realize that I don’t have something. Ya, the book. ugh....I left it on the bus. Now it’s lost forever. I’ve tried to find it today at different places to buy it. But I can’t and the lady has called me a few times to see when I’m going to bring it by. So now I am going to pay for the dumb book.

Tuesday, during my district meeting, President Bulloch called me. There has been a problem with the sister missionaries. Not them, but I guess a couple of them have been robbed at knife point, and stuff like that. So the President was asking me some questions, then randomly started asking about my house and area. So I knew that he was thinking about putting the sisters in my area and us in theirs. He told us to change houses, so all week we were working on this contract with the new house, and trying to get the house ready for the sisters. There was a couple of repairs to the house we`ve been doing and all. But it’s basically ready.

So we`ve been looking up the information on the sisters area and about their baptisms, Bishop, etc. It was difficult to work this week, knowing that we were going to have changes to another area. Yesterday we found out about changes, and I was waiting for the zone leaders to affirm that we were going to change. But as I said last week transfers come sometimes when you least expect them. So yes I have transfers again and so does my companion - weird because he has only one cycle in the  mission.

The President is going to put 2 new Elders here. As I called around to talk to the other Elders about transfers(this was before I knew about transfers.) I was informed that Elder Tanner is going to be a Zone Leader. So I freak and called him and congratulate him, because he`s the first of our generation of missionaries to go up. We talked a bit, and that was all. I was so excited for him.

I found out that a lot of Zone Leaders have changes and that 2 are not going to be zone leaders anymore. So I was trying to find out who else was going up, and then the Zone Leaders told me that I`m going up with Elder Tanner to be a Zone Leader. haha. I was shocked. So I`ll let you know where I end up in the next week. So we`re trying to finish getting all the stuff prepared to leave tomorrow.

So that was my week. Bummed out that the Devils lost. But it’s ok. I`m excited to work as a Zone Leader and honored that out of all the Elders to bring up in the mission, so many that have more experience than Elder Tanner and I, that President has chosen us to be Zone Leaders.

Can you put some more  money in my account? I only have like 200 pesos; like $20 bucks. I took out money for a watch and for this dumb book I`m going to pay this lady for.

Thanks for your letters. Dad, I studied the talk by Elder Bednar about Prayer, and I have changed things and I feel like I`m, praying better.

Thanks for the pictures. Mom- if you can send some more socks that would be appreciated, and food. Pictures, maybe a cool tie. Or a USB memory stick, I was thinking that might be the easiest way to hold my pictures.

Love,

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/16/09

Hey

Well dad, no it’s not that cold here, it’s actually starting to heat up. I don’t need to wear my beanie anymore while I’m asleep. But there are still cold days.

It sounds like things are going well. I’m glad to hear that CJ is dominating and doing his thing. Tell him that I said ‘atta boy’, but to stay humble and not get a big head. I can remember the tournaments I played in, they are always tough. I never was a big fan of the Cactus Shadows tourney that we always did during winter break. There were always like outstandingly good teams and it was tough to see how we would match up with a 5a school.

The work is going well, a bit of sadness this last week. We had a lady and her son ready for their baptism, and they were excited. But then this last week they starting acting really weird. Not answering the door when we came. Just weird stuff, telling us to come back, and then when we would return they wouldn’t be there or wouldn’t answer the door. We went on divisions with the Zone Leaders, and my comp and one of them stayed in our area to try and find this lady and her son, while I went to Tulansingo to work in the other area with the other zone leader. They found them a couple of times but basically the same things happened. We started divisions on Thursday but I got back to my area Saturday. so I wanted to talk to this lady and just get an upfront answer, so we went there but she wouldn’t come out of the house. Only her son. She sent a note out with her son that said basically that her husband chewed her out for wanting to get baptized. So we wrote her a note and just told her that she just needed to tell us that so that we don’t waste time trying to contact them, and that she needs to put an example for her kids, because she’s teaching them to be dishonest. I was a bit frustrated at her. I’m not sure if her husband really chewed her out or if she’s just saying that. But we have to trust her.

Sounds like things are going well, I’m glad to hear about all the things that are going on, especially about Lynette. I can’t believe that she’s pregnant again. haha, another one that I won’t know until June of 2010.haha

I don’t think that transfers will affect me. I haven’t heard anything, but sometimes that’s when you have them, when no one is saying anything.

Tell CJ I love him and that I wish him the best.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 3/9/09

Hey there,

This last week has gone by really quickly. We had zone conference this last week. It was so, so powerful, oh my gosh...I think that President Bulloch is going to be a seventy or something someday. Dang, he has power behind his words.

My interview with him went well, I dont know how but he found out about what happened with the girls. But he was asking me about how things were back home and it felt like yeah he knew...somehow. 

I'm glad to hear that the game went well for CJ, make sure you get some pictures and send them to me. so that i can see them.

I'm glad to hear that things are well with Sister Bowen, and that she didn't pass away.

The work is going well, we have two people to baptize this week and I hope another one in the next week too.

I'm glad that Dad's job still sounds like its pretty secure, but again in this time ya never know. I'm kind of nervous to come back and look for a job and not get anything. But we'll see when that time comes.

This last week I started to study really indepth the conference talks. I started with Elder Bednar's "Pray Always". Wow there are alot of things that I need to do better, but i feel like my prayers have been alot better this last week. I'm excited to see conference this next month.

We have transfers in about 2 weeks, and I'm not sure, because I only have this cycle with my companion who I'm training. But the Zone Leaders told me the other day that out of the District leaders companions they have the most confidence in mine. Which is a huge compliment for him because he is the newest.

Tell CJ to get his Eagle or ........well, I cant do much.....but at least I hope that he can grow to understand that maybe he doesnt like it but its important and to respect it.

Well that's about it here, as we end one week and start another, the Lord has blessed us a ton here. We are having more success here than the other missionaries before us have had, and we know that its because the faith and the work that weve done.  

Until next week.

Love,

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 3/2/09

Hey,

First off, the picture was a complete shock.I sent it to Jake too. haha. The "Shan Man" is getting more and more ugly with his nasty hair and beard. CJ, next time you see him tell him his best friend Dusty says "Hi Super Shan man".haha.

The story about the temple clothes is an absolute miracle. I was getting  mad when you were telling me about that. But the end, of course, made me happy that the Lord could work a miracle for you guys.

But Dad sounds like you were freezing there in Ohio. Its been cold the last couple of days here. Real cold, you can see your breath at like 5 in the afternoon. So you can just imagine the nights.But I'm doin well and feeling good. My companion and I  are getting along well, and he is learning real fast. We didn't have a baptism thi s last week but we did have a confirmation. We also went to the new build ing for the first time. It has this new building smell and it really is like the buildings in the states. This building is huge, but like none of  the buildings here have a library, and this one has a small library. Its cool. 

So things are still moving along well here for us. We have zone conference this coming week. I'm excited to see Presi dent and to interview with him. Sadly we have a problem to take care of which means that we won't really talk between me and him, we'll only talk about the problem -Which is with the sisters in my district. They've done a few things and I've been talkin with members and have been told some other things. Seeing how President has been since the beginning of the year, like not putting up with anything, I think he may send  them home. Which stinks for them, but there is mercy and justice in all,  and I have tried to help and the Zone Leaders have tried to help. But it's not doin anything. So wewill see.

I'm excited to get your packages and to eat the frogs with Cj ....yeah we'll just leave it at that. Thank you for the bringing the photos to Kevin, he said that he got them and enjoyed them.

Well I hope all is well. Friday was a bit of a tough day for me. I had a dream with both the girls in it, and just couldn't shake the sadness all day, but i'm better now. haha, all of our investigators and members th at we saw that day sent me a text asking if everything was ok. I'm not very good at hiding how i feel, but the Lord has blessed me and I'm startin to see changes in my character and how before I do something, I think how it'll affect those around me. Also how developing a certain characteristic more is gonning help me  in the future with my family, job and all. Which is something thatI've never done before. But the last while I have been asking the Lord to make changes within me, so i can better handle the challenges in the future, to be a man more like Moroni, with all the characteristics that he had, especially the perfect understanding of the scriptures. That would be nice. 

I love you all and I miss you,

Elder Howard