Howard Clan

Final Post

2010-06-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well,

It’s been 730 days, 104 emails, 4 hours of phone calls, a swine flu scare, earthquake worries, flooding concerns, a mugging, and a flight delay, but he is home!!!

Dusty arrived on Friday afternoon with three other returning missionaries – two of which were from his mission. The four families made quite the display at Sky Harbor, but who cares?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in his talk entitled “The Hands of the Fathers” spoke of a moment ‘almost too sacred to mention’ when Heavenly Father welcomed home is holy Son, Jesus Christ, when his early ministry was complete. That moment at the airport was the closest thing I have ever experienced to that incredible reunion. What a blessing it has been to have him serve honorably, and what a blessing it is to have him home.

Seeing HOME through his eyes is incredible, and teaches us great lessons of how blessed we are to live here in the United States. As he sat on the floor in his room he commented how wonderful it was to sit on carpet again – and having an actual flush toilet. (Don’t get him started on having a hot water heater!)

This morning as we drove to hear one of the other returned missionaries speak in church, he said how good it was to be able to see the mountains around the valley – something that the smog of Mexico City prevented him from doing.

As I write this email, Dusty is sitting playing hymns on the piano, something the he grew to love doing in Mexico. There were many times that he played the piano for his district or for the members of the church. He has grown grateful for all those years of piano lessons. He told us that members of the church would ask him if he was the missionary that plays “Piano Man” and that he wound up playing at church activities his version of Piano Man.

He loved his time among the wonderful people of Mexico, but is happy to be home again.

Thank you for your ongoing support and love.

I will be posting three videos that I made with his photos. Look for an email with links to view these videos. I put them together for his Welcome Home party last night.

It is an amazing testimony to me that a church can thrive by building its missionary force on the backs of 19 year old boys. Think of how counter-intuitive that is! If that was to only testimony that I had of this work that would be enough. But the Lord not only grows the membership of his church, he also grows the next generation of faithful husbands, fathers, and leaders. What a great return on the investment of two years.

Love,

John and Judy Howard

Dusty's Email -- 5/31/2010

2010-05-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Dad sounds like you had an eventful week. That picture is so cool, I can’t believe you got to go down there and shoot a bit. That’s so sweet. Also that you got to see Jake and Josh. I´m really excited to see them and to hear about their time in the mission field and how it was in their areas.

So Doug’s family is coming into town??' That’s cool, even though it´ll only be for a night.

Sounds like the office is turning out good, I’m excited to see it.

The week went well here, we found some new investigators that are pretty solid that came to church and are progressing very well. We baptized two people yesterday. The service went really well. But, I won’t lie, its getting so hard to keep focused. Any member that I talk to begins to talk about how exciting it is that I’m going home. I am excited though.

There are some pieces of advice that I’ve gotten from some members that are really going to help me. I´m writing them down as I get them and from which member it came. But the time is coming, we´re already entering in June. I can’t even believe it.

I´d like you guys to tell all the members about the party that we´re going to have when I get back. I don’t want to leave anyone out like the last time, if you can make a general invitation, I think that´ll be good. But I’m really excited to get back and see everyone.

I was told today by Elder Miller (one companion from the MTC) and Elder Rasmussen( went to school with him) that Elder Tanner and I are the ones that have changed the most here in the mission. I think they referred to just about everything, how I look, I don’t want you guys to be surprised when I get back, but I’m losing hair....well I’m starting the process of becoming like Dad, and other changes, I mean Elder Rasmussen has known me since high school and Elder Miller was my comp in the MTC. So you´ll have you wait and see.

Thanks for writing me and always supporting me, it hasn’t just been you guys but a lot of people and I thank all of you for the support that I’ve gotten.

And yes I found out about the Suns....stinkin Lakers. I was pretty bummed out when I was told. Lakers and Celtics...again??....ugh....

Gotta run, Love you guys and see ya

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 5/24/2010

2010-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Dad you are just so lucky, that's so cool that´ll you´ll be at the game tonight. If you meet Dwight Howard, I´d like you to get his autograph for me.;)

The week went well, really hot, I´m looking forward to jumping in the pool when I get back. Its getting really hard, getting all my plans and everything for the trip home. Its just getting hard to work. hahaha, just a ton of distractions, but we've been blessed for the efforts that we´ve made.

This last Saturday was a really special day for me, I forgot my camera so I´ll have to send the pictures next week. But in January of last year when I was in Pachuca, we reactivated a family, and baptized the dad of the family. They called me this last week and said that Saturday they would enter the Temple to be sealed together. I got permission from President Bulloch and went to the Temple on Saturday and actually was the escort of Jorge, the dad. For me it was so great to see this family in the Temple. To see them and their children getting sealed together. And knowing that a year and couple months before the mom and kids weren't active and the dad wasn't a member and didn't really think about becoming a member. But after a few powerful lessons with him, he was able to get baptized. Now he´s got the Mel. Priesthood and they´ve entered the Temple.

I´m happy that CJ was able to get so many awards for Volleyball this year, that's so awesome that all his work is finally rewarded.

Sounds like the Temple dedication went well, I´m also excited for them to start construction on the Temple in Gilbert.

But that's about it for me, we had a good stake conference yesterday with Elder Walter F. Gonzalez. and a couple other seventies. It was a good week of learning from a couple general authorities of the church. I gotta go, we got some plans for tonight.

Love,

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 5/17/2010

2010-05-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I`m attaching some pictures that I`ve taken lately. One is a baptism that we had yesterday, and one is of a wrestling mask that I bought here. The other ones are pics from the meeting that we had today with Elder Bednar. I didn't get a picture with him, but with other missionary buddies that i might see until they get back from the mission.

The meeting with Elder Bednar was really really good. There were so many things that he taught that I really loved and will help me out. I learned a ton today about faith and agency and ways to teach etc...the list goes on. Something interesting that he said is that the point of having meetings with the leaders of the church is so that we can be inspired by the Spirit, but if we are just taking notes on what they are saying, we aren't listening to the Spirit, thus aren't learning what we should be. There are just a ton of things, we`ll have to talk about it when I get back, because its just a huge list of things.

This last week went pretty well and this week looks good also. My last transfer calls came yesterday and I`m staying here, not a big surprise, I was pretty sure I`d finish in this area. I`ll leave here with almost 8 months here. That's just a ton of time. I left Tecamac with 6 months, this time it`ll be almost 8. But the work is going good.

Disappointing to hear about the volleyball game, that they lost a game that they could`ve won, but do congratulate CJ for his season and also his awards that he got in band. I cant believe that he`s gonna be graduating in a week. Weird!!!

That's exciting that the dedication is this Sunday, its unfortunate whats CJ will miss out on, but be patient all will work out well...I know its disappointing, but all will be good.

I gotta run, thank you all for your letters and what you write every week. Only a couple weeks left, I cant believe that the time has gone by so quick, I`m happy with the work and the changes that have been made in me in this time, I gotta finish the mission as i started it, with a strong push....just gotta give the second breath and push to the end and finish strong.

Love

Elder Howard

P.S. These are the two of the four new ties that i bought...you guys already saw the other blue one, these are 2 other ones and I got another one that is just sick. But you cant have them CJ.

Dusty's Email -- 5/10/2010

2010-05-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hey,

It was really good to talk to you guys yesterday. It was nice to hear all the kids and know that soon I`ll be back.

Not really much to say, everything is moving along here, we have a baptism on Sunday. The transfer also ends on Sunday and then Monday starts my last transfer. Next Monday we have a meeting with Elder Bednar, so I`m looking forward to seeing what he`s gonna say to us. He`s only invited our mission and the MTC to come, so it`ll be a good one.

I heard from ex-Elder Pickup today, he`s in Utah right now trying to figure out what he`s gonna do about school. It was so good to hear from him.

I got package this last week from the Berkheimers, they sent some pictures of Marcus and his wife and their kid. His kid looks like a really happy baby. haha, he just had a huge smile in the picture that she sent me.

Don't worry, I`m trying to get everything worked out with souvenirs and all. I`ve got a couple things, but there are things that I haven't found yet that I gotta keep searching for, but don't worry, I got that part covered.

Heard that the Suns swept the Spurs, all I got to say is, Booya baby.

But other than that all is well, just getting along here, and enjoying Mothers Day here in Mexico. We`ve been invited to eat with a couple of families so we are gonna be pretty busy tonight.

Mom, I think that i forgot to tell you Happy Mothers Day yesterday. Sorry, i got caught up the emotion of the call, and forgot that it was your day.
But i gotta run, talk to you guys in a week.

Love ya

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 5/3/2010

2010-05-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hey,

First things first. The call is going to be this Sunday. Only the Mexicans can call on Monday because that is the official holiday. But we have to call Sunday. So at 6 my time I`ll be waiting for your call. It is a house phone, the same one that i talked to you on the last time for Christmas.

The pics look really good from the volleyball game, I`m glad that they got the victory over Higley. I remember how it felt beating Apache Junction in the playoffs my senior year, and it felt good to beat them finally on their home court, after my junior year with Cody Anderson and we couldn't beat them, then my senior year we beat them at Higley, but couldn't win there in their house. It was a sweet victory.

Congrats for CJ on the game and getting into State. State is a lot of fun but a ton of work.

So Bishop Allred is now the counseler in the Stake Presidency, how cool. That`ll be super fancy.

I was wondering if you guys could talk to the new Bishop and see if I can speak in sacrament my first Sunday back. The 27th of June. I`d like to do it right away getting back, the first Sunday, just so he can plan out that Sunday.

Things are moving along here, today we went to central Mexico, and the things that i wanted to buy weren't there, there are a bunch of protests going down there, about the light and power company. I thought that it was about the law that was past in Arizona, but not at all.

I was really sick this last week, i had a throat infection in the beginning of the week, then it passed down to my stomach, and i had a stomach virus. So you can just imagine being out in the sun with that. It was quite the week, but i got medicine and treated it, rested a bit and now i`m fine.

but its also weird for me to think that these are the last 2 months. This is my last full month as a missionary. And its gonna fly by, because we are gonna be really busy. Oh, the 17 of May we are gonna have a meeting with Elder Bednar. I`m really excited and anxious to see what he`s got to tell us. Its gonna be a 3 hour conference, so i hope its good things that he`s got to say...

I will mention that I was looking forward to getting released by President Pugmire....but I guess I doesn't really have any say in the matter. ;)

But its starting to feel weird getting to this point in the mission. I`m excited and anxious to go on to the next chapter of my life, a little sad just because I love being a missionary, and all that comes with that. But all will work out well, i gotta finish strong and finish well.

but i look forward to talking to you guys on Sunday for the last time....weird to say. But i gotta run. I love you guys and thank you guys for everything.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 4/26/2010

2010-04-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Family,

So you got my plans this last week?? I only know the rough sketch, I know that they´ve finalized them now, but my ex-companion isn’t one of the secretaries anymore, so I don’t got the scoop on a lot anymore.

The 9 of May is Mother’s day, so I’m going to be in the same house that I was in for Christmas. I don’t know the key and what not to make call, or better yet I don’t remember, but it’s the same number you called for Christmas. I was thinking that at like 5, or 6. It’s up to you guys. Let me know next week, because it´ll be the last P-day before the call. You guys decide on a time and I’ll be at the house.

My b-day went well, some members and investigators invited us over for cake and tacos and all that good stuff. So it was a good day. So CJ´s grand day went well, good to hear. I can’t believe how grown up we all are. I still can’t believe that CJ is going to graduate. Oh, by the way, in his graduation invitation, is he wearing my purple tie???? I saw it and I recognized it and then after examining it, I was left with the doubt. I mean I´m not mad...or anything, I mean you could´ve asked for permission...or something;)

I did get my package this last week, and as of Saturday all the El Fudge cookies were gone. Yep I ate them all pretty quickly. But thanks for the things that you guys sent me. Also the letter from Kelsie.

I have a list of things that I´d like you guys to get before I get back. I´ll tell you guys the list on Mother’s day!!!

The week went by pretty fast, but it wasn’t one of the best weeks I´ve had in the mission. Almost the whole week I had a sore throat, and congestion. Yesterday I woke up with a stomach virus and a bad headache. My stomach still kinda hurts and my head has chilled out a bit, but it was so bad this morning that I could barely open my eyes without it just bugging me. Just an awful migraine. I feel alright now, but I still feel really tired and my body is achy, but it’s a little better.

Oh and next Monday I´m going go to Central Mexico for the last time. So I´d like it if you could put some money in my account, just the last souvenirs. Oh and Dad, what is your favorite scripture about Christ??? Just one scripture that is your favorite?? Please send it to me by next week. Thanks

Gotta run, the Zone Conference went good, President Bulloch is really focusing on the fact that when the new President comes, we can’t rebel against him, thinking that we know more....because that’s what happened when he got here. All the missionaries turned against him, and it was a horrible situation. So he´s starting to focus a lot on the importance of being obedient. I mean it doesn’t really apply to me, I’ll be home when he gets here. But the concept is an important one. But the interview went well, President talked a lot about not getting distracted these last couple months and finishing strong. I´m doing well, I mean dad you know how it is, but I can’t afford to get distracted, because I got a greeny with me. So I have to keep working.

Thanks for your letters and all, I´ll talk to you guys next week.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 04/19/2010

2010-04-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hey,
This last week went really well. We had a really good baptism service on Saturday. The dad of the family didn’t get baptized but his daughters did, so we focused a lot on the importance of a spiritual service and I think we got it. The family asked that I baptized the two girls, just because I’ve worked more time with the family.

Last Monday I forgot to tell you guys but I bought 4 new ties, they are so cool....they are light blue and just really cool. Guess you`ll have to wait to see them. haha.

I would imagine that any day now they`d be calling you guys to let you know about the plans - remember that there are 26 of us going home, so maybe it’s taking a little longer than expected to advise everyone. Tomorrow we have our zone conference and I have an interview with President Bulloch, he`ll give me the letter that here in the mission is called the ‘carta de muerto’....or the letter of the dead. President gives this letter to those that are 2 months or so away from finishing the mission. IN the mission one of the things we say is that when a missionary ends, he dies....that’s why it’s the letter of the dead, because I’m going to die as a missionary in 2 months. That’s why I’m getting the letter.

My kid is doing well, he`s learning a lot. I`m trying to teach him everything that I know, all that I’ve learned from my companions over these last couple years. But he`s progressing fine.

I`ll be anxious to find out who the new Stake Presidency will be. In May, on the 22nd, Elder Bednar, Seventy and a member of the presiding Bishopric is coming here to Mexico. They will be visiting a couple of the Stakes in the area, so we`re hoping that we`ll get a meeting with Elder Bednar. But he isn’t coming to our stake, so we’ll see.

I think they are all coming to put some order in here, because there is a bunch of disorder in this stake. So I think in these three stakes they are going to visit will have some big changes. Imagine getting chewed out by Elder Bednar, not fun, but I think that’s what is going to go down. But I guess we`ll see what they do.

I should get my package tomorrow in the zone conference. I can’t believe that I’m turning 21. I got a letter from, now Casey Fillerup, and I totally forgot, but tomorrow is his birthday, he`s turning 22!

Tell CJ I say good luck this week and that I hope all turns out well. Sounds like things are moving along back home.

Dad, sounds like your speaking topic was a good one, but I go agree with you, we either harden our hearts or we decide that we`ll believe, then after that we must follow it up with what you said, a diligent faith, which leads to works.

I gotta run. I am attaching some pictures. In one I`m wearing one of my new blue ties - I`m mopping up the bathroom after the baptism service. Another one I`m with my kid right after the transfers meeting, in the other one I`m with Elder Duce and Elder Christensen after the transfers meeting, and the last one I`m with the two girls that we baptized Saturday.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 04/12/2010

2010-04-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Sorry i`m getting to this so late, we had a lot to do today, seeing as it was my comps real official P-day in the mission. Things are well, my comps name is Elder Garcia from Tijuana...he speaks a bit of English and he`s real cool. He has a lot of potential, so i`m really excited for this time that i got with him. I`m pretty sure that i`m gonna finish the mission with him.

This last week we saw a miracle....Elder Vargas and I were teaching a lady that finally wanted to get baptized, so we were gonna baptize her Elder Vargas`s last Sunday here, but we couldn't find her. But this last week she called us, and got baptized yesterday. SO my comp got to baptize his first Sunday in the mission. How cool is that??

This week we are gonna baptize 2 girls of a family where only the mom is a member, we`re also working on the dad and hoping the he too will decide on Saturday to get baptized with his girls. Its a really cool family, they have a lot of potential. The Bishop and a lot of the members know the mom, they have told us that back in the day when she attended she was just awesome, that she was gonna do awesome things in the church, but they she got married and fell away. So for many of them to hear and see that she is attending again and that her kids and possibly the dad are gonna get baptized, has really excited them. The bishop said that she is like the Prodigal Daughter of the ward. haha.

But we had a good first week that we are looking to build on, a lot of people let us pass and teach them, and we had some good new investigators in the church yesterday. So i`m really excited for these next two transfers.

I`ve seen a huge change in the members this last week, seeing that Vargas is gone now, a lot have really changed their attitudes. There were some that yesterday at church, when they saw me with my new comp they said, Its a miracle.haha. I hope they don't say that about me when I leave.

Dad it sounds like your lesson went well, some of things that you mentioned in the letter are really interesting. I liked it a lot.

Yeah and the days are coming to an end for Elder Butters and Elder Helding, hahaha.
But i gotta run, Thanks for your letters. I appreciate all of them. I love you all.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 04/07/2010

2010-04-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hey,

So last night transfer calls came, and my companion, after 7 months, finally has changes, and i´m staying here. I´m going to train a new missionary. Tomorrow I´ll meet my 2nd ¨kid¨. Don't know if you know that in the mission, when you train a new missionary you are his ¨dad¨. For example, Elder Mora was my ¨dad¨and Pastrana was my first ¨kid¨.

But I´m really excited to be able to train again. Last time I trained I had 7 months in the mission and still was trying to get the grip of everything. Now I have a little better grip on the mission, so I think that I´ll be able to help this missionary out more than the last one. I imagine that I´ll finish here, seeing as I have 2 transfers left. Its a good area and I´m excited to work it with someone that is gonna work.

Dad, that's a weird dream that you had, but i don't think so...one of my ex companions is the secretary in charge of making flight plans....I just found out this last week about the whole flight plan stuff....They should be calling within the next couple weeks to tell the plan to you guys. But basically, I´ll be back the Friday the 25th of June, I imagine in the afternoon...we´re flying from here to Texas, then from there to AZ. But they will give you guys more info.

I loved the conference this lat weekend. I felt like they really concentrated on the family. The talks from President Uchtdorf I loved - about true love and patience in the priesthood session. I enjoyed the talk about the scriptures by Elder Christofferson. I really enjoyed the Sunday morning session, first with President Uchtdorf, then Elder Scott, I really enjoyed both of their talks. I really like the topic of love and how President Uchtdorf teaches the principle. I think that I´ve mentioned before that I´ve read and listened to his last talk from October about love just a ton of times.

Elder Holland just tore it up, I´ve never ever picked up that love and lust are opposites, but what a talk it was, we had some investigators that said that with the Prophet and the Apostles, they knew they were men of God, they could just feel it as they were talking, and its true. The spirit truly carries the words they speak straight to your heart. It was a rally good conference and i look forward to reading the talks when they come out in the Ensign. Oh, and for your info, yes i watched every session of conference in English:)

Mom I´m glad that it looks like things will lighten up a little bit with the babies, that they are sleeping more, and that Casey isn't on the sleep machine anymore. So Dad you got out a played a little volleyball the other night?? That's what i´m talking about, we´ll play some ball when i get back:)

Its so sad that there are so many people that don't believe that God reveals His will to His prophets....referring to your comments on Isaiah...it´d be interesting to sit down and listen to those discs that you got.

Did you guys get my pics that I sent last week?? Hope ya did, I´ll be looking for my package in the next couple weeks and i´ll tell you when i get it.

The time is just ticking away, the time is just getting shorter and shorter, I know that these two transfers are going to go by quick, because the first transfer that you have with a new missionary that you´re training always flies by. Then everyone has told me that the last one just goes by so so fast. That's what we´re down to. Of course I´m going to miss being a missionary, but I´m happy with the work that I´ve done so far. I will keep working so that there are no regrets at all.

I love you guys alot, and appreciate the packages and the letters that you send me.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/29/2010

2010-03-29T17:59:00.000-07:00

Family,

To start off, Dad...don't be hating, I never got suspended during the regular season or playoffs, just got thrown outta a game after I graduated for running my mouth. (I think it was the same Assistant Principal but at Higley. hahaha, but at least mine was after i finished playing, oh and church ball doesn't count;)

Sounds like things keep moving along there at home. Transfers come up this next week, so Sunday after the conference they will advise us of transfers...these transfers will depend where i finish the mission. Honestly, I would like to stay here, just get a different companion. My companion has the maximum time that a missionary can have in an area in this mission...so he´s got changes for sure next week. Even though we get along, I´m excited for the change. Excited to be with a different missionary, also one that is ready to work.

I would imagine that the mission would be advising you guys about my date here soon, i know that on the 25 and 26th, the secretaries bought the plane tickets...so they should be calling here soon.

The ice cream contact...haha...this is a good story, so he has a huge drinking problem, but we started to help him and he was at a week without drinking, nothing!! Clean! So we call him to talk about going to church the next day, and he was completely prideful...because he hadn't drank, he decided that all was well because he hadn't drank in a week, and that he didn't need our help anymore...it was a bummer, but everyone has to make their own decisions. When he humbles himself more he knows where the church building is at.

Dad, you´ve lost 40 pounds??? Dang, that's so cool, congrats, I´m sure that you look a lot different now, i´m excited to see it!!

I´m excited for the conference this weekend, I´ve been listening to the talks from the discs that you guys sent me...and by the way it is in English, but my companion kinda understands it, doesn't really speak it, but can understand more or less what is going on.

But I´m really excited for this weekend, we have a couple baptisms lined up. We had a good baptism yesterday, it was a daughter of a family that is getting ready to enter into the Temple, now the family is just short another son, and they will all be members. But it was cool, because her brother, who is a member, is 16, got to baptize her, and her dad confirmed her. Her mom shared her testimony in the service and it was really special.

I´m gonna send some pics i took today with Pickup, this is his last P-day, he goes home on Friday. This was the last time i get to see him until we go to Texas. Also i´ll send one of the district, but from last transfer, so two of the missionaries aren't actually in the district still...one Mexican and the other American....they are seated with my comp and i in the chairs, but the other four behind us are still there. The other is the baptism of the girlfriend of Alfredo...he´s the one that we baptized about 2 1/2 months ago and already has the Mel. Priesthood and is actually Young Men's President, he baptized her.

There is one where I have on a soccer jersey..this is with Alfredo, our neighbor Fernando, and me and my companion in the morning. The jersey i have on is of my favorite soccer team named the Chivas(Rams), and the other two have on jerseys of the Pumas, that day those two teams played against each other, the neighbor invited us all to eat, the other pic is all of together in the house right before we ate in the night time and right before the game started.

Things are all good, this week is gonna be a good one. All is well here in Mexico City.

Talk to ya later

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/22/2010

2010-03-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I hope that all turns out well for the Blanchards, of course don't know what happened, but i hope that it all goes well.

This last week was a good one. We had a lot of work and things went well for us. My companion and I are doing well. He is still having his character problems, but like I told you, he gets along with me. He just has such a strong personality, that at times its difficult to work with the members and others due to his words and actions. But all will turn out well. Transfers are in 2 weeks.

I think I told you guys that Elder Christensean, my comp from the MTC is an Assistant right now. He asked me if i´d like to finish here or in another area, he told me what area I could go to and its a really good area. We´ll see what goes down in the transfers. I told him that it doesn't matter to me, I like this area and I feel like there are still things that i can do here.

Dad I am really excited for the general conference in a couple weeks also. I´m looking forward to the messages that we´ll hear.

One of my comps, Elder Alpuche, last night notified us( his ex companions) that he is gonna get married in July. He is just barely got home in January. He actually is getting married to a sister missionary that served here in this mission. They served in the same district for like 11 months. hahaha. But he´s engaged and they have planned the wedding for July. He wants Fillerup, Pickup and I to come back to Mexico City to attend his wedding. I guess we´ll see what goes down as that time gets closer.

Don't really got much to say today, things are just going normal. Oh, this last week Elder Ochoa, the first counselor of the Young Men's General Presidency came here to Mexico and met with only our missions - actually only 4 of the 8 zones - and ours was one of those zones. He and the 2nd counselor of the Area Presidency talked to us. It was really interesting to hear several of their comments and I think that what they said will help our mission to have more success.

But that's it. Sorry if this letter is really short but i gotta run. We´ll talk more in a week.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/15/2010

2010-03-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Familia,

Hey, another week comes and goes and here I am again writing you guys a letter.

Dad thanks for the story that you put in your email, I really like that, Joseph Smith was a very inspired man. The lesson is one that I´m gonna try and apply.

I´m glad that things seem to move along good back at home, despite the demands of the babies. Its good to hear that volleyball season started out well for CJ. Hope fully it´ll continue that way. I hope that they beat the snot outta Seton..I still haven't grown much love for them either.

I did get your package this last week, thank you for all the candies. The people here love the candy from the states....I do too:) Mom, I usually pass out the things that you send but there are times when I forget, but for the most part, I do it.
Things were good this last week with my companion, a lot more relaxed. I think that his chat with the Bishop helped out a lot, and I talked a little with him too. He apologized for getting mad and frustrated at certain times, I asked him if there was something that I´m doing recently to spark him...he said no...that he´s just felt more frustrated since he didn't have changes this last transfer. But things will be good. Its not like we´re fighting, there are just time when he explodes...and its like, uh what happened???

We baptized the mother in law of the Bishop this last week. It was a really nice service. Her grandson baptized her.

After the service the Bishop pulled us aside and said that he didn't honestly think that she would get baptized. But he was happy that she did it, and that all work out well.

On Saturday we did divisions in the morning with the Zone leaders. Elder Heward came with me, and did the baptismal interview for us, then I did an interview for a companionship in the district. After the interview we had an appointment, but it was so hot, that I told Elder Heward that I wanted ice cream...even though we had this appoinment. We went across the area to buy some really good ice cream that is sold cheap on Saturdays in my area. I don't know why, but that ice cream seemed more important in my mind than the appointment.

As we were asking for our ice cream, a guy came up to me and started talking to me in English. He was a little drunk but was telling me that he wanted our help. That he had lost everything, family, friends, everything because of his alcohol problem. Then when he saw us the thought came to his head that we could help him.

So he gave me his number and I called him later and told him about church on Sunday and he said he´d come. On Sunday we met up with him and he came to church. He met the Bishop and the counselor, and we made a plan on how we are gonna help him. So we´ll see if we can help him get his life back. I was thinking about it, and I don't know why I was thinking that my desire for ice cream was more important than going to the appt...but through small and simple things the Lord brings to pass great things. I¨ll keep you updated with how this goes with Julio.

Gotta run, thanks for your letters and everything. I´ll talk to you guys in a week.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/08/2010

2010-03-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hey,

This last week went pretty well, but not the best of weeks. We had an investigator that the whole week kept changing her mind, that she was going to get baptized, then she wasn’t . Even up until yesterday. Then she decided that she was going do it, but she didn’t pass the baptism interview. So we`re going to have to wait a few weeks. She’s just a super indecisive person She`s really cool, she signed up on the list yesterday to feed us this week, and she really loves having us around, just kinda stressful.

Wow, Shalae is getting married. When is her wedding??? I imagine that it’s here soon.

Sounds like things are calm and just moving along. The same here. The time continues to move on and the work continues to grow. My comp has still kind of continued with his attitude and the Bishop of one of our wards noticed and yesterday talked to me first and then him. I really appreciated what the Bishop said to me. He`s helped me out in this situation. But my companion misunderstood a comment I made during a lesson and thought that I was making fun of him. I wasn’t even talking about him or to him. But he got up and stormed out of the house. It was real embarrassing and awkward.

He walked home almost alone because he was pretty much running to the house...and I couldn’t really keep up. After about the first 20 minutes in the house I asked what the heck happened. He told me that I was making fun of him with my comment and all. I explained what I said and apologized if he thought I was talking about him, because it was a remark that I made towards the investigator...about the investigator and had nothing to do with him. He continued to be mad. He went to bed mad and got up mad. I was fine. All smiles because I knew what I said. The whole time I was thinking back to the talk by President Monson from this last conference, his talk in Priesthood meeting. There was a certain quote that he said that I liked, “a mans a fool who takes offense to an insult that wasn’t intended”. But all got better.

I have to run. I hope that all is well back home. I hope that I get my package this week, because we have Multi zone conferences this week. We`re going to take the mission picture where all the missionaries get together and we take a huge picture. Do you guys remember we did this last year too.

Love ya,
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 03/01/2010

2010-03-02T17:04:00.001-08:00

Hey,

I´m glad to hear that everyone is good and that things are well. I´m sorry to hear about Grandpa...please keep me update on his condition. Also wish Pop a happy birthday for me!!!

Things are going well in the area. I can tell that my companion is sick of the area. He´s got another 5 weeks to go here....at the end of this transfer he´ll have 30 weeks here – that’s about 7 months. So yeah, he´s ready for a change. I´ve seen him a bit different the last couple days, like quicker to anger, I don’t know if maybe he´s mad that he didn’t get transferred or what. But just seems like a small thing can just spark him into being mad. We haven’t fought at all, but just some things that I´ve noticed.

Oh and yes mom I did go to drivers school one time. I remember that it was a day that rained a lot, and I was thinking, “Wonderful, the one time that it rains, and I´m trapped inside this dumb class.”

So Alfredo, a 25 year old guy that we baptized the 10 of January, was given the priesthood and ordained as an Elder last night. It was really cool to be there and watch him as he received it. He also gave a talk yesterday in church on prayer and did really well. It really motivates me to see the progress that he has made, I’ll have to tell you more about his story later...but know that the first time we saw him, we were a bit scared. But how the Lord can change a man that gives all his heart to Him.

The work continues to move on here. I saw Elder Pickup today and we talked a bit. He´s in his last 5 weeks as a missionary. I can´t believe that its getting close for him to head out.

But I’ve continued to study more about the Gospel and its really cool the things that I’m learning. As I study each topic more in depth, I’m reading scriptures that I’ve read a bunch of times, but understanding different things from them. I´ve really learned how to focus myself and study a certain topic. I think that it’s something that´ll help me in school when I get back.

But all is well and the Work continues to progress. Thanks for your letters and all. I´ll talk to you guys later.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 02/22/2010

2010-02-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hey,

Mom, don't worry this last week was alot more calm. I didn't get robbed again. Just remember that i went through 19 months without getting robbed.

So we found out about transfers last night, and my companion and I are both staying again here in this area. It's a good thing that we get along, because at the end of this transfer we´ll have 4 months together. He´ll have 7 months in the area. ha ha ha... That's just a ton of time. But now that we know that he won't have changes until April, I think that this is the area that I´m going to finish in. Because once he leaves, I´ll be a short 2 transfers. Can you believe that???

Well, Casey Fillerup got home on Saturday in the afternoon, I can't believe that he´s already back, and that Elder Pickup heads out in about 5 weeks. I got to talk to Fillerup the night before he left for home, we talked for about 45 minutes....and said good bye. It stunk because I didn't get to see him at all these last 6 weeks, but at least I got to talk to him.

Today we ate with a companionship in the district and I told the American Elder Johnson that one of the first things that I´m gonna do when i get back home is jump in the pool. Its just blazing hot today, and that's what came to my mind...in 4 months, I´m going swimming.

Dad, sounds like your talk went great, this last week i´ve been studying D &C 121:34-46, and I´ve been searching for certain things, and its incredible how many times that i´ve read that passage of scripture, but have never pulled the things out that i am right now. That's something that i´ve learned here in the mission. The meaning of passages of scriptures change depending on what your looking for or what you need at the moment.
Well the week went well and all is well, we´re getting prepared to start another 6 weeks here in Mexico City.

Mom, its true what Sis. Hulet said, we all got our agency, gotta remember that you cant force anyone to do anything, that's something that i have learned here. I can read all the promises i want from the Bible or Book of Mormon to the people, but in the end its their decision....but it hurts alot more when it someone that is close. But all will be well Mom, don't worry.

Gotta run, talk to you later.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 2/8/2010

2010-02-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hey,

This last week was a wet one. It rained a lot, for a long time. Luckily my area didn’t flood. I don’t know why, but the sewer canals that go through Neza, in our area it’s a river, but it didn’t overflow. So all is well. But in the area of the Zone Leaders, they are in Neza, the water got up to their hips! So they were out of their areas for a couple of days, while they got everything cleaned up. But it’s all pretty much back to normal, and hasn’t rained. It has just been hot lately. The Zone Leaders say that their area smells like a sewer. They say that it stinks really bad. Thank goodness I’m here, and not there.

The Zone Conference went fine, but President and his wife had to take a different longer route to the stake center. But the conference went good. There was something that really impressed me, when President showed up and during my interview, he kept saying, in Spanish of course, “Elder Howard, my good friend”. He referred to me as his good friend a couple of times. It impressed me because he really only refers to a couple missionaries as his “good friends” and I remember that’s how he talks to Alpuche and Fillerup, some of his more trusted missionaries that have served with him.

It just hit me because I have served by his side for a while, and he had never said that. But then the other day he started saying it. He shared a scripture in the Zone Conference from the Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord refers to a couple of his servants as His “friends” and said that one day he hoped to be called friend by the Lord. He then gave us another scripture from the same book, that explained what we need to do to be the Lord’s friend. He said that it’s a great trust that the Lord has in those that He calls friend....and so is it with him too. It gave me a smile to hear that from him.
On Sunday we baptized an investigator that has had 10 years attending church with his wife and children. The wife had always dreamed of seeing him in baptismal clothes, and yesterday was the day. During the last hymn, “Families can be together forever”, the whole family, and ward were in tears. It’s a baptism that everyone has been waiting for a long, long time. I truly felt the joy that comes from missionary work yesterday.

I gotta run , all is well. Thanks for keeping me updated on everything, and have fun with Toddly this week.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 01/25/2010

2010-01-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

Family,

Wow, sounds like the week was a very eventful one for you guys. For us it wasn’t as eventful. It was actually one of those weeks that you like to forget, because it didn’t go to well. We didn’t have much success, my district did, but my comp and I didn’t have much!

I hope that all turns out well with Sylvia and that she doesn’t have another episode. If she does hopefully the doctors can find something this time. Does the family even know??? Or are they completely out of the picture??

It’s starting to heat up again here. The days have actually been really hot lately. This last week we didn’t have any appointments in the morning so we spent it knocking doors...for about 4 hours...and not finding anyone.

But on the bright side a family, which I had baptized the dad of this family a year ago, is going to enter the Temple in February or March. They are still taking the temple prep classes, and haven’t put a date yet, but that’s the time that they are shooting to enter. What a blessing for them. They say that a lot of things have changed over the last year. They have been blessed a lot more because of the decision of the dad to get baptized. I`m really excited for that day when they enter...because I’m going to go in with them!!!

I hope that this week goes smoother, and that there isn’t as many bumps. I hope that the babies improve and stay well. I don’t like being in another country when you guys have weeks like the one you just had, because there is nothing I can do.

I gotta run. I love you guys!

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 01/18/2010

2010-01-18T18:42:00.001-08:00

Hola,

Well Dad that stinks that you didn’t pass your test. But at least now you`ve got a better feel for what you need to study.

Sounds like your office is coming together nicely. I`m excited to see it.

Yeah, it’s time for Toddly to be coming back here in a couple of weeks. I can’t believe that him and Jake go home here in the weeks to come.

Mom, the picture of the nursery looks good. I`m sure that it has taken a big effort.

We`ll see how the season turns out this year for CJ. Hope that it goes good for him.

The week went good for us. We had a good baptism this last week of a 14 year old kid. His mom is going to get baptized this week. They`ve known the church for 10 years and the last 4 years they`ve asked the missionaries to come and teach them so they could get baptized. No one has ever gone! But we got the referral and visited them, and now their moment comes.

Thanks for sending me those quotes - except for the Matilda one (UGH Mom! … jk). I really liked them. They are ones that make you think about different topics of the Gospel.

As for the new twins, we`ll see how round 2 goes. Hope all turns out well for them and that they grow the way they should.

That’s it for me, gotta run!

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 01/11/2010

2010-01-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

Familia,

It’s great to hear from you guys and that all is well. Thanks for the letters. I’m excited to see how the playroom will turn out, now that it’s going to be dad’s office, should be pretty fancy.

This last week went well. The last couple days it’s been really, really cold. I’m glad that Mike sent me this sweater, because it really keeps me warm. It’s just been cold and rainy here, but the week went really well. We had a baptism this last week of a man named Alfredo. He is one of those guys that you never think would do it.

We baptized his brother a couple weeks ago, and then we started to teach him. It’s amazing to see the changes that he has made to be able to be baptized. The first time we saw him, he was in all black, smoking, and had this big piercing in his ear. But now he’s completely different. He has given up smoking, he dresses differently. He refers to the Book of Mormon as a magical book, because it changed his life. The person that he has become is such a difference.

But all is well, yesterday we got the call for transfers and Elder Vargas and I are staying together another 6 weeks, which is fine, because he works really good and we get along awesome. So we are expecting a lot more success these next 6 weeks.

Gotta run. This week is going to be a good one! But we’ll talk in a week.

Bye,

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 12/14/2009

2009-12-14T18:43:00.001-08:00

Hey,
The week was a really good, but really busy. We entered the temple this last week on Tuesday for the first time in a year. It was a relief to go through again after so much time. Just a good time to feel at peace.
I got your packages..all 3. My companion says thanks for the candy and the pajamas. Thank you guys for the things that you sent me. I love these giant blue tootsie rolls. So do a lot of people here, they all ask me where I bought them. haha.

I had my interview with President Bulloch on Thursday and all is well. We talked about my transfer and just what is needed here.

We had a successful week in church. We had a lot of new investigators come and really enjoyed the meetings. This week we are going to have the Christmas parties for the 2 wards that I cover -- one on Friday and the other on Saturday.
Ok, so I`m in the city of Mexico, the delegation Gustavo Madero, the neighborhoods, San Felipe, Chamizal, 25 de Julio and Granjas Valle de Guadalupe. Also, there is a metro station that is close by called Rio de los Remedios.
Sounds like the activities all went well. and everyone enjoyed them.

Mom, I played the piano in one of the wards yesterday. So they now know that I play.

No, I haven’t been robbed yet, but we`ll see what goes down here.

I`ll be sending you guys the number next week of the house that I`ll be at for Christmas so you can call and everything. I think that we are an hour ahead of you guys.

All is well here though, we survived Day of the Virgen Guadalupe on Saturday. Even though there were people that yelled stuff at us, nothing bad happened.

I gotta run, talk to you next week.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email 12/07/2009

2009-12-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hey,

So this last week has been a good one. On Tuesday I got my transfer, and I'm back in the city again....FINALLY!!!! This whole year I've been outside the city, and I'm really happy to be back where there are just a ton of people.
My companion's name is Elder Vargas. He's from Guanajuato. I'm not a Zone LEader anymore, I'm a District Leader again. The change came as a surprise to everyone. When they said my name, everyone was like ohhhhh. These last changes were crazy, remember my companion from the MTC Elder Christensen? He got brought up as AP. Crazy huh??? He was super nervous but he'll do fine.

President Bulloch shared how he recieved the revelation to call him before the meeting started, and its pretty cool. After the meeting President Bulloch wanted to talk to me. He told me that he needed more power from the zone Anahuac...and from the district that i was goin to. Elder Fillerup told me that when they were doin the changes, and trying to fill the spot, they were trying out other Elders there and just didn't feel like it was right. Then my name came up and they felt good about it.

The area is awesome. It has a ton of people and really can explode. The district is really big, it has 4 companionships. We're all in areas that are just waiting to explode. I was bummed that I got bumped down, but I know that I should be here right now. So we'll see what this experience brings. I at least know that I wasn't bumped down for a poor performance.

On Wednesday, the day after the transfers meeting, we had the district class. All the Elders in the district are pretty young, and don't have much time in the mission. But we got there late and as I walked into the church, I could hear all them talking and joking, and when I walked into the room, it went dead silent. haha. It was so cool.

I'm excited. They know that I have alot of experience, and are really willing to learn and do their part. It's always easier to teach those that are willing to listen and do what you teach. So we'll see how it goes, even though I was bummed the first day, with the transfer and all, all is well.We will keep working hard wherever were at. What's really excited me about being here was after the district class, I felt really good and I think that were going to have a lot of success.

I gotta run. I'm still trying to get used to the area and I got some things to do.

Mom, I'm glad that your lesson went well and nobody got offended. I hope that CJ has alot of success.

I should get your package or maybe packages tomorrow. We are going to the temple for the first time since last year.

Im real excited.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/30/2009

2009-11-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey,

So yesterday President Bulloch called and gave us the transfers, and I actually do am being transferred. We`ll see what happens. I only spent 3 months here in Tulancingo. It was a short time. I don’t feel like I really accomplished much in that time. The zone still isn’t doing to terribly well. But I’m excited for the new opportunity. There are a lot changes in the zone and also in the mission. So we`ll see where President puts me. I don’t feel real nervous, I don’t know if I’ll still be a zone leader or not. I`m short almost 6 months to go home, so maybe it’s time to start putting up new leaders. But wherever the Lord puts me, I`ll work.

But I’m not going to lie, I`m sort of relieved to be leaving Tulancingo, because compared to all the other zones, and areas in the mission, it’s one of the hardest. But I feel like for the time I had, I was blessed.

Sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving, and that all went well. That’s something I’m looking forward to in the next year...the leftover turkey for turkey sandwiches.

Dad I hope that you are feeling better. I got sick a little also this last week, I’ve had a runny nose, but I woke up once Saturday night and threw up... a lot. Since then I’ve been fine. I prefer it that way, feel sick and in pain for like 15 minutes and then..throw it all up. But it sounds like all is well.

How did CJ`s tryout go??? Any word???

Mom, I liked the quote that you put because its true - faith is a principle of not only belief but of action. It says that with faith we can move mountains, but if you understand the principle of faith, you`ll grab a shovel and go to work.

I have to run. Got clothes to wash and then get packed up. I am going to try and send a package home today. A package that has books that I don’t want to haul around that are just causing extra weight. I found a place that can send a box full of stuff - not important the weight - for 350 pesos, like 30 bucks. Not bad.

Next week when I`ll write it`ll be from my new area.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/23/2009

2009-11-26T12:45:00.001-08:00

Hey,

This last week was really busy and we didn’t have much time in our area. But we were blessed with some miracles that the Lord gave us. The conferences with Elder Johnson were really good. He talked a lot about the Holy Ghost. How if we don’t have the Holy Ghost we won’t teach. He taught us a new way to contact, just testify....so our contacts know are just pure testimonies. At first it’s a little difficult but I like it. I know that he was inspired to teach us it, so I know that it'll help the mission.

Afterwards he told President Bulloch that he has never taught a group of missionaries more prepared to hear what he had to say, and that he felt that the mission is one of the best in Mexico. That we are doing what we should be doing as a mission.

The week was pretty hectic but looking back on it I learned a ton of things that are going to help me be better. We did end up singing “Mary did you Know?” and it went really… at least I felt like it.

I'm glad that you guys got to see Mike...or Miguel as the Spanish Folk call him. I'm excited to see what he sent me. I'll be expecting your packages in the coming weeks and I'll let you know if I get everything or not.

The transfer ends this week, I think that I'm going to be here another transfer with my companion and then in January I'll be gone. I hope so, but I'll be down for whatever -- whether I stay or go. One of the Assistant’s to the President is going home on Friday, finishing his mission. So Elder Fillerup is getting a new companion, and everyone is talking about who it'll be. It has to be a Mexican, and there are only 3 candidates. But we'll see in one week at the transfers meeting how it all goes down.

I gotta run. Mom, I hope that you feel better and Dad I'm glad that all went well at your boot camp, good luck with your preparations for your test. You'll do fine.

Tell CJ that I told him good luck (with his audition) and that I hope all turns out well for him.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/16/2009

2009-11-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Hey,

This last week sounds like it was a really exciting one for you guys. Not so much for me. But I’m so happy that Lynette had her baby and that all is well. I’m so excited to meet my new niece and nephew. Mom it sounds like for you too, that you didn’t sleep much this last week, but I’m sure that all the people that you helped out really appreciate the time that you set apart for them.

I do hope that Denice sends me the pictures of Marcus’s wedding. It’ll be interesting to see him and his wife. I’ve never met her.

We have our conference this week with Elder Johnson. On Wednesday we have a meeting with him, just the Zone Leaders, and then on Thursday we have a multi zone conference with him. I get to direct the Multi zone conference and I am going to play the piano in the multi zone conference and the conference with the Zone Leaders.

The week is going be spent on the road. Starting tomorrow afternoon until Thursday night. So we’re going to work in our area only tomorrow morning, Friday and Saturday. So in that time we have to take advantage of. Unfortunately the zone didn’t finish to well this week going into the conference...but there is always next week.

Saturday I was asked to give a talk yesterday. The topic was, “This is the only church that has the authority to seal families and people with those that have passed on”. Which is weird because usually they ask us to talk about missionary work. But I spoke on something different. I prepared a 10 minute talk and it went well. The bishop told me that he’s going to call President Bulloch and ask him to leave me here until I go home....that’s like another 7 months! I hope not. haha. I mean I like the area, but I would finish with 10 months in this area. That’s just a ton.

I have to run. The week should be pretty busy but I’m excited for the things that I will learn. Dad good luck in your boot camp this week, I hope that all goes well for you.

Thanks for your support and everything.

Elder Howard
p.s. here are some pictures that are about 3 months old.. I don’t think that I have sent these ones. This is a part of downtown Mexico. While Apuche and I were there I got interviewed by this lady.haa.

Dusty's Email -- 11/9/2009

2009-11-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

Hey,

I'm glad to hear that JJ Merril is going out on the mission. He's an awesome kid. Someone told me about Curtis getting married. I don't remember who, but one of the other missionaries here that knows him. Sounds like this last week went well for you guys. And that the performance went well for CJ...congrats congrats.

This last week went well. We had a ton of divisions to do within the zone, so my companion and I only worked together one day in our area. We baptized a man yesterday that had been investigating the church for 8 years. Imagine that, 8 years. We had been talking to him the last couple weeks and he finally decided to do it. He has seen so many missionaries, and it was so awesome to be apart of his baptismal service. This week coming up should be a little more calm, but the week after that is gonna be a hectic traveling one.

I told you that President Bulloch has put our zone in charge of doing a musical number for Elder Johnson when he comes.. We've decided to do the song Mary did you know. We started practicing yesterday and I think that it ll go well.

I got my package this last week and all was there. Thanks for all that snacks...the youth loved them...haha...I brought some to church and they all just went crazy for the AirHeads. They loved them.haha. my companion loves the Gushers.

This last week I wasn't feeling good. I threw up for only the second time on the mission on Saturday, and I had just a beating headache all of Saturday and Sunday. But today its calmed down and I'm feeling a lot better. I think that I ate something that didn't agree with my stomach.

All is well, its starting to get really cold. This last Thursday was the coldest day of the year here. But I'm staying warm. Don't worry mom.

Thanks for your letters and support. Dad I like that topic that your gonna speak on...seeing as that's the next step....hahahahaahahahaahahahahaha....in 7 and a half months. jk

Alright I gotta run talk to you later.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/2/2009

2009-11-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hey,

So these last couple days here in Mexico they`ve been celebrating Dia de los Muertos...day of the dead. It’s a tradition that comes from a long while back. There are various things that they do. I`ll have to explain a little more when I get back, because there are a ton of traditions, stories and legends that go along with this day. There is a type of bread that is made called pan de muerto...bread of death....it’s really good. They make a ton of it at this time of the year and sell it for real cheap.
This last week was a super busy one. We had the Council meeting with President Bulloch and then my companion and I did divisions with every single District leader in the zone. So the week went by fast and we didn’t work together in our area the whole week, but the Lord has blessed us and we should have 2 baptisms this week.
The council meeting was good. We are preparing for the visit of Elder Johnson, (Area President) to the mission here in 2 weeks. We are having Multi-zone meetings. Our zone is going to be with the other Pachuca Zone. It will be a difficult week full of traveling. But we still got a couple weeks to prepare.
The zone is struggling a bit but we are going to make the changes to be able to improve. So we`ll see how the week goes for us.
Yesterday I finished my first journal. I think that I told you guys that I put the goal to write everyday because I was just struggling to do it. I finished yesterday. I`ve written for the last 3 1/2 months.
No, they don’t sell eggnog here, but it’s ok, because today I found that Cranapple juice that I like. Dad, I hope that your back gets better and you can get up and move around better so you can enjoy the Holidays that are coming up. Sounds like the Fall Festival was a blast. I`m glad that it went good for Dean and for Karen.
Well that’s about it. I should get my package this week. It’s starting to cool down a lot so I’ve been using my beanies that you guys sent me like a year ago.
Next week I’ll send you guys some pictures.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/26/2009

2009-10-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey,

First off, Mom please don’t donate any of my trophies! Sounds like the fall festival is going to be pretty fun. The trunk or treat is always a lot of fun. I haven’t gotten my package yet, but I`m sure that its gotten here, but I won’t know for about another week or two. But I`ll let you know if I got everything.

Dad, Elder Heward is one of the District Leaders in the zone here. He was also in Tecamac with me for my time there, first was a missionary in my district and then was a District Leader there for a transfer. He and I got transferred here together. So I’ve gotten to know him pretty well.

I didn’t know that Adrianna Foy was already home. That’s crazy to think. Wow! time is just flying by. Yesterday I hit 16 months.

The week was good. At the transfer meeting on Tuesday, a lot of changes were made. Many of them surprising changes. There was another change like the one last transfer. Remember, I told you guys that both my companion and I were new here, that President took out both of the past Zone Leaders and put us in here. President did that again in one of the zones. Pulled out the two zone leaders and put two newbies in. One was Elder Pickup. The changes were good to us, we got some missionaries that`ll help out a lot here if they apply themselves.

But the week was real calm, my companion and I baptized 3 people yesterday. The service was really nice. The people that we baptized were just ready for the Gospel - just that type that when they saw us they knew that we had something that they wanted and needed.

We have counsel meeting with President Bulloch on Wednesday. It`ll be nice to see him. But I have to run. I hope that all is well back home.

I love you guys, thanks for your letters, support and love.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/12/2009

2009-10-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hey

First off, I can’t believe that Monk is cumin to an end....I’m completely unfocused and can’t work now...thanks mom...;)

The week was extremely busy. It didn’t rain that much but it did rain today. We had our zone conference this week. It was in Pachuca which is an hour away, so Tuesday afternoon we went to Pachuca to set everything up and then stayed at the house of the missionaries in the area. The conference was Wednesday and it went really well. I felt that our part of teaching went well and so did the part of the APs and President Bulloch. After the conference we talked with President Bulloch and he gave us the chance to ask him some questions. Whatever we wanted to ask him. It was real cool to have that question and answer period with him.

Thursday we spent in Xicotepec Puebla. We went out to baptize some people out there because there aren’t any missionaries there. Friday and Saturday we did divisions with other companionships in the zone. By Sunday after our baptismal service we were pretty wiped out, but ready to start another week.

Thanks for sending me the talk that Elder Holland gave. I’m real excited to read it.

I didn’t know that Paige is getting married...that’s insane. Tell her, if you can, that I said congrats, and to Jared also.

Yes, we save a little bit of money by washing our clothes by hand. Yes Dad it takes about 2-3 hours every Monday to wash all the clothes. I have replaced some of my garments but there are still some originals that I have from home. But they are holding up well.

I like the quote that you put Dad, it was hard for me to understand it at first. But I read it a couple of times and understand the meaning of it better.

Things are well, the zone is improving in some aspect every week. I think that the zone conference really helped out, and I think that we will keep improving. We found out about transfers this week. I’m pretty sure that my companion and I won’t be touched since we just here. We have talked to President Bulloch about some changes that we would like to make in the zone. We’ll see if he makes them or not.

But I have to run...I love you all and thanks for your letters and your support.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/5/2009

2009-10-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

This last week was a good one. Yes Mom I did the new Bible that’s been printed in Spanish. I don’t know if you watched the special the Church had on it after the first session of conference, but it’s the King James version but in Spanish, with the all Joseph Smith translations, headings at every chapter, footnotes and all. It’s cool.

The conference was amazing. I loved Elder Holland’s talk. Such power. There is no doubt in my mind that he is an Apostle of the Lord. The declaration that he made was just amazing. I really enjoyed President Utchdorfs talks, the one in Priesthood, and the one that he gave the on Saturday about Gods love. I couldn’t see all of it because there were some broadcast problems, but what I saw I enjoyed. There was a comment that he made that I really enjoyed. He said that even “the coldest winter has the hope of a warm spring”. It’s so true. There are ups and downs in life, but we have to always have the hope that something better is coming. It helped me out a lot because I don’t feel like we got the hang of things here in Tulancingo yet. We work hard, but things just aren’t falling right. But his talk really helped me to keep pushing through, hoping for the warm spring.

I enjoyed just about all the talks from the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency. I`m excited to get the conference edition of the Ensign to be able to study it and pull things out that I didn’t get in the conference. President Utchdorf is my favorite speaker. All of his talks were awesome, but the last 3 conferences his talks have helped me the most. There is so much I want to say about conference, but it’s just amazing. How great it is to hear from a living Prophet, and Twelve Apostles that God has called today!!

It didn’t rain all this last week, surprisingly. The sun has been out in full swing, which has been good because we`ve had to wash our clothes by hand and the clothes dry a lot faster when there is sun.

Mom, I`ll be expecting your package here in the weeks coming up...

Dad, I did get to see all the sessions and in English, so I was able to hear the voices of the Apostles as they testified. The music was also awesome. Dad, when you watch the conference from Sunday in the afternoon the Tabernacle Choir sings “Oh Lord my Redeemer” and it is just stunning. It put Elder Holland in tears.

Not much new. We have our zone conference this week so I`ll be able to see President Bulloch and the APs.

But I have to run. I hope that all stays well and tell Cj to write me and tell me how he`s doing.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 09/28/2009

2009-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hey,

This last week was filled with a lot of rain and mud. I`m glad that I have those big boots because that’s what I had on this whole last week, there is just a ton of mud everywhere here. It rains just crazy. I was told that about 2 years ago it flooded, that the water got up to 3 feet high. The problem is that Tulancingo is at the bottom of a couple hills and mountains. So when it rains all the water comes down the hills into the town. But they`ve built these big canals to prevent the flooding but believe it or not they are starting to fill up.

This last week wasn’t to exciting, this was the first real week that we had to work in the area, so we got to know it better. Even with the amount of rain that we got during the week. The members are starting to help out and give references. Yesterday we had a good turnout at church of investigators. We should be able to baptize two people this week if all turns out well. I don’t know if I told you guys that even though there were Elders here before us, they didn’t leave us any investigators, so we`ve had to start from scratch. They left us one person that we baptized our first week. The work is tough here, its probably the hardest area that I`ve been in because in almost all the areas you can just knock doors and contact people. But here there is hardly anyone in the streets, and the people here are more closed. Life is a lot slower than in Mexico City. But also the members are better. The key here is to work with the members. That’s the best way to find people. So we have a bit of work to do, but the Lord has really blessed us in our time here.

Tell Ron that I said congrats about his award....and Lynette I`ve already said it, but happy early birthday. Tell CJ to keep his head up and to do his part...that’s the best that he can.

I was excited yesterday because they announced that General Conference is going to be broadcasted here in our church building. Usually what happens here in Tulancingo is they tape the sessions then the week or two after they show the sessions of conference. So I`m excited to see the broadcast live and see all the sessions.

My companion and I are getting along well and are just trucking along doing our best. I`m excited to see what can happen here, not just here but in the zone. There is a lot of potential. Almost all the missionaries are just flat out awesome missionaries. What my companion and I are trying to do is to take away the discouragement that comes with coming here to this zone. There are a lot that come to the zone and hear that the zone has a reputation of failure. And really it’s all in the attitude, the Elders that come here and have a ton of success is because they really have the faith to do....so Dad I appreciate your comment that you made about faith.

That’s about it from here, we had a Mexican Night in the ward on Friday to celebrate the Independence Day, it was really cool, we saw a bunch of different dances from the culture..it’s something that I thought you`d guys enjoy.

Love ya
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 09/21/2009

2009-09-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Ok, this last week was extremely busy. On Tuesday we had to be in the house by 6 because it was Mexican Independence day, and for safety reasons we had to be in the house early. Thursday and Friday we were in President Bulloch’s house for the council meeting with him. His house is about 5 hours from where we are at, so when we got back home we were super tired from all the traveling.

Saturday we had a bunch of interviews to do all over the place...this zone is enormous....it covers part of the state of Veracruz and the state of Puebla. On Saturday we went to Puebla to do 2 interviews. The area is extremely cool. It’s up in the mountains and its all green and foresty. It rains everyday there or is really cloudy, threatening to rain. I will have to take some pictures and send them because it’s really cool.

The Bishop on Saturday asked me to speak in Sacrament meeting Sunday on missionary work and how the members can help with the work. So I talked about the responsibilities that missionaries have of service. Then shared the quote from President David O Mckay “that every member is a missionary”, and said that we all have the same responsibilities - the members and the missionaries. I then shared an experience. I take it that it went well because the members started giving us referrals of families and friends that they have been thinking about sharing the gospel with. So it went well.

Mom the ward doesn’t have a pianist so I played yesterday:)

The ward is really cool here, the Bishop is super excited and wants to help and so do many of the members. The zone is good, we have a lot of good missionaries that just need to be instructed how to work more effectively. 2 of our 3 district leaders are ex zone leaders and the other one was a district leader with me in Tecamac. We had a council meeting last night with the District leaders and the 2 that are ex zone leaders made a lot of comments that just led my companion and I to think that they were happy with the change of the Zone Leaders, and real excited to work this cycle.

Mom, I know that you are going to do well in your new calling, just keep working and keeping your life in harmony with the Gospel.

In the council meeting this last week President Bulloch shared a thought that I had never honestly thought of. In the scriptures it mentions in a couple places the eye of faith....and he explained what is the eye of faith. Its seeing what we want to achieve in the future, but really being able to see it our minds. He talked about the importance of faith. In Alma 5:15 it talks about “seeing your body raised from corruption to incorruption but with the eye of faith”. He asked if we had thought about that day, when that would happen. Do we have the hope and faith that its really going to happen. It was real powerful. Made me really change the way that I look at things and how I’m using my faith. When I get back I’d like to share it with you guys.

That’s about it here. We have to head out. I love you guys and take care.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 09/14/2009

2009-09-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hey,

This last week, as you know, I had transfers. We got to the transfers meeting and found out a zone leader went home.....like last week....just returned home. His companion was transferred as well. President reopened this area, which means he took both out and put two new elders in this area, and I was one of them.

Both my companion and I are both newbies here in Tulancingo. My companion’s name is Elder Hernandez. He is from Oaxaca and is about to complete a year in the mission. This is his first transfer as a zone leader, so I get to train him. He´s really cool and works really hard. He is ready to work.

We got here this last week and don’t know where anything was; we´ve gotten lost like 10 times. But at least we´ve gotten home every night. Tulancingo is in the zone Pachuca Centro. If you remember, about 9 months ago I was brought up as a district leader in this same zone, but over in Pachuca. Pachuca is about an hour southwest of us. So I´m pretty far out here.

There is a lot of work to do here. Not just in the area but in the zone. The elders that left did leave us a baptism so we had a baptism on Sunday. The service was nice and the ward is very supportive of the missionaries. We decided that the best way to work out here is through references from the members. Both my companion and I have served in Pachuca already, and that was what brought us success. So we are starting to visit the members and do more service for them.

I can’t believe that I´m back in this zone. I thought that I´d never return, but here I am...ha ha. I´m excited for the opportunity and I know that I will learn a lot.

Things are well here in Tulancingo and really calm. Tomorrow is the Independence Day here in Mexico so we have to be in the house early.

Thanks for your letters.

Love,
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 9/08/2009

2009-09-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Thanks for the pictures of Brady’s birthday, sounds like it was good. I like the Suns jersey that he has...it’s a cool one....actually I want one like it. but when I get back.

Ok yesterday ended the transfer...so we got the call last night and yes I have transfers. I don’t know where I’m going to go...until tomorrow. A lot are saying the I`m going to return to the city...I hope so....but I’m excited for the change. I`ve been here for 5 almost 6 months.

That’s cool that you ran into Buffy. I hope that she does write me, it would be fancy.

No, labor day is not celebrated here.....so things just continue to move along.

Today as my last day in Tecamac. we played Soccer, bowled and we are going to see some members and converts now to say bye. I can’t believe how fast the time has passed. I feel like I don’t have that much time here, but then I realize that I’ve had 3 companions, completed a year in the mission and turned 20 here.....haha.

I`ve really learned a lot here. I`ve had 3 of the best companions in the mission. I`ve learned a lot more about missionary work and how to be a better missionary and person. I made mistakes but I have learned and have grown from them.

The week went well. We baptized and it rained a lot. On Friday we got completely soaked and it was fun. (No, I`m not sick:) Mom, I can make cookies here at the church. There is an oven there.

Well I gotta take off and prepare my suitcases and visit some more people.

Thanks for your letters and love.

Love,
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/31/2009

2009-09-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Don’t have a lot of time so I`ll make this quick. I got your package this last week. Thanks for the snacks....and the pictures and the tape...I was cracking up over when Alenna walked up to CJ and yelled these are my panties....and he was like ok I don’t want them....haha.

Everything was there, so don’t worry.

Here they don’t do an apartment inspection. President Bulloch’s attitude is that he and his wife will teach us correct principles and let us govern ourselves. That if we don’t clean the house we will only hurt ourselves. HE said that he nor his wife have time to go out to the houses to check them. He usually asks the leaders when we do divisions to check the houses. Our house is usually clean.

Bueno, we had 2 baptisms this last week, we baptized a dad of a family that was all members except for him. So it was great, to see the changes that he`s made.

I sent you guys the wrong picture last week. The Mom, Dad and the boy are of that family, the little girl isn’t. She showed up to church in a white dress so one of the pictures has her in it. But only 3 got baptized last week. The family we just baptize the daughter turns 8 in like 2 weeks, and the dad is going to get the priesthood the week before. The plan is that he baptizes his daughter. cool huh? I`ll send you the right picture next week. Sorry.

Right now I`m studying the chapters of Alma in the Book of Mormon. I`m trying to study what each missionary did in their own area, Alma, Amulek, Aaron, and Ammon.....what they did to be such great missionaries and leaders. I`ve learned a lot.

Mom, Happy Birthday. I hope that it went well and that you are excited to start a new year.....hehehe.

Well I gotta run. I love you all and Dad Mike did tell me that Cory returned from Korea about a week ago. That’s crazy, I remember when he left.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/24/2009

2009-08-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hey,

So this last week was just awesome. On Wednesday, we went to marry a couple that we had been teaching. After the wedding, we dropped by the temple and talked about how they could be sealed as a family with their kids for time and eternity in one year, if they stayed faithful to the Gospel. They got so excited, they invited us to their sealing in a year, even though we`ll both be home, we said we would come back to see it. We had their baptism yesterday, it was so awesome. I really love this family, to see the parents and some of the kids get baptized was so awesome. See attached picture.

But it was a pretty busy week, we found some cool people, and they came to church on Sunday.
We did divisions with the AP`s (Assistants to the President) on Friday and Saturday. I went with the companion of Elder Fillerup, Elder Puga. It went well, but I was ready to get my companion back by Friday. I don’t know why, and a lot of the other Zone leaders think the same thing, that Elder Fillerup has changed a bit. I understand that he`s an AP now and has got to be an example. That’s fine, but sometimes he just acts a lot different, almost like we weren’t companions for 12 weeks. I know things about him that no one knows and him about me. He acts like we just met like a couple of weeks ago. It’s just weird. But a lot of the other Zone Leaders are seeing it too. Maybe he`ll chill out after awhile, because he doesn’t need to act like he is. So we`ll see.

That’s about it here, my companion and I are still getting along well. He`s just a work horse and Elder Puga told me that my companion is probably the best missionary in the entire mission. I believe it. The zone is alright, we are consistent, but we can do more.

Dad, yeah the Pyramids that we went to were Teotihuacan. That’s cool the research that they`ve done about the Book of Mormon and the pyramids. I`d like to know who exactly was there.

Thanks for the letters and all. I appreciate the support that I’ve gotten here in the mission.

Today I completed 5 months here in Tecamac, and tomorrow is 14 in the mission. Crazy, time is just flying. I gotta run.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/17/2009

2009-08-20T17:37:00.001-07:00

Dusty and his last two companions

Dusty and some Arizona boys

Hey,

This last week was a lot better. We had a lot more time to work in the area. We had a baptism of a lady named Martha, and this week we are going to baptize her daughters family, which is the daughter her husband and their two kids. So it should be a nice service.
We had the Zone Conference this last week and it went really well. Everyone really enjoyed the presentations that gave. Afterwards we ate the famous Tecamac hamburgers. These are the best burgers that I’ve ever tasted. We go almost every week to them. We know the man that makes them and he cut us a deal to come and make them at the Zone Conference.
My companion and I are good and healthy. We had the zone activity today, we ice skated and bowled. I love bowling now, because Elder Mays, before he left, taught me how to put a spin on the ball, so it’s a lot more fun.
But I fell today while practicing a certain way to brake on the ice skates, and I fell hard on my tailbone. I feel like Mom when we were playing basketball and she fell and had to crawl up the stairs.:) and had that little yellow donut cushion. haha.
CJ, is your Economics teacher Mr. Johnson or your English teacher?? I`m pretty sure it’s your Economics teacher. Tell him I say ‘hey’. He`s a good teacher. I really liked his class.
Mom, I’ll be expecting your package in the next transfers in September. I think that it`ll get here then, but I’ll let you know when it gets here.
Things are well here in Tecamac. We have found some really good people that we are working with, and the work is progressing here. But the zone is a bit relaxed right now, so my companion and I are going to visit the districts tomorrow to help refocus them.
That’s about it here. I`m feeling good and feel like things are going well. There are things that I need to improve about me, myself. I know that if I apply myself and do my part the Lord will help me out.
Mom, a quick thought, for the last 2 Zone Conferences, President Bulloch has talked about the Standard of Truth. The importance of it, but not just that, but the man that led the charge, Moroni. I have a lot of notes and such from these conferences. When I get back we`ll have to talk a little about it, because President Bulloch is one of the best teachers that I`ve ever known. He`s worked in the Seminary and Institute program for years. Before his mission, he was one of like the world bosses of Institute, or something, so he knows the scriptures like the back of his hand and can apply them in so many different ways.

I love you all and thank you for your letters and support.
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/10/2009

2009-08-13T18:07:00.001-07:00

Hey,

This last week was just a mess here in Tecamac. Last Monday was good and calm, we went ice skating and bowling. Yes, Dad we have to wear missionary clothes while we ice skate and bowl, which is good because we always get people that ask us what we do, so it’s a good opportunity on P-day to still talk to people a little and introduce ourselves.
But anyway, so Elder Alpuche and I got up on Tuesday and started to finish up the class that we were going to give to our district. Then we got a call from Elder Haro, one of the district leaders. When my companion answered, Elder Haro said that his companion wasn’t there, he was gone! We thought that he was joking but he was at the point of crying, so we told him we`d call President and that we`d come over to his house.
We got to his house and sure enough, his companion had packed a bag and left. When Elder Haro got up the door to the house was open. Just wide open. One of the neighbors said that the door had been like that at least since 4:30 in the morning.
Elder Haro was really sad and just confused. I was too. We had gone ice skating with them the day before and I talked with his companion. All seemed well. His companion, Elder Mays, is from Texas. But he didn’t leave a note or anything, he just left, got up and left. So that day was just weird because Elder Mays is one of my buddies, I`ve known him since he got in the mission in March. He got here to Tecamac with me.
We didn’t hear anything from him that day. We thought that he was on a bus heading for the border. We were dealing with that all day so we didn’t have much time to work in the area. Then Wednesday we went to a council meeting with President Bulloch. President pulled us aside to tell us the Elder Mays called his family the night before to tell them that all was well and that he was in the state of Guerrero. In south Mexico. He said was going to try and get in contact with President Bulloch. So during the council meeting President left to take a call and it was Elder Mays. He told President that he wanted to know when he could get his passport, and President asked him where he was exactly. He said that he was in Acapulco, a beach. Nice. President told him to come back here and they would talk.
That night Elder Mays came back and the next day he and President talked in the mission office. President asked us to gather the rest of Elder Mays things from the house and to bring them to the mission offices with his companion, Elder Haro.
All of Thursday we spent in the offices. Afterwards President was talking with me and told me that Elder Mays didn’t do anything bad, like break a commandment or nothing, which is what we thought. He did go to Acapulco. We thought that he took off with someone. But President said that he was just frustrated. He and his companion weren’t having much success. He was still in his first area with his first companion. There are also a ton of problems that are going on at his home. He was stressed out and so he decided at that moment that the best thing to do was to leave to clear his mind.
It wasn’t the best decision, but at least he`s still temple worthy. He did decide to return home to fix the things that were going on. He wants to come back in a couple of months.
I got to talk a bit with Elder Mays after he talked with President, seemed calm and a little embarrassed. The first thing I asked him was how was Acapulco, if it’s cool. He smiled and said “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing”. Haha. He`s a good friend and I hope that he comes back out while I`m still here in the mission. But the situation was just crazy. Then my companion got sick on Friday, so we haven’t had much time to do any work in our area.
But things are well, I`m learning a lot everyday from my companion. And he`s got me in the habit of writing in my journal everyday. Haha. That’s something that I struggle with, but I`ve written everyday for the last 15 days. Woot, go me!
I hope that all is well back home.
I`m sure it`ll be hard to see the twins go back Mom, but don’t worry you did your part with them. Tell CJ I said good luck and that I love him. But that’s about it here.
We have our Zone conference tomorrow and we have to finish prepping everything.
Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/03/2009

2009-08-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Well it sounds like your trip was awesome. I really want to go and visit the sites that you went and saw. I`m excited to get the pictures.

So this last week I got a new companion, his name is Elder Alpuche. He`s from Villa Hermosa Tabasco. He`s got 19 months in the mission. He`s one of the best teachers and hardest workers in the mission. He`s got that reputation. And he showed it this last week. We worked our butts off and brought 7 new people to church and baptized them. I`m excited to learn from him, I’ve been told that he`s hard to get along with, but Elder Fillerup was companions with him before and gave me some tips and told me how he is. So far everything is good, I think that we`ll get along fine and have a lot of success.

I was thinking the other day that I’ve really been blessed with the companions that I’ve had as a zone leader. I mean all the zone leaders are great missionaries. No doubt about that, but there are others that have more time and have experience. Let’s see, Elder Pickup was my first companion. When I was brought up in March, he was companions with Elder Puga who is an assistant right now, and Elder Pickup taught me the things that I need to know to be a successful zone leader. Then I had for 2 transfers, like 3 months, Elder Fillerup, who is now the new assistant. I learned just a ton from him, about leadership. I feel like the things that I lacked as a leader he helped me to dominate, and also is one of my best friends. Now I’m with Elder Alpuche, one of the hardest workers and probably the best teacher in all the mission. President Bulloch has hooked me up. Ha-ha. This time I`ve had here in Tecamac, I`ve learned a ton.

That’s about it for me. We went ice skating today. I think that we`re going to try and go every week. There is an instructor there that was teaching us some tricks. ha-ha. I really like ice skating, it’s really fun.

Thanks for your letters and support.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/27/2009

2009-07-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hey family,

This last week was a very good one for my companion and I. We found a lot of new people and many of them came to church, which was especially good. I’ll explain why in a minute. But the week went well and I’m looking forward to this week coming up to build off of the success that we had. We were able to baptize on Saturday a man named Miguel. He`s really cool and super excited about the church.

Ok, so on Sunday as Elder Fillerup and I got to church with a couple of investigators, we sat them down and I began to pull out my hymn book, when Elder Fillerup comes walking by super fast and says to me in passing that President Bulloch is seated on the other side of the chapel. We were both nervous because we didn’t know why the heck he was there. We were nervous that he came because something bad had happened or to get us in trouble. So we went up and shook his and his wife’s hand, and he smiled and asked us if after the meeting we could meet with him. The entire meeting we sat nervous and stressed, not knowing what the heck he was going to say to us.

At the end of the meeting the Bishop asked President Bulloch and his wife to come and share their testimonies. They did, and when President Bulloch got up, he said that the missionaries are like thier children, and how he loves the missionaries so much. Then he said two of their kids where there in the meeting, referring to Elder Fillerup and I, and then asked if we behave well and if not to let him know. Everyone laughed. But after he talked about Elder Fillerup and I for about 5 minutes. He said that we are two of the best missionaries that he has and just a bunch of compliments about us in front of everyone. It was so cool. It’s one of the best feelings I`ve had to see and hear that.

But anyways afterwards we talk to him about the transfers. That was the real reason that he came out to our sacrament meeting. After he told us about the changes. His eyes got all red and he looked at me and then he looked at my companion. He said, “Elder Fillerup the Lord has called you to be my assistant”. It was so cool. Everyone for the last 7 months, the last 5 transfers, has said that he was going to be called up to be assistant. And finally it happened. It was so cool.

President Bulloch afterwards turned to me and thanked me for a lot of things that I had taught Elder Fillerup and told me that he put elder Fillerup here for a reason. And then said how much he trusted me and just a bunch of really cool things. It was one of the best moments that I’ve ever had in my mission. I`ll never ever forget it. Elder Fillerup is awesome and will do great. So tomorrow I get my new comp. And I think that it’s going to be an American again. Haha, we`ll see.

In the next package can you send me a big ol’bag of laffy taffy again? And the candy bar laffy taffy too. Some blue slacks if you can, mine have like a purplish tint to them now.

Well thanks for all your letters and support.
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/20/2009

2009-07-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

Pictures from last week's visit to the Pyramids:

Hey,

This last week was good, we found a couple of new investigators. Four of them contacted us in the street. It was 4 girls. They listened to us, but didn’t want to come to church or continue progressing, but wanted us to still come over and see them. So there were other intentions involved. Ha-ha. But whatever.
Transfers are coming up in a week, and I think that I’ll be involved but I don’t know yet. This transfer is looking like it’s going to be a crazy one, just the changes that are going to go down. This week we need to search for a house. President is going to open a new area so he asked us to find the house that the new companionship can live in. So we are going to go find one tonight.
There isn’t much that went on this last week. How was CJ`s camp?? He’s still got some activates left this summer right??
I appreciate your comments Mom and Dad, I liked a lot of the quotes that you put in this last letter.
Sounds like Curtis is a different person, that’s awesome that the mission has changed him a lot. Hopefully he stays that way and keeps up that way.
It’s good to hear that the twins are well and healthy.
That’s about it here.

Till next week.
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/13/2009

2009-07-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Preparing to Burn the Shirt - A mark of one
year in the mission

Hey,
Another week has passed. Time is just flying by. We are already about a week and a half from knowing about transfers. I think that I’ll have transfers, but who knows. I only have 3 cycles here in Tecamac. My comp had 5 cycles in his last area, as a zone leader - that’s 30 weeks. Next Sunday I’m going to have 18 weeks here in Tecamac. Seems like I have more, but I think it’s just because a lot more has happened here. So it seems like time has just flown.
There are a couple Americans that have transfers almost guaranteed this cycle so I might be thrown on the mix just to mix more things up. Who knows? One of the Assistants to the President (AP) is going home next week, and everyone is saying that an American is going to be brought up. We all say that it is Elder Pickup, my last companion, but that means that an American district leader will be brought up. So there are going to be some crazy changes going down this coming up transfers meeting.
The week went well for us. A lot of work, as always. We just got back from the pyramids about 2 hours ago. We left this morning at about 7 am we got there at about 8. They are so amazing; I’m going to send you guys’ pictures if the computer lets me, it is kind of acting up. But they are just so cool.
Thank you for putting in money, because I was able to get a camera before we went on this trip to the pyramids.
Sounds like the babies aren’t too much work yet, besides the whole getting up every three hours.
I`m glad to hear that CJ blessed again this last week and that he`s getting his head on straight. Also I a glad that Dad’s foot is feeling better, besides the one day where it felt like it was asleep the whole time.
So I’ve been kind of frustrated lately because I’ve been trying to put on weight but I’m just at the same problem where I just can’t, I eat more than my companion. But they are the ones that get fatter. Uh. Blasphemy.
It’s good to hear that Marcus is doing well, try and give him my email address and tell him to send me a letter or get me his so that I can write him. I’d like to keep in touch with him.
The weather here has just been off the chains. It’s hot for part of the day and then rains the rest of the day and is freezing at night and in the morning. Just ridiculous.
The work continues to progress, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen so many miracles in my life. I`ve grown a huge testimony on the reality of miracles. The Lord truly works according to our faith and works. The work is true.
Mom I’ll let you know next week what I need in the next package.

Thanks,
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/06/2009

2009-07-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hey,

On Thursday I got your package, everything was in it I hope. Elder Fillerup and I and our whole zone couldn’t figure out CJ’s message, so I don’t know if everything was in it. I`m going to guess that I got everything. Thank you so much, I’ve just been eating all these elf fudge cookies the last couple days. And not sharing....hahaha.

The week went well work wise, we found some new people, but they didn't come to church. So we were bummed out about that. We had a family that we found, we talked to them on Saturday and they said that all was well and were excited to go to church. But since yesterday morning, we haven’t been able to find them. We call and text them, and they just like disappeared. We`ll see how that goes.

Sounds like CJ`s EFY experience was a great one, I’m really happy that he was able to find the answers he was looking for.

We had zone conference this last week and President gave the same talk that he gave in the leadership meeting, and asked all the missionaries to sign the Title of Liberty that he made. It’s pretty cool now, because it’s got like almost 220 signatures of all the leaders and the missionaries. The talk was a powerful one. I feel like every time President gives a talk or sends an email it’s more and more powerful every time.

Mom, I haven’t heard anything about Wade. Remember they moved away and I didn’t get his email or phone number, so I got no idea.

Elder Fillerup and I celebrated our Fourth of July eating some of the best hamburgers that are made. This guy has these salsas that he puts on, that it’s just so dang tasty. I love them burgers.
That’s kind of ironic about getting twins again. But cool Curtis Wallen came home this last week right??? From July till I get home, there is one of my buddies that comes home every month. Crazy huh???

Dad, happy early birthday.Hhope that the big four five goes well for you and that you enjoy your day.

We`re about 3 weeks from ending this transfer. The time has just flown....I think that I say that just about every time I write...but it’s because its true.

I got a bunch of pictures that I want to send home but I didn’t bring my USB, so you`re going to have to wait, one of those is the video of burning my shirt.

I`m real excited for this week, we should go to Teotihuacan this week coming, next Monday. We just have to get permission.

Well that’s about it for this week. Thank you all for your love and support while I’ve been out here. Oh and one more thing. Dang! everyone is just getting bigger and older. I`ve been looking through the pictures like crazy and everyone is like different. The pictures that I had of Brady was when he was born back in September. And Alenna too. They are so big now. I’ve seen the pictures that you sent me of them every now and then, but I’ve now had time to examine them, and wow, Brady’s going to be a stud. And CJ looks bigger, and better with his hair cut short. The most recent picture I had of him was when we went to San Diego before I left.

So it’s was good to see you all. Thanks so much.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 6/29/2009

2009-06-29T18:33:00.001-07:00

Hey,

It’s extremely weird to think that this time in a year I’m going to be home. I can’t believe that a year has gone by so quick.

Thursday was a fun day. We had a conference with all the leaders of the mission. All the zone leaders and the district leaders. The assistants and President Bulloch talked to us and President Bulloch just gave a powerful talk. He related the talk to Moroni and the Standard of Liberty. Then one of the assistants brought in the mission’s Standard of Liberty and all the leaders took turns signing it. It was really powerful. Then Elder Cabrera of the 70 talked to us. He’s is also a really good speaker, and he talked about repentance, humility, and about changing our thoughts to ones of success and being positive. Afterwards we ate tortas, which is like a giant sandwich with like 8 different types of meat. After that we all took a picture with the Standard of Liberty, which I’m sending to you guys.

Afterwards all of us that completed a year in the mission brought our shirts that we were going to burn and took a giant picture together. There were about 8 of us that were there. Then later that night I burned my shirt with my companion.

The week went by really quick. We didn’t have much time in the area to work, so we didn’t really find that many new people. But this week should be better. Well have more time.

Yeah we heard about the death of Michael Jackson. Only him, the other dudes no. But that’s insane how many died this last week. And also about Shaq being traded.

That’s about it for me. In a about an hour we are going to go baptize so we have to go prepare the font and all. Thanks for your letters and all.

Dad, I forgot last week to say Happy Father’s day. So ......Happy Father’s day. Sounds like it went well. Oh and another thing, I had to take out money this last week to marry some people, so I have nothing. Please put some money in my account again.

Also my camera is acting weird, like there are times when I can take pictures and times when I can’t, like it won’t let me. It seems like those times are the times that something cool has happened. I’ve bought new batteries. But it still is acting up- so I think that it’s the camera. I’m thinking I need a new one.

Thanks, love ya

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 06/22/2009

2009-06-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

hey there,

This last week was pretty uneventful. We went to the transfers meeting to pick up the pouch, but the secretaries didn’t bring mail or packages so I have no idea if there is a package there from you guys.

We had a baptism yesterday, of a lady that we contacted in the street a couple of weeks back. She had been looking for us. She went to church in California, but never got baptized. She went for like 6 months there but came back and we contacted her in the street. It was an awesome service. The last two weeks I’ve played the piano in sacrament meeting. Yesterday kind of sucked, because the last hymn I didn’t really know, so after I was done I felt like that it would’ve been better if I didn’t play. But oh well.

Things are going well here, my companion and I keep working and trying to improve this zone. We took advantage of this last week with some of the transfers, and talked to the entire zone. We talked about a couple of sayings that the mission has. We broke up each topic with scripture references and also with different quotes from different General Authorities. Then put some goals as a zone for this cycle. Everyone was excited, and it worked real well this last week. I was glad that we taught those topics instead of doing what normal missionaries do-get up and just chew everyone out. We felt that this would help the zone a lot more. So we’ll see how it goes.

We also have decided to try and build our relationships with the district leaders by doing activities with them. Today we ate tacos in the morning and ice skated and bowled. It was a lot of fun.

This week is going to be real busy and we won’t have much time in the area, because we will be traveling to President’s house. We stay there for a day and then spend another day in Aragon, for a council meeting with all the district leaders. We are going to be busy. So we are going to have to make the best of the time that we have to work, and the Lord will help. I know it.

Thanks for your letters and your support.

Thursday is the big day - 1 year in the mission. Wow!

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 06/15/2009

2009-06-15T16:47:00.001-07:00

Hey there,

This last week we continued to work and we saw some miracles. We truly were blessed. We had a baptism and the lady is just so awesome. She did it despite the resistance that her family had been giving her and now we are trying to work with her family to see if we can get them all to follow the mom.

Another cycle has ended. Elder Filerup and I are going to be together for another cycle. Which we are both happy about. We are excited for this cycle because we feel like we have just to change few things here in the zone and its going to explode. There are some changes in the zone that could really help us, but we`ll see how it shapes out tomorrow.

I`ll also see if I get your package tomorrow. It sounds like things are still going well. I am bummed out that we don’t know yet about Lynette’s baby, what it’s going to be.

We went to the center of Mexico today, and entered into a giant cathedral that was built back in the 1500`s. They still hold services in it today. It’s huge. It was cool to walk around in and see all the fanciness. It’s a little scary at times, because they have a bunch of images of Christ bleeding and things like that. I don’t like to see my Savior like that. But I guess that’s how they remember Him. It’s something I`d like to show all you guys when we all come. It’s right next to the people that are all dressed up in the Aztec stuff that do all the rituals and all. It’s pretty awesome. Oh, I need you to put some money in my account because I ain’t got nada.

Things are great here. I`m wondering when I`m going to shoot up in weight. I feel like I eat like crazy, but nothing happens. I`m sending a picture of a place where we ate today. It’s called tacos al pastor. The big thing of meat in the background is like on a wheel and they spin it and cut meat off of it. Usually it’s not this big, but that’s why I took a picture of it. It’s huge.

Dad, that class that you took sounds interesting and very true. (John recently took a one day Sports Psychology class at BYU) There is a ton that we can apply from that class here in our lives. I`m glad that you are going this different approach to help CJ to improve his game.

Well I have to take off. I love you all and look forward to hearing from you next week. 10 days and I complete a year. Dang! time flies.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 06/8/2009

2009-06-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

HEY

SO THIS LAST WEEK WENT ALRIGHT WE HAD A BAPTISM, and WE FOUND SOME REALLY COOL PEOPLE BUT BY THE TIME THE WEEK ENDED. WE ONLY TOOK TWO OF THEM TO CHURCH. BUT THINGS ARE WELL, THIS LAST CYCLE HAS JUST SEEMED A LOT MORE DIFFICULT THAN ANY OTHER ONE THAT I`VE HAD. SAME WITH MY COMP. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT THAT ITS BEEN. BUT YOU HAVE GOOD CYCLES AND YOU HAVE SOME THAT YOU STRUGGLE THROUGH. WE ARE JUST GONNA KEEP WORKIN THROUGH IT.

I FEEL LIKE JUST ABOUT ALL THE MISSIONARIES IN THE ZONE ARE GETTING ON BOARD. THEY ARE EXCITED, WE COULD TELL AFTER WE RECIEVED THE REPORTS LAST NIGHT. THERE ARE 3 DISTRICTS HERE IN TECAMAC. BUT THERE IS STILL ONE DISTRICT THAT JUST ISN’T DOING MUCH. THE DISTRICT LEADER IS STRUGGLING. WE`VE GONE ON DIVISIONS WITH HIM ALOT AND TRIED TO SEE WHERE WE COULD HELP HIM, BUT IT JUST COMES DOWN TO DOING THE WORK. THERE ARE GOING TO BE ALOT OF CHANGES COMING IN THE NEXT WEEK. WE FIND OUT ABOUT TRANSFERS THIS WEEK, ON SUNDAY. SO I THINK THAT DISTRICT WILL BE COMPETELY RESTRUCTURED. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS GET THE NEW MISSIONARIES ON BOARD AND WE`LL START TO EXPLODE. THE DISTRICT THAT WE ARE IN CHARGE OF AND THE OTHER ONE ARE STARTING TO EXPLODE. EVEN THE SISTER MISSIONARIES ARE JUST GOING CRAZY HERE, JUST DOMINATING. BRINGING A TON OF PEOPLE TO CHURCH.

WE DON’T THINK THAT ELDER FILLERUP OR I WILL BE AFFECTED BY CHANGES, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW. WE`LL SEE NEXT WEEK. LIKE I`VE SAID BEFORE, IF WE DO OUR PART AS LEADERS, I EXPECT TO BE HERE UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF SEPT. BUT WE`LL SEE.

THE CPS SYSTEM HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I`VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT ALOT ON MY MISSION. LIKE YOU GUYS HAVE SAID SOMETHING HAS GOT TO CHANGE. BUT HOW, AND WHAT AND AT WHICH POINT? WE`LL SEE, BUT I THINK THAT’S’ WHERE I`D LIKE TO GO AND WORK. BUT THATS A WHILE A WAY. I THINK THAT THERE IS A REASON THAT I THINK ABOUT THE SYSTEM, AND WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE. BUT THERE IS STILL A LONG TIME BEFORE I CAN CONCENTRATE ON THAT.

THE WORK KEEPS MOVING HERE, WE HAD A DISTRICT ACTVITY TODAY. WE WENT ICE SKATING AND BOWLING. I HAVEN’T BEEN ICE SKATIN IN A LONG TIME......BUT I LOVE IT. THE RINK IS HERE IN OUR AREA AND WE WANT TO ASK PERMISSION FROM PRESIDENT TO GO EVERY WEEK. JUST MY COMPANION AND I. BUT WE`LL SEE.

GOTTA RUN.

LOVE YOU ALL,

ELDER HOWARD

Dusty's Email -- 6/1/2009

2009-06-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hey family,

Thank you for your letters and your support.

This last week was a lot better. We found a lot of people that came to church with us and are excited about their baptism date. We found this one lady that has three kids and lives alone. Her husband is not a good man. Even though he cheated on her, she`s still like in love with him and just freaks out over anything, like he purposely hangs up on her and it gets her balling and in convulsion on the ground. Its kind of sad. So we`re helping her through this. But she`s has to just get past this dude. He knows that he`s controlling her, and can manipulate her. Now that we are helping her, he feels threatened and just like shows up randomly when we are there. He showed up to church randomly, but I sent him away. That’s our biggest worry now, is her. After church we went to eat and we received a call from her, crying and couldn’t even finish her sentences, she said, “I`m bad.....my husband....I`m bad.....help...”. So we got there as quick as we could and everything was alright. Just a fight that threw her into this depressed state. It’s sad because her kids see her like that and I wonder what they think. What does a 7 year old think when he sees his mom balling on the floor?? But we are going to do our best to help her out.

This lady also has a friend named Melissa that lives there. Her boyfriend and his friends went to the United States and were treated really bad, so now they have a bad take on Americans and are just really mean and vulgar when they see us. I guess where there’s the most opposition is where there can be the best success. This lady Melissa has this 7 year old girl that is so adorable. I want to adopt her. It’s so sad because her mom doesn’t really take care of her. She drinks and smokes and does things with her boyfriend in front of the girl. It’s really sad and the girl knows everything, you can tell by the comments that she makes. So if I come back with a little girl in a year, it’ll be her.

It’s so crazy to think that I`m almost at my year mark. This time a year ago I was getting things all packed up, finishing working and stuff like that. In one more year I`ll be packing all my stuff up to go home. Crazy how fast time is flying.

Elder Fillerup and I are good, we just keep moving along and we are enjoying some success, we`re trying to help the zone though. We are kind of struggling to give them the fire that other missionaries have, I mean who comes on a mission to just chill and not do anything. . . . well you`d be surprised.

Dad please tell Pop that I`ve gotten her letters but it’s been difficult for me to respond. But I am getting them and that I should be sending her a letter here soon.

Sounds like you guys have your hands full with these two new dudes. Good luck with them. It sounds like a tough situation. I have to tell you that when you told me what the Dad did I was so mad for like an hour. ugh...why are people stupid? and can procreate??? There is a couple in our ward that are so so so so awesome and can’t get pregnant. They have been praying and fasting for years and she just can’t get pregnant. It’s sad. I don’t understand stuff like that, why that happens, but it’s part of life I guess.

It was good to see a picture of the girls....but sad too. Don’t really want to talk about it.

Things are going well here, we are starting a new month and we are ready to go to work. I`m glad to hear that the Magic are in it. I pick the Magic in 6.

The pictures that I attached are of My companion and I with President Bulloch. The other is all the Zone Leaders and the Assistants at the Counsel Meeting with President Bulloch. The third (mom will like this one...mike too) is off Elder Peterson elder Tanner and I making our frowny faces. I know mine isn’t as good, but I`m practicing. This was also at the zone leader council meeting.

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 05/25/09

2009-05-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

The above picture was forwarded by one of the Missionary Mom’s who son is in Dusty’s mission. These pictures are popular and depict a missionary’s ‘family’. So the Elder in the back row on the left side is Elder Rasmussen. He was trained by the Elder to his right, Elder Sander who trained Elder Mora to his right. Elder Mora trained Dusty (bottom row) who trained the Elder to his right (don’t recall the name). That Elder is training the last Elder who just arrived in the Mission from California.

**************************************************************

Hey

It sounds like there is a lot going on over there, with the whole office reconstruction thing. But I bet that if you guys do most of it, it`ll turn out fine and you won’t have to pay someone to do it.

I hadn’t heard about the whole prisoners walking out of jail thing (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8054021.stm), but the earthquake, yeah. A lot of missionaries felt it, but we didn’t here in Tecamac. Well, some say yes and others no. We didn’t feel it, but missionaries in other parts say that they did. But everything is well here, no reason to worry.

Yes my companion’s name is Elder Fillerup. I know it sounds like Pickup, but they are different elders. This last week for us was a bit difficult, it has been raining a ton and we just had the hardest time finding people. We were knocking and contacting in the rain and nobody let us in the whole week. It was a bit tough, but we are excited with the week that is coming and are ready to put the last week behind us and see it as a trial. I really think this last week was the one of the most difficult weeks that I`ve had, between working our butts off and not finding anyone to teach.

We had to postpone the baptism of a couple so they could get married. Once they got married the wife got some nervous and tried to get out of the baptism. We weren’t sure that she was going to get baptized until she was in the water. We were really stressing out about it. The husband was fine, but the wife concerned us. She had some more questions that we talked with her about, and then she got excited again. She did it and is happy that she did. I’ll send the picture another time. But the guy has hair almost down to his waist, he has such long hair! But before his confirmation on Sunday he cut it off, and I didn’t even recognize him when he showed up. He`s going be such an awesome convert and he is so excited to get the priesthood, which we hope will be this week.

It was just a stressful week that really tried our patience and desires as missionaries. But we got through it, we have a family of three that should get baptized this week. They are really awesome. From the moment that we found them, they`ve fed us and given food to take to the house, even though it’s been like sardines and tuna, still it’s the thought that counts. hahahaha. But the work is progressing here in Mexico.

Dad, I really enjoyed the talk that President Utchdorf (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-20,00.html) also. It’s one of my favorites. The story of Nehamiah is just so awesome! I am doing a great work and cannot come down! We haven’t got the conference edition of the Ensign yet, so I`m still waiting to read it, as with the other talks.

I don’t know if y’all remember but we are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission, searching for certain things and marking them. I`ve learned so much from words even though I`ve read them before. It’s amazing.

This last week we had our zone conference, and we took the picture of the mission. It was so good to see some of the Elders that I haven’t seen since the MTC. I should be getting the picture soon.

Well, I have to run but I hope that all is well and that everyone is doing fine.

Stay humble and remember the Lord in everything.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 5/18/2009

2009-05-21T21:14:00.001-07:00

Hey

This last week was, very busy for me and my companion. Last Monday we went with a lot of people so that Elder Pickup could say goodbye to them. Then on Tuesday we rolled out to Aragon, where the Temple is for the transfers meeting. We got there right before it started, so I didn’t have much time to say hi to everyone that I knew there. But everyone was saying, “oh, you`ve already forgotten Spanish”, hahahaha, being with an American. Then I said just watch its going to happen again, President is going give me another American companion. Everyone just smiled and said “give up the dream”.

Then, during the meeting, President called my name and then......yeah, another American. His name is Elder Fillerup, and he`s from California, and has been out for about 15 months. He`s about 6 weeks ahead of Elder Pickup. He`s rad. We get along well, and he`s a real hard worker. We work a lot the same. So I`m real excited, because I think that we`ll be together at least for 2 transfers. So at least until July, but we`ll see. So that’s the big news.

Well even bigger news is that we had a baptism this last week, it was really cool. It was a kid that we`ve been working with, he`s real awesome. The Lord has surely blessed me here in Tecamac. I feel like every week we find people that are just sitting at the door waiting for us to knock. We found 3 families of 3 this last week, they are just awesome. Two of the families came to church and the other should come this week with the others. But they are just so awesome.

I`ve been here for 8 weeks already and the Lord has just shown the miracles that can happen if we work with our hearts centered in Him and in the love of the people, with a desire for their salvation. He`s blessed us with 12 baptisms in the time that I`ve been here.

So this last week I’ve studied a lot on Moroni 7. I love the chapter and would recommend it. Read it once, and mark all the verses that talk about hope. Then read it again and mark the ones that talk about faith and then again and mark charity. These three attributes of Christ are some of the most important ones that we need to develop here in this life. President Utchdorf talked of these three in his talk on pure power in the October session of conference, entitled “The Infinite Power of Hope”. That’s one of my favorite talks that I`ve read a lot and learn something new every time.

I hope that this week goes well for you guys, it’s starting to hit the rainy season here, and every day for like an hour or 2 it just pours. I love it. Thanks for your letters and your support.

Shall we not go on in so great a cause?

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 05/11/2009

2009-05-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great call with Elder Howard on Mother’s Day. He is doing really well! He is still in Tecamac serving as a Zone Leader. The Mexican government has lifted the bans they put in place to control the spread of the Swine Flu so they can finally go out and meet people, go to church, and see the other missionaries in their zone.

Dusty impressed us all with the things that he has tried to eat since being in Mexico. Not only has he made peace with onions, he also confused that he has tried fried crickets! He said that he’s only there for two years and that he needed to atleast try it. I asked him if it tasted like chicken. He said “no, it tasted like a cricket”. He then talked about some of things that he has since in the markets for sale. It really made all very thankful to be here.

One of Dusty’s friends, Mike, was able to be part of the call. I know that meant a lot to Dusty to be able to talk with Mike. Mike, who has family in Mexico, was surprised by the things that Dusty has tried. It was fun to hear them talk about the culture there.

Anyways, Elder Howard is doing great. Both he and his companion came through the flu “pandemic” without any illness (with the exception of a slight touch of food poisoning).

Thank you all for your love and support of Dusty. It is a great pleasure to us to hear how he is growing as he learns to the love and serve the good people of Mexico. These really are experiences that will shape his life.

John

Hey

It was really good to hear from you guys yesterday.

Sounds like things are going well, and I’m glad to hear about some of your experiences and to share some of mine.

Well, as you all thought, and us too. Elder Pickup does have transfers. which is a bummer, but he has served his time here in Tecamac, and it time to go to another area. Many people are saying in that I’m going to get another American companion, but we´ll see if that happens. It would be nice, but I don’t expect it. President Bulloch rarely does it, but there are 4 zone leaders with changes and 3 of the 4 are Americans. The other one is from Argentina and has already been in this zone, so I will let you know next week.

Not much more to say. You asked about what to send in the next package. More pictures, some more church socks, like blue and brown. Can you put a little more money in my account? We might go to the pyramids here soon, and there are some souvenirs I´d like to get ya´all. But back to the package - Laffy Taffy, Riesen, not sure what else. I’m going to get a new backpack from the mission, so everything is good there.

That’s about it for me, we need to finish getting some stuff packed up for Elder Pickup and say bye to some of the people he taught. So I´ll go now.

But again Mom, Happy Mother’s day. Dad, I hope that your training goes well and that you get back safely. Cj, just do your thing and I hope that Alenna learns more words besides no!!!!

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 4/27/2009

2009-04-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Hey,

We aren’t looking to forward to this next week. We can’t contact or knock doors. Just work with the investigators that we already have and we can get references but that’s about it. So we started yesterday, because there was no church. We visited a couple of investigators. But before that, Elder Pickup and I had a little adventure.

So as we were studying in the morning, we heard a crash out back. We have a little patio behind the house where the boiler is, so anyway, we look back there and a big old bird had crash landed. We realized that he had broken his leg, and was trying to fly, but couldn’t. So we were wondering what to do about the bird, because we couldn’t just leave it on our patio. I taped Elder Pickup in my sombrero acting as the Crocodile hunter with the accent and everything. He was trying to see if it was alive by touching it with an umbrella. But he’s afraid of birds like up close, so when the bird moved he screamed and jumped.

We finally decided the way to remove it was to put it a box and bring him to the park. Elder Pickup had the box, and I had the broom and my camera. We scooped him up and brought him to the park. Elder Pickup put him in a tree and he fell out. We checked later on him and he wasn’t there. We aren’t sure what happened to him. Other than that the day was pretty boring. We made sure not to touch the bird, so all is well.

The sickness, as far as I know, has not affected the missionaries, only our work. We are all taking the precautions necessary, so we should be alright.

I haven’t had much time to find an oven to cook the brownies, but I think that tomorrow were are going do it at the house of a convert. My birthday went well. Last Tuesday we went to the house of this big family to teach them and they threw me a little party. Cake and presents. It was great. Then on Wednesday, my comp and I went to Burger King and celebrated. It was good. I can’t believe that its already been almost a week. This past Saturday I completed 10 freakin months in the mission. ugh...the time is going by to quick.

On Saturday we had a baptism, which was really special. It was a dad of a family that was all baptized except for him. My companion had been teaching him for 3 months and he finally got baptized this last week. How special it was to be a part of that.

As I said, yesterday all the church services were canceled. Actually school is canceled this whole week. The church leaders don’t want to leave their houses, so it’s kind of slowing the work down, baptism wise. But our Bishop has been good about it. We have two more baptisms for this week.

I’m going to ask President this week about Mother’s Day, and let you know the number and everything next week. I don’t think that it should be a problem for you guys to call earlier in the day.

Things are well. Thanks for all the letters about my birthday and I look forward to talking to you on Mother’s day.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 04/20/2009

2009-04-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

I can’t believe that I’m already 20 years old. That’s crazy. I hope that things go well for you this week in New Jersey.

I’ll have to check with President to see if I can call in the morning (on Mother’s Day), I think that it should be fine, but I need to check, especially since it’s a Sunday. We have to pick up investigators and all, but we usually don’t start that until 11 or so. I’m pretty sure well have time.

This last week was really great. We baptized a lady that we’ve been teaching for awhile. Her husband is a member, and she finally, after 20 years, got baptized on Saturday. It was so special. It’s such a beautiful baptism because all her family was there to see her do it, and in one year they can enter the temple together.

Yes, I did get my packages about 2 weeks ago, and thanks for all of the stuff. Elder Pickup and I are really enjoying the snacks.

And yes, Mom, Elder Pickup and I have been blessed with a lot of success this transfer here in Tecamac. I don’t know if I told y’all but we found a family of about 7 people that we are going baptize in May. How wonderful. They’ve had so many problems and now have found the Gospel and they are going to see a lot of blessings from it.

Oh and if you can remember Kevin in your prayers please, I found out today that his Dad suddenly died the other day, and he’s having a tough time. So please remember him.

Mom, we haven’t really had time to do the Easter egg hunt. I thought that we would but we just haven’t. Actually Elder Pickup completed a year in the mission at the beginning of April and we still haven’t burned his shirt to celebrate it. So yeah we’ve been really busy. But other than that, we got a good week coming for us, and we are really excited. Thanks for remebering my Birthday, and I hope that it goes well on Wednesday.

Love

Elder Howard

ps: I look so sexy in my new blue suit.:)

Dusty's Email -- 4/13/09

2009-04-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hey,

This last week was quite a good one. We had our zone conference on Wednesday, and it was great to hear from President Bulloch and the assistants. we got to do a part. We taught about how to teach the second lesson which went really well we thought. President Bulloch spoke on the Book of Mormon, because I think that I told you guys, but as a mission we have started an intense study of the Book of Mormon. I think what’s so amazing about President Bulloch is that he can talk about something that all of us have heard before, but put it in a way that you`ve never heard and help you to realize new things. How amazing it was. I’ll have to share with you guys some of his talks when I get back.

The week was pretty bad for the zone, we fell way short of the goal that we had, and this week doesn’t look much better. Elder Pickup and I are trying to find a way to motivate the districts, because there are just a lot of Elders that don’t have the urgency that they should have. which is where we have to help them understand, but in a way that excites them.

I`m glad to hear that Josh is ok and nothing went bad in the earthquake there in Rome. Curtis comes home the 5 of July. So yeah, he’ll be home soon.

The person that called mom, yeah who knows. That doesn’t ring any bells, maybe it was just someone that was messing around. Who knows. From the info you gave me I have no idea who it was.

The Easter here lasts from Thursday till Sunday. It’s called the Holy Week. The people just do a bunch stuff, like walk in the street with a statue of Christ and sing. So it is a bit different, but there were also a lot of drunks, but nothing bad happened. All the stores close down, everywhere. We wanted to get two people married this week so they could get baptized, and the only opportunity that we had was Wednesday, which we spent most of the day with President Bulloch in the church.

So the ex-Elder that’s been robbing the houses. He started doing it while he was here in the mission - he was a zone leader in some parts of the mission so he knows where all the Elders live. So when the last mission President, President Littlefield, caught him, he put him in prison and he was excommunicated. He actually said a lot of things to President Littlefield about how he was going to do stuff to his family. President Littlefield had to have protection 24/7. But now this ex-Elder is out of prison and robbing the houses again. He is dangerous, so hopefully no Elder will try and fight him if they walk in on him.

It sounds like you have quite a responsibility on your hands with the new kids. It will be a bit tough seeing as they are deaf. I hope that you guys can help them and that everything goes good.

I got your packages this last week. Both of them. Thank you so much for all the stuff. We need to find an oven to be able to cook the brownies, but we are real excited to eat them. At night my companion and I lay on our beds and read each other the jokes on the wrappers of the Laffy Taffy, and laugh together about how lame they are. We are going do the Easter egg hunt, I promise that we`ll do it.

This last week we talked to a number of people. One of the ladies gave us her information, and we went to her house to share the message, and only her and her son were there. They talked a lot and we didn’t really get a chance to share the message, so we left a Book of Mormon, described what it is and left a part for them to read. We returned two days later and the Mom said that she hasn’t had a chance to read because her son has been reading the book ever since we left and knows that its true and just can’t put it down.

So that excited us, but also in this visit, almost the rest of her family was there, so we described our message, and walked out of the house with 6 new investigators that all came to church on Sunday. In all, the family has about 8 members. The other two had to work on Sunday but are coming this week with us. They have a lot of problems that they want us to help them with, they really want to know how to forgive, and the thought has come to my mind a couple of times to share what’s happened with us and the girls with them and how we had to learn to forgive, so we`ll see if I get the opportunity to.

Things are well here. Today we got permission to go to the central of Mexico City, because we wanted to buy some things. I needed to get a new suit and they have them pretty cheap there. This guy in our ward says that he knows a guy with a place. So we went there today, and let me just tell you, this guy has the hookups - I bought 2 suits...nice suits for 800 pesos. Which is about 75 bucks. So now I have a blue, a black and brown one. My black suit, the coat didn’t match the pants. The pants were lighter than the coat, so it looked a bit funny. Remember I bought some pants awhile back, because my suit pants got too small. The new black pants didn’t match the suit coat, it was close, but now, after months of work and weeks of wash, they are real different. haha. The suits are slick, I’ll send pictures.

That’s about it from here. Elder Pickup and I are just trying to get our zone more excited to be here working.

Love you and thanks for the packages again oh and the tape too:)

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 04/06/09

2009-04-06T21:09:00.001-07:00

Hey,

That would have been cool to be a Zone Leader with Elder Tanner, but maybe in the future. This dumb computer erased my other email that took me forever to write. So I’m not happy and don’t have any time.

This last week has been busy. We spent two days in President Bulloch’s house for a Zone Leader council meeting. Then Thursday and Friday, my companion was sick and in the house. Saturday and Sunday we had three baptisms and General Conference. Yes I did get to see all 5 sessions, and 4 in English. I felt like a theme was temple attendance and the blessings from it. I’m excited to get the Liahona next month to study it.

I have a challenge for you all. To take the counsel from Elder Perry, find someone for the missionaries to teach. Because that’s our job, and the members job is to find. Joseph Smith said that of all the responsibilities in the church, preaching the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important.

Dad, I do carry an id but it’s of the mission, it’s like if I have problems with the police, I’m suppose to show them it. But it doesn’t hold any personal info.

There is an ex-elder who is robbing the houses of the missionaries. He’s robbed about 9 houses, in one zone, because he was a Zone Leader there when he was here in the mission. Please pray that the police can find him so that we don’t have such a big worry here in the mission. Many elders are starting to carry their cameras with them, because it’s almost more safe. This guy dresses up as an Elder, with his badge and all, and asks the people to let him into the complex and then breaks in the house. So it’s kind of a problem right now.

I really love the area here in Tecamac, there are a lot of people. This week we have 2 baptisms, and these 2 will complete a family, meaning that the whole family has been baptized and will start preparing to enter the Temple.

Mom, yes I have read the book several times and really enjoy it.

Thanks for the update about the final four. Go Michigan State!

I did get Kenny’s email - thanks for forwarding that to me.

I have to go. Sorry if these messages are short, I spend 20 minutes writing then the computer acts up.

Thanks for your support and letters and the packages.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 03/30/09

2009-03-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-29T16:49:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

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

Dusty's Email -- 2/23/09

2009-02-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hey,

I`m glad to hear that you guys got my pictures, I’ve been worried that they wouldn’t get to you. The one sign I’m making is the ASU sign, it’s a pitchfork and the other one is from Neza. There`s a giant coyote there and that’s the sign that we had in the zone to represent the coyote. In one of the pictures with our ties, Elder Tanner is doing it. Did you get the ones I sent last week? The one with the four missionaries, the one on the far right is my first companion Elder Mora. The next one I`m with in some of those pictures at the Prisms, the short skinny Mexican, that’s Elder Panoaya, my third. The baptism one is my new companion, the bigger one.

I`m glad to hear that Mike got to see the pictures, he sent me an email thanking me for the pictures that I didn’t send. haha. Please remember if you can to bring one or both of the discs to Kevin so he can see them too.

My new companion is doing well. He is just adjusting to the work. He baptized for the first time yesterday and it took him about 5 times till he got her completely under the water. haha. But all is well. He`s enjoying the work and is beginning to grow more and more.

The last couple days it’s been really cold, and rainy, but it’s nice., Oh and the other day I skated for the first time in years. oh man I enjoyed that. I’m going to buy skates when I get home. haha.

I know some companions take advantage of new missionaries that you brought up Mom, but thankfully I’ve never had companion that has thought that or at least acted like that. Especially when I was new, that’s a lot of times when the problem occurs, because you have no idea what’s going on. But my trainer Elder Mora was excellent. I try not to withdrawal money much, but the church, because of the economy situation is going to cut everyone’s allowance by ten percent. I’m not real happy because we barely make it through the month with the money that they give us now, and starting in March we`re going to get less.

But things are well, and we are starting to have a lot of success and the Lord is blessing us. President Bulloch is getting really serious, he`s starting to send missionaries home like crazy. Between January and February he sent 8 or 9 home. He`s not putting up with anything. But its good, he`s sending a strong message to everyone -- work or go home. He`s even sent sisters home, and that’s the first time I’ve heard of that.

We press on, and I hope all stays well. I’m excited to hear how CJ`s year goes for volleyball. I’m sad that I can’t see his games. But tell him I say good luck. Next week I’m going to write him a letter. Please tell me when his first game is.

That’s about it from here.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 2/18/09

2009-02-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

This last week was a real good one. We went to Aragon for transfers and I got my new companion. His name is Elder Pastrana, and he is from Vera Cruz. His first week has been real good. He is a hard worker and is excited to be here in Pachuca. I’m going to attach two pictures, one is of a baptism that we had yesterday, and the other is our generation chart here in the mission. That picture is going to have 4 elders. The far left is Elder Mora, my ‘papa’, then Elder Sander, papa of elder Mora, then my kid elder Pastrana and then me. It’s a cool picture. We have 4 generations of missionaries. woot.

We had 3 baptisms yesterday and we have another one for this week. So we are pretty excited. There were a lot of changes in the mission. It’s a bit different, but I’m still a district leader just now I’m also a trainer. Things are going well. I played the piano yesterday in sacrament meeting, and that went well also.

Mom, I only go to the temple twice every year, every 6 months. I’m 3 hours away from the temple right now. Have my pictures gotten there yet? I sent them about 2 weeks ago. I hope that you’ll get them here soon because there were a lot. I have more now. Tell CJ that I apologize for you - for forgetting him on Valentine’s Day. That’s harsh mom, that’s like....well I don’t know a good comparison but you ‘dissed’ him.

Dad I got your photos and your letter. Sounds pretty cool, I never got much into Nascar because it’s hard to watch cars go in a circle for 200 some laps....ha= ha. But it did always interest me how fast the cars went and all. So it sounds really interesting all the stuff that you found out. Sounds like it was a blast.(To read about John’s visit to the Daytona 500 please see the article on this blog)

That’s about it from here, tell Grandma and Grandpa I got their letters but they attached a document to the letter and I guess the document was the letter. The computer, for some reason, didn’t let me open it, so I don’t know what it said.

I hope that things are well back home. Tell Ryan happy b-day for me. I miss you guys, but I’m not looking forward to coming home....with love;)

Elder Sexy (my nickname)

The Daytona 500 Experience

2009-02-16T06:05:00.001-08:00

I've had some opportunities go and see some very unique places with my job. From the underground face of coal mine 8 miles from the surface to sporting venues and events. Some have been creepy, like the picture to the left of the mine. Others caused me to worry just abit about my health, such as labs and containment rooms at medical and pharmecuetal buildings.

But for an event that screams raw power, there has been nothing like the Daytona 500. I'm not a racing fan, but after this week I have gained a much greater respect for the shear magnitude of this sport and the people who participate in it.

The first thing I was amazed by was the amount of regulation that NASCAR provides in these events. I always was under the false impression that part of the thrill of the race was the fact that the teams had a wide open slate in tuning and tweaking thier cars. Not so! There are rules that not only dictate weight of the cars, but even the length and body style. NASCAR has gotten to the point of even issueing the rear spoilers to the teams before the race. Also, the cars run with restrictor plates which caps the speeds that the cars can obtain. The goal is level the field and make racing about the drivers and thier teams than about the technology race for the better car. This also helps teams standardize their cars which c

an help contain costs.

So how fast can these cars go? Well, the trucks will generally go between 170 and 180Mph while the cars will be between 180 and 190Mph! The NASCAR representative told us a story about some testing that they did a few years ago. They were needing to test some new in car communications technology to make sure it could keep up with the speeds of a race. So the asked Rusty Wallace to bring a car and be thier test subject. They instructed him to do five laps as fast as he could. The technology worked great! Back in the pit, they looked at his car. The right side tires were blistering only after five laps. They then told him he averaging 240Mph around the track! They then asked him if he would like to go that fast with 42 of his closest friends 'double wide'. Rusty responded that there was no way he wante

d to go that fast again and that it was the scariest thing he had ever done. Morale of the story? These cars can flat out fly...

I didn't get to watch much of the races during the week because I was there to do a job, but on Sunday we were the guests of the track in thier suite over looking the track. Here is a panaramic shot of the track (sorry so small) :

The Daytona track is 2.5 miles in lengh. So the Daytona is a 500 mile race or 200 laps. In the case of rain, they can call the race anytime after 100 laps, which happened this time. They will seat between 180,000 and 200,000 in the stands and are able to sleep about 100,000 in the infield camp grounds. So this place gets packed. We had access to golf carts all week, but had to part them about two hours before race day because of the people. (As a side note, the track has to deal with law suits every year regarding people claiming to be hit by golf carts.)

The pre-race show was a short set by Keith Urban. So they packed the inf

ield by the pits with stages and howling Urban fans for the short, but sweet performance. To my knowledge, there were no Nicole Kidman sighting. (Keith is circled in the photo to the right). When he was done, they went to driver introductions and then cleared the area for the race.

The television production for this event is a massive undertaking. During our time onsite we got to visit the 'TV Compound' which is where all the magic happens. This is an area of closely packed haulers and satellite arrays. All the audio and video comes into this compound and then is put together is many ways for delivery to all the viewing and listening outlets. There are timing and scoring, statistics, driving graphics, and even Fox's "Digger Cam" (which are cameras actually embedded in the track at the turns) are all produced here. The live feeds are directed, merged and sent out with less that a 2 second delay in many cases. We were told it is like doing a Super Bowl except they will do this every week for the next 38 weeks!

So then we have the race start. 43 cars are paced around the track by an official pace car. When they are all in the correct starting position the pace car pulls off (seen left) and they are off to the races (literally). It is quite the roar when these cars go by. If you should be standing at the fence (which isn't allowed, though they can't stop you from walking by) when the 'pack' comes by it literally will take your breath away. The power sinks into your chest like a mule kick. The picture depicts a two wide position, but during the ride they will get three and even four wide when it gets going.

Something that I thought very interesting was the physics of it all. When the cars are lined up like this they are "drafting" which means they all are able to go faster. Due to the speed and mass of the vehicles, the draft will pull the cars along, but also the lead car gets a "push" from the line behind them. The longer the line the better the push. It is impossible for a single car to catch up with the pack with pack, or over take another car without drafting help. This is due to how evenly matched the cars are. Its about teamwork and who else might help a driver out. Its an very interesting team dynamic with teammates helping each other out, but they also have to rely on cars from other teams as well.

We also we able to watch the race on a FanView device. These portable devices allow the user to watch the race from many different camera angles. You can view from the video feeds that are on the Jumbotrons, or from the driver's cameras in thier cars. Statistics are also available at the push of button. It was fun to listen to the officials channel during caution periods because you could hear the coordination and assessment of the wrecks or track conditions. As an added bonus, the headset that comes with these devices really quiet the background noise so you are not deaf by the end of the race.

Its been a long and busy week here in Daytona Beach, but it was very interesting, entertaining and educational. I'm glad to be going home, but have greatly enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at racing institution.

If you are a people watcher, this is the place to be. Everything from the rich and famous to the scary and infamous can be found at one of these events.

Dusty's Email -- 2/9/09

2009-02-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

First off...I sent a CD with pictures on Tuesday, I don’t know when you’ll get it, but it’s in the mail.

Sounds like you guys are still a bit busy with the bathroom repairs and CJ’s room, but sounds like all is going well.

Yesterday ended another cycle and last night we found out that my companion is being transferred and that I’m going to train a new missionary. I’m real excited for the chance to have a greenie put into my care and my ‘dad’ (E.Mora) is excited to have a ‘grandson’ in the mission.

Ee have 2 baptisms for this week. We had a good showing yesterday at church. I also gave a talk about the importance of missionary work and I really enjoyed that.

I didn’t know that Taylor was going to Puebla. Tell him I’m about an hour from there right now, and that he’s going to eat this type of food called Mole. Its good.....depending on the person that prepares it. But he’s going to eat a ton of it. Puebla is known for its Mole.

Wow, I didn’t know that about Sister Bowen and I’ll keep her in my prayers and hope that she survives the surgery.

Today we went to the Prisms that are here. I have some really cool pictures I’ll have to send home. In the next cycle were going to the Pyramids that are here. I’m pretty excited.

Not much else. The transfers are tomorrow, and I’ll travel 3 hours or so to pick up my ‘kid’ and then return. I get to see a lot of my friends so I’m excited for that.

Here is a shout out to my best friend reppin the QC, Michael you rock my socks like the beatles rocked the world.

Oh brother.

And no I haven’t got the envelope from grandma and grandpa.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 2/2/09

2009-02-03T16:28:00.000-08:00

Hey,

This last week we found a lot of new people and all, but they didn’t come to church so it was a bit difficult yesterday. We did have a baptism, so that made it better. What was great was that the baptism completed a family. It was a dad whose family was baptized about a year ago, and now he finally decided to do it.

Yesterday, 2 of the people that we are good friends with didn’t come to church and said a bunch of, what sounded like, excuses. Though it might be true what they said, it did kind of hurt me. I was down a bit yesterday, because they are really awesome and she’s not smoking anymore or anything, and they were going to get baptized this next week - I guess we’ll see. It was disappointing because it sounded like some of the excitement that they had to get baptized went away. I don’t know, were going by tonight to see them. I hope that all is well with them.

My health is better, I was down last week a bit with a stomach virus. I think I lost some weight, but I’m better now.

Things are well. Sorry this is short but I wrote a giant letter and then the lights went out, so I don’t have time to write everything.

We will see with this lady and her daughter who didn’t come to church yesterday. They have become good friends of mine and I’d hate to see them not get baptized, but I can’t force them to do anything.

I played basketball for the first time in a month and a half today and dang, i suck. haha. That’s what happens when all you do is soccer. Whatever!

I have to run and wash my clothes because it takes awhile to do them by hand.

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 1/29/09

2009-01-26T20:20:00.001-08:00

Hey there,

This last week was really awesome. We had our Zone conference, and before that I had my interview with President which is always awesome. I had to give a part of the ZC and I only had 10 minutes and so I got started and after about 3 minutes the one Zone Leader raised his hand. I called on him for a comment but he took the rest of my time. Teaching everything. so ya....I wasn’t too happy but I couldn’t let it show. I just bore my testimony about planning and sat down.

All the missionaries really couldn’t believe that he did that. President knew, and he turned around and told me good job and patted me on the leg. But the talk by President was powerful. He talked about how Mexico is fulfilling prophecy right now, and he had all these scriptures. He said that in their last meeting with the regional leadership, that they told him that the Prophet announced that he’s going to start to send more missionaries to Mexico, and less to other missions that aren’t baptizing. It was powerful and motivated everyone.

The week went well. We worked our butts off again and didn’t really bring that many to church. I feel like we’re working harder here than in Neza and bringing about the same to church and baptizing about the same. But all is well.

I didn’t feel real well yesterday, it was kind of a bad day. Seven of our investigators told us in the morning that they couldn’t come to church, 4 of them had to go to a funeral and the others had something else to do. The guy that we were going to baptize left for work early in the morning and tried to get back in time for church but didn’t make it, so we have to wait a week. I wanted to baptize him because he is ready, he knows everything. He has a goal is to get to the temple with this family and all. Its just awesome.

The whole day I had a bad headache and my body was just really achy and my head is a bit sunburned. But I did sleep well last night.

We almost had a “run in” with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were knocking our street yesterday morning, but didn’t knock our door. We are coming to the end of another cycle and its looking like the 2 elders that are in my district will be taken out and 2 new ones put in. The President said that we are going to get a ton of Americans here soon, and that other Americans will be training them.

This morning Elder Tanner called me and we talked for like 40 minutes. They had their activity for the cycle as a zone, so he called me to see how I was. The way the phones work is that you can talk to anyone in the mission for free for up to 10 minutes. So every 9 1/2 minutes we hung up and he called me again. haha. It was great to hear from him.

I’m going to attach a picture from our Zone Conference. I’m in the process of making a photo CD to send home. Oh and can you guys get the address of my Trek Ma and Pa? I have a letter that I want to send them, but I threw away the paper with their address.

Money wise, we are short this month. We have only about 300 pesos for this week but we get more money next week. For some reason the mission home shorted us this month. So today I might take out some money.

Also can you get an address for Bro, Mallard?

I got your package today, with everything inside.

I’m glad that everyone is doing well and not sick. Tell CJ to dominate in volleyball and to tell me how his season goes.

tell him ‘todo se puede’

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 1/19/09

2009-01-20T16:16:00.001-08:00

Hey,

This last week was a bit of a downer. It was freezing all week long and we didn’t really find anyone new even though we knocked on a ton of doors. It wasn’t only us, the whole zone put up not so good numbers. But we are pressing on. We do have a baptism for this week though, so we are excited for that.

We have zone conference and interviews with President this week. So it will be good to hear from him and his wife. I know that the zone leaders are just going to mow us over. But the zone is starting to improve little by little, which is what it takes. Just steps at a time. We have been able to talk to those families that the one leader offended, but one of them I think that we are going to leave behind for now, because they didn’t come to church again and they aren’t doing their homework - like reading and praying. We are going to go and talk to them this week. The other family couldn’t come again this week, so we will see. All we are waiting is to baptize them, they have done everything else. That Elder is just like that, not alot of the other Elders like to work with him because he’s just a bit difficult.

I did hear that the Cardinals made it to the Superbowl, a member texted me, the one that loves the Steelers. He wants us to eat with him that Sunday so I can watch the Cardinals get beat. hahaha. Funny if the cards spanked them.

I was cracking up when I read that Mike brought the game by (Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader) and said that he feels stupid when he plays it. haha.

About the whole eating on the street thing is.......well.......what had happened was.........yes I do every now and then. Thank goodness I haven’t gotten really sick, but it’s just so good. Those tacos in Neza were so,so,so good. I get to take the parasite pills this week so we will see if I have a parasite. I don’t think so though. But anthing is possible.

I’m excited to someday see this dance by CJ and the Priests. It’ll be easier just to wait until I get back, just get a copy...and wait 17 months....hahaha. That sounds ugly. hahaha.

But other than that we are all well. We’ve been working hard and are trying to change things in this area. It’s a difficult area but all is possible. I got to do a baptism interview this last week, and the only problem was that the lady didn’t want to get married to her spouse. So I talked to her and asked her why, and yeah...the answer surprised me.....about 29 years ago the guy that she’s with now kidnapped her, and brought to where there at now. It’s not like she loves him, and she can’t leave, because he used to beat the snot out of her alot and he still hits her every now and then. She thinks that if they get married that hell do it again, because that paper will signify that she’s his property or something. so.....ya.....welcome to Mexico. We can’t get involved with legal matters....so it was a bit tough to want to leave. but she’s not getting baptized, and neither is her husband.

We will keep working hard. I hope that all is well with you guys and I look forward to your letters.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 1/12/09

2009-01-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Family,

I’m glad to hear that your enjoying my favorite show without me:( But anyway I’m glad to hear Mom is feeling better and up and moving around. Thanks for mailing out a blanket so quickly. I’ll probably get it here soon I hope. Dad, I’m excited to here that you passed your test and that your going to go for the harder one now. atta boy.

Yes Dad I was actually at a members house yesterday eating while he had the Steelers game on and he was telling me that the Cardinals destroyed the Panthers. He’s in love with the Steelers and said that he hopes that the Cards and the Steelers make it to the super bowl----because he said we’re going to eat at his house and he’s will bring investigators for us to “teach”. hahaha.

Here in Pachuca it’s been nice. We had a baptism this last week. Kinda funny story though. He was a reference from another set of missionaries, they called me last week and said that an investigator had moved into our area and that he’s almost ready for baptism. So we went to his house on Tuesday to visit him, and he’s been an investigator for 5 years. He has had various dates for a baptism but is real insecure so when like a challenge came and he got scared and didn’t get baptized. But we visited him and answered questions that he had. Then we talked about baptism with him and he looked at his watch and his planner and said, can it be before 4? haha. His family, who are all members, wanted to come so we pushed it to Saturday. But his response cracks me up.

So Saturday came and in the morning I had to go out to Tulancingo which is about an hour away, to work one of the Zone leaders for a part of the day. One of the leaders, Elder Flores, has a real strong way about him....real blunt. While he was with my companion he visited 2 of the families that we have. There are in total, 9 people between these two families. I felt like something was wrong when I returned, and sure enough there was. On the way back to Pachuca I got a call from this elder and he told me that the Bishop wasn’t going to allow us to baptize this guy. So I tried calling the Bishop but his phone was off. As this was going on, Jorge, the man we were going to baptize, started to show his insecure side, even with his family and friends there.

By the time I got to the church I was a bit frustrated, but we did get a hold of the Bishop. There had been a bit of a mix up at fault of the Ward Mission Leader, and Jorge was still able to get baptized. All was well.

But these other two families that this Elder visited are different story. They are just awesome families that have baptism dates and everything. Well, they didn’t come to church on Sunday. We went by the house of one of them and the wife made a comment about this other Elder that visited them yesterday and about some of the things that he said. They were real strong. The other family we couldn’t get a hold of, but we’ll keep trying. I wasn’t happy with this Elder, so I called him. He just had a bunch of excuses and tried to put the blame on me....I wasn’t happy because its two families....families that could be sealed together forever, and he mowed them over and made them feel scared. We went by last night, and I talked to them and apologized and sure enough they all said that they didn’t like the way this Elder treated them. We talked and answered their questions and they are all good again. They are excited for their baptisms and all. Unfortunately, this same Elder will interview them for their baptism. So we’ll see. But the family is just awesome.

My companion and I are doing well. We are teaching well, working hard and seeing the benefits.

President is beginning to raise the bar with the leaders and their responsibilities. But I love it out here, it’s so awesome.

I have to run. Oh yeah the son of President Bulloch is the Assistant to the President in the Milan, Italy mission, so I am pretty sure that we would know Todd.

Love ya
Elder Howard

Dusty's email -- 1/5/09

2009-01-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry this is late. We had computer problems and were down for a couple of days.

JH

Hey all,

I’m here in my new area, it’s a city called Pachuca. It is about 3 hours from my last area. So for transfers I had to start at the Mission Home, then take a taxi with the zone leaders to a bus station and buy a ticket. Then I left with them and a few other Elders out here. It took about 2 hours to arrive here in Pachuca. But we got here alright. The area is a ton different than Neza. It’s much, much more calm. There isn’t graffiti everywhere, and there aren’t many dogs runny around. There really aren’t people in the streets. It is pretty nice.

At the transfers President goes zone through zone. Elder Reed, my friend from back home, also had changes. He is going to train a new missionary. So we were sitting by each other, and President started naming off the changes and all. He didn’t call us until the last zone. So he’s not in my district but we are in the same zone. At least I had someone to talk to on the bus ride. There were a lot of changes this time around. My 2 companions from the MTC were there. Also my papa (trainer), Elder Mora was made a Zone Leader. It was great to see all them.

My new companion is so awesome. His name is Elder Panoaya, he’s from Puebla, which about an hour and half from where we are. Haha, it’s kind of funny. But he is such a hard worker. He has 3 months in the mission and this is his first area. We are both real young, but he’s awesome. We saw a ton of success this last week and I’m really looking forward to this cycle, because he wants to work and we hit a ton of doors every day. We have 5 baptisms for this week and I hope for 5 in the next week too. But we have to talk to the people, because I’m not as sure with them. It’s so awesome.

It kind of stinks being a leader, because, for example, on Wednesday, I had to go out early in the morning to where the zone leaders live for some training on being a district leader. Which is fine. But to get there area it is an hour bus ride, or two hours roundtrip. So with the bus ride and then the training we didn’t have much time to work that day. But the Lord blessed the little time that we had this last week.

My district is awesome, and so is the zone. There are things that the last leader did a little bad and so I’m going try and do better. But I’m so excited for the opportunity to work here.

President Bulloch has raised the bar for us going into this year, and I’m excited. We have a great opportunity to accomplish many great things, and I know that my companion and I are going to be part of it.

It’s really, really cold here. Oh man, its freezing! It’s getting down to like 40 degrees at night. So it’s a shock, because in Neza it never got close to that.

Thanks for the letters and I hope that all is well. I hope that mom heals up quick and good which it sounds like she is.

I really liked the picture of Todd. I was happy and glad to see him. Dang, he’s grown up a bit. haha.

Things are great, and the new area is a lot different from the other one and is a ton bigger. But I’m getting use to it and loving it. The members are awesome. There is an returned missionary who comes out with us all the time. He makes me laugh because he’s gets out in the street with us contacting people and everything. It is obvious he loved his mission. He served in California and of course loved it there.

Look forward to hearing from you next week.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 12/29/08

2008-12-30T09:06:00.001-08:00

Before I get into the letter, I thought that I would let you all know that we had a great call with Dusty on Christmas. It was wonderful to hear his voice. He is happy and healthy, which is a great blessing. The Lord has blessed him greatly over the past six months and has taken great care of him. Even through the trials of a difficult companion and the loss of the twins here at home, he has managed to serve the Lord with honor and love the people of Mexico. As a parent it’s hard to be sad that he isn’t home for the holidays when we can hear the joy in his voice at the life he has chosen.

Dusty told us a little more about the area in which he has been serving. So he is in the Mexico City East mission. Mexico City is like the third largest city in the world. His area that he has been working in is called Nezahualcoyotl, or Neza for short. It is considered a City within a City, and is the fifth largest City in a City in the world. Within the boundaries of his mission live about 13 million people – 7 million of which live in Neza. That’s around the size of Los Angeles!

Anyways, thank you for your loving support of Dusty these past six months. We look forward to more of his ‘adventures’ in 2009.

Love,

John and Judy Howard

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hey

I only got a short time to write so I’ll do it quick and write more next week. We have a baptism in about 30 minutes and I’m going to be the one baptizing so I have to get all the stuff ready.

Today I bought the pants that I was telling you guys that I needed. It was actually a lot more expensive than I thought. I ended up dropping about 60 bucks. But I have the pants that I need and that’s not a bad price.

Yes, I am being transferred tomorrow. Also tell CJ that he`s not the only one that has a new cell phone, I’ll be carrying one also because I`m going to be a district leader. My companion is also being transferred, so they are taking both of us out of this area. I`m real excited to see where I’ll be put. I’ll let you guys know more in the next letter.

Mom, I’m fine at night and don’t really need a blanket but if you want you can send one.

Yes, all the missionaries that I’ve talked to did get to talk to their families on Christmas. Which is good. For Christmas dinner we had this thing called pazaoli. It’s like a soup with all these noodles and chicken and lettuce and cream and other stuff. It was really good.

I was happy to hear from you all and also Jason. I’m glad that all has been well and I hope that all stays that way.

Mom, I understand your comments on the struggles with my companions preparing me for marriage, but I’m pretty sure that my wife isn’t going to insult me and disrespect me every day. But I see what you’re saying and I have learned a lot from this Elder.

Things are going well, especially now. It’s a bit tough to say bye to everyone here but it’s going be like that in every area.
I was happy to read about how Christmas was for CJ as an only child with you people. It was a bit weird that he was so shy on the phone but you’re probably right, it`ll go back to normal when we see each other. I hope. Maybe it`ll be different in May for the Mother’s day call .....who knows. We`ll see.

Thanks for everything and I love you guys. I`ll talk to you in a week.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email - 12/15/08

2008-12-15T20:21:00.001-08:00

Family

This past week we had interviews with President Bulloch. I didn’t get my package, but my interview went very well. It was awesome to talk to him. We talk mostly about my companion, and all went well. We are going to talk tomorrow again because I need some advice on a couple things with my companion and he said that I can talk to him tomorrow. We aren’t having troubles, but the last while I haven’t felt the Spirit when he teaches, and we all know that is a huge part of the work.

Another problem is he starts talking and trying to convince a person why they should be baptized. It’s with care, and its right to try to help the people understand, but he tries to do it alone and doesn’t really allow me to say anything, and he always cuts me off when I try to say something. The times that he`s tried to help these people understand it’s been without the Spirit. It’s vital to have the Spirit. I guess to me it’s unfair to the people that could have a chance to really see and feel the Spirit, but they can’t because he doesn’t carry it. I told President and we are going to talk tomorrow. Yeah we bonk heads, but the problem is that he`s just real immature and takes jokes way to far...which Pres told me he has a problem with. But other than personality differences he`s fine.

We are going to have zone conference soon. We are going to first go to the temple and go through a session and then have a little Christmas thing.

Yes, dad, some of the problems with my companion was the language that he was using towards me and basically that he didn’t respect me. But we worked that out.

I`m glad to hear that you weren’t affected by the layoffs and that all is well right now.

President Bulloch switched P-day next week from Monday the 22nd to Wednesday the 24th, so you won’t get a letter from me until Wednesday, so don’t flip out on Monday when you don’t have a letter from me.

I got a letter the other day from Grandma and Grandpa and they said that they have been sending me emails. But I haven’t gotten one from them so please check their address that they have.

Tell the ward that I said Merry Christmas!!!

We are working hard here and seeing some results. We have 2 possible baptisms this week and another possible 2 for the 28 of December.

Yes mom, transfers are coming up on the 30th of December and I’m sure that I’ll be leaving. We`ll see, if I stay it will be rare because President Bulloch doesn’t usually keep an Elder in a area for more than 41/2 months. At the end of the next cycle I’ll be pressing 6 months in my first area. However from a comment that President made it’s just a guess.

I gotta head out.

Love you all and look forward to hearing from you next week
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 12/08/08

2008-12-08T17:01:00.001-08:00

Hey,

Not a whole lot to say. We had a baptism this last week and we also confirmed her on Sunday. We have interviews this week with President so I’m looking forward to seeing him and possible getting my package. My companion and I are getting along well again. He’s actually changed a lot the way that he talks around me. We talked one day after our planning session and I told him everything and that things have got to change, and he’s really tried and I’ve recognized it. I really appreciate it, and I’ve told him that.

Things are well, I’m healthy and just pressing on every day. We found a family of 6 this past week, and we were excited because we put them as part of our goal for December to baptize and then on Friday they told us they needed some time because they have some problems within their family. We understand, but now we will pray for some kind of a miracle to complete the goal for the month.

Spanish is coming great and I’m excited to talk to people and to learn the new words. The people here actually make up words and people know exactly what they are saying. It’s confusing at times. Especially if a Mexican wants to say something that he doesn’t want an American to know he’ll do it. So my companion has been teaching me how to do it and how to understand it. It’s pretty sweet.

I saw the Christmas Devotional last night and it was good to hear from the Prophet and his counselors.

This last week I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Spanish. I’m also about 50 pages from finishing “Jesus the Christ”. Man, that book is powerful. There are a lot of great insights that I really enjoy reading.

Family and everyone.....I have a challenge for you.....so I finished the Book of Mormon as I said this last Wednesday. I just started it again today. Here is the challenge......read three chapters a day. You’ll finish it Feb 25 or so. This is the goal. Family start today and read together every night. I know that its difficult with the schedules but do it. Everyone else, if you’re in the midst of reading it great, then start it with your family. Every night or day 3 chapters.

I promise that you will see a greater peace in your life, there will be greater peace in the home and between you and your children and spouses. The problems that come into life you will know how to handle and help each other. I promise a greater strength of your family. I know this to be true, only because I have seen the change for me. When my comp and I were having trouble I was wondering how to deal with it...the best way possible. It came to me everyday what I needed to do that day. Finally it came one morning to talk to him about it after we planned that day...and I did. He laughed it off when I told him, but since then I have seen the change in him. I have seen the change in me. I have grown more patient, and have learned to trust in the Lord more. I know the blessings are real and that we can’t miss them. so I hope that you all take this challenge and are able to fulfill it also.

Hope all is well. I love you all and pray for you.

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 12/1/08

2008-12-01T16:29:00.001-08:00

Familia

This past week went well. We worked real hard and are still seeing success. We've hit a couple of trials with a few of our investigators. They want to be baptized but their families are really Catholic and take it as an insult that they are even listening to us. There was another lady that her husband always listened to our messages and seemed like he really supported his wife, but when we talked about baptism, and her baptism, he butted in before her and gave an excuse about how his whole family is Catholic and all the problems that might occur. We didn’t even ask him because we knew he wasn’t interested. Anyways, she got scared and said that she didn’t want to get baptized. We are working with her and the others and trying to teach them away from their families, like at church. So we'll see. We've made goals to baptize them this week, but we'll see if they can put enough trust in the Lord or not.

Everything is well here in Neza. My companion and I are still having struggles and we talked about it during our planning session because there is a part where you talk about your relationship and all. I brought up everything and he kind of just brushed it aside with laughter and a few jokes. But the last couple days since have been better. So I’m hoping his laughter and jokes were his way of trying to hide the guilt or something. We're still working together and all is well.

Mom, thanks for including me in your festivities this last weekend. I’m excited to get the package. Again thanks for the last one. The socks I needed and the toothbrush too. All the snacks are almost gone. I’m still working on the Jujyfruits. I was going to try and save the Reisens till Christmas but that desire lasted about 2 days. haha.

Well I’m glad that all is well despite the protests and the things that the gay rights supporters did. Its kind of getting that way here. The guy that I’ve told you about that is stuck here, that is from LA, is totally against the gay rights movement, and there are some here and he's always arguing with them and harassing them. It’s not the way to handle it. but ya........!

So Thanksgiving passed here and it was just a normal day for all. yeah. That stunk. haha. But that’s funny that you met Berlyn... she was in the physics class with Mike and I. So we know her pretty well.

I taught Gospel Principles for the first time yesterday. Like the whole hour in Spanish. It was about repentance. Usually I’d make comments or something, but yesterday I taught the whole class and we had a discussion. It was so awesome. I had people come up after and compliment me and said that they enjoyed the class and are looking forward to next week. So the pressure is on. haha. No really, the Lord has blessed me.

Also yesterday, during church the meeting began and we went to sing the first song and I noticed that the pianist wasn’t there. so...yeah...I went up and played the rest of the song and actually the whole meeting. People were really impressed because they didn’t know that I played. There is a lady that has the assignment to play. They also liked it a lot because the lady doesn’t play the songs with any emotion, and I did. Especially the last one, “Praise to the Man”. I love to belt that one out, and it should be, because it’s a song of praise. So now I’m going to play for the Christmas program.

One more thing....this last week we talked to the lady that is in charge of the food for the missionaries and she told us some names of people that don’t really want to, or can’t, feed the missionaries. There was one family, converts of a year or so, and they haven’t fed us since about September. It is because there was a problem with them and my first companion Elder Mora. I remember the problem and everything.

We've been talking to them and trying to help them feel okay to invite us over again. We found out yesterday that we're going to eat with them. During the meeting the husband kept joking with my comp and me. . .and the Lord has blessed us. I hope their thoughts of the missionaries are restored to being good ones.

Well I’m sad to hear about all the lights and all that going up because I do miss it. I see it here, and at Wal-Mart today I heard Christmas music, and ugh....wanted to cry...but we press on.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/17/08

2008-11-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Hey

So this week was a blast!!! But to begin I didn’t receive changes in this cycle so I’m still in Neza. Which is fine.

The Cultural Event on Saturday was a blast. We left here at about 1150 to get to the metro and then left from there for about an hour or so ride out to the stadium. We went as a zone so it was a lot of fun. Everyone was looking at us all weird because it was like 6 Americans and 6 Mexicans. haha. We got to our destination and ate next to the stadium and then went and waited to go in. The stadium really appeared as a normal stadium, like QUALCOMM stadium in San Diego. As we waited outside the stadium we saw President Bulloch and all the other missionaries. We got our mission tie and the mission also gave us the white handkerchiefs for the dedication.

I got to see the rest of the Elders that I hadn’t seen since we got to Mexico and also my friend from back home who got called here and I hadn’t seen yet. This was his first cycle here so I’m only about a month and half ahead of him, but he’s doing great. All my buddies from the MTC too. It was a great reunion. I also got to see Derek, remember him? I went to Utah with him and Josh. He’s in Puebla and they participated. The event went great.

The only bad thing was that missionaries weren’t suppose to bring cameras, and some did. But oh well. We are going to receive a DVD of the event so that’ll be fun to watch in 19 months. The stadium on the inside was HUGE... and that’s an understatement. It holds 110,00 people, and we almost filled it with members and investigators.

President Eyring and Monson spoke in English and there was a guy that translated so you could’ve gone and understood. But the talks were awesome and funny. President Monson is so awesome. The dances were awesome and I want to learn them. hahaha. President Monson said in the rededication that the event was the best that he’s ever seen, and he’s seen a lot. When our moment came to sing we got to come onto the field. I was in the front row of missionaries right in front of President Monson and Eyring. As we came on the field the people began to cheer, and as we began to sing President Monson and Eyring stood and saluted us. They took out their white hankies and waved them at us. It was such a testimony to me of this work. The Prophet of the Lord saluted us. It was such a strong event. It was a blast. President Bulloch got to meet and converse with the Prophet. ugh...blast. At the rededication only the Prophet and Pres. Eyring spoke in English. But it was powerful. I really enjoyed both sessions and I’m excited to visit this Temple in the near future.

The week was rough. We struggled to teach and my comp is starting to slack a little. He’s taking his time to do things and taking unnecessary time with people. The first three weeks I wanted to see how he would do, and he did great. But the last three week have gotten progressively worse. So things are going to change. I wanted to see if he could pull out but he’s not some I’m stepping in. I hope that things will go smoothly but we’ll see.

I really appreciate hearing all the stories and everything that is going on in your lives. Dad, I know that you didn’t bomb your test and that you probably did fine. You’re just being hard on yourself.

I’m going to withdraw some money here soon, because we are going to this sweet tie shop in the next p-day so depending on the ties, .....we’ll see.

Mom how are the kids? is everything good with them? Oh and tell bro. Earl to send me an email or something, because I’d like to hear from him.

CJ, how was your trip? Did you guys play well? How’s school? and the ladies???? how's volleyball? got your p-blessing yet? Hope all is well. There are some things here that I see that I know you and me would be cracking up over just because I can imagine your comments about people ...and the dogs ...and the people again...and the crap they sell that they think that people want...yeah.

But I hope all is well and that the Lord has continued to bless you all.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/10/08

2008-11-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

hey there

This last week we did not help in the open house. But we went twice with investigator, and they loved it. Now the temple is getting prepared for the rededication in one week. We are not going to have a meeting with Pres. Monson and Eyring. We were all hoping for one with them but haven’t heard anything and the activities are this week. On Saturday we’re going to get to the estadium azteca at 3 and then leave around 930 or 10. We are also receiving a tie of the mission, so we are all pumped for that. We have 4 baptisms for this Sunday. So we can end this cycle strong. The next time I send a letter you will know if I’ve been transferred or not. we’ll see. I don’t know. My comp doesn’t know. But a lot of the Elders in the zone think that I’m gone.

The language is coming great the hardest parts of the language with the conjugations and changing this in this circumstance is all coming easily. I only need to continue and learn new words. I can carry on a conversation on the phone and in person without the help of my comp and everyone says that for someone with only 2 months in Mexico my Spanish is great, haha.

Dad, you made a comment about the whole Facebook and MySpace thing. I know for sure here we are not allowed to use them. In fact to visit another page besides the email you need permission from the President. But I know that rules vary from mission to mission.

I haven’t written any letters because I don’t trust the mail system where I’m at. I saw a person that works for the mail system going through people’s mail and opening letters and sealing them again after checking for things.

So this last week we continued to work and to keep our mind on the work of the Lord. I’ve begin to read “Jesus the Christ” again. I’ve read the first 3 chapters a couple of times, but this time around I have gotten more out of the first couple and I’m more interested. There is a ton of awesome doctrine in that book. I also bought the “Miracle of Forgiveness” in Spanish and plan on reading it after Jesus the Christ. I’ve almost completed my first time reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish from cover to cover. I planned out that I should finish about the 4th of December. That’s about 3 chapters a day.

Mom, you asked last week about the money we get from the church and whether it is enough. Those Elders that come up short, don’t know how to plan their money and that’s the reason they run out. Every month I have planned how I’m going to use my money and I always have some left over at the end. Many Elders use the church money to buy things that they should pay for with their own money -- jerseys, clothes, other things like that. So no worries.

All is well here. My comp and I are doing fine and are trying to find and baptize more people. But mainly we are staying obedient and trust that the Lord will provide for us. We are excited for the event this weekend and I didn’t know that it will be broadcast to you guys. I hope you guys do watch it and enjoy it, because I know some of the youth that have been preparing for a while to perform their dances and different things.

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 11/3/08

2008-11-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

Hey

This last week was one crazy week and it flew by so, so fast. We were in the Temple (at the Open House) almost every day helping out. It was such a great experience. We started Tuesday and worked from 8 to 5 there. First I was in the temple helping, then I was the person that was outside the celestial room that invited the people in. So I got to go in the Celestial Room a lot. It was awesome and the room is so amazing. Later that day I was helping to fill rooms when people arrived. We also went on Wednesday and Friday night. I helped out a lot with the people and talked to a ton of people about the church. We had to go on Saturday because the first Saturday they had 10500 people show up, and this past Saturday we had 12,000 come. It was incredible and this week is the last week so there is suppose to be even more.

So a story right quick. As I said we’ve been helping in the Temple and usually we worked at night because we are only about 30-40 min from the Temple, but we’ve been getting back at around 1040 at night, so we get home and go right to sleep. Yesterday my alarm went off and I rolled out of bed to turn it off. I was so tired and so was my comp but he was still laying in his bed, so I turned off the alarm and went to turn the boiler on, to warm the water up. As I turned the knob I wasn’t paying attention but there was gas coming from the boiler, and since I was tired it never clicked with me...so yep, that’s right, I lit the match and went towards the hole where you light the boiler and .....BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! grand explosion!!!!!!!

I was lucky and only have some second and first degree burns on my face and hand. .....just kidding.....joke.......hahahaha, well, that did happen but I got out of the way just in time and didn’t get burned. It was like in the movies, you know when the person jumps out a window right before an explosion and then it explodes and the fire shoots out the window, yeah that’s what happened here, but luckily I got out of the way and only felt a lot of the heat.

Mom, no I haven’t been robbed yet, and I hope never. A lot of that is because a lot of the Americans like to teach there comp. English in the streets and that’s a no, no. People think that if you speak English you are rich, and also a lot wear their expensive watches and bling. I appreciate the watch you guys sent me but I only wear it to Church and to special events because there are missionaries that want to steal it, let alone all the other people. I don’t speak English in the streets and I don’t wear anything nice.

You guys can write more in your letters if you want, we have permission to go in the mornings and printout the letters and return later and respond. This morning when I was printing off the letters and I was looking at the pictures and wondering why you sent pictures of a random kid. I was like what the heck. But after I got back home and read the letter and now I understand.

Sounds like CJ is still doing well though I haven’t heard from him in a while but tell him I wish him the best of success at State.

Dad, I don’t know what’s going on much in the US with the economy and the politics but I pray for it. It is fulfilling of Joseph Smith’s prophecy.

That’s pretty much it, we didn’t baptize yesterday, the one guy’s wife will not help him to get married, she refuses to help. So it’s a bit difficult. The other didn’t show up yesterday for her service. But yesterday was dia de muertos so no one was at church. Everybody goes to visit their dead relatives.

All is well here. love you all

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/27/08

2008-10-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

Well this last week has been busy busy busy.

Yes, all is well with my companion and I. We are enjoying much success, and the Lord has put His elect in our path. On Saturday we went to an appt, and I had written the direction of the house wrong. It was street 34 #32 and I had street 32 #34. So as the person told us that is was the wrong house, a girl of about 12 years came up to me and said that in another city in our mission her Grandma had been baptized, and that she was interested. As we followed her to her house we taught her Mom and little brother and with one wrong address the Lord blessed us with three new investigators.

We were suppose to have a baptism this past week but the only condition was that the man had to marry his wife. As we got ready for the marriage we found out that the wife's papers were incorrect and that they had to get another copy of her birth certificate from Puebla. So we thought that this might derial his baptism a while, because he's very busy and doesn't have much time to go 3 hours on a bus to pick up a piece of paper from a different city. But he told us that Monday he would go. We are eating with him today and will see if he was able to get it. But I know that he truly has a desire to be baptized.

This week my zone gets to help out at the Open House for the Temple. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday are the days that we will be in the Temple helping with the tours and all that. Then on Saturday the ward has rented a big bus and the ward and our investigators are going to go to the open house. We have been asked to go with them. So this week is extremely busy but were all really excited. We are hoping that our investigators that are trying to decide to be baptized will feel the Spirit real strong and will be baptized.

Also another exciting thing. The day before the Rededication of the Temple there is a giant cultural event at Azteca Stadium. This is the second largest stadium in the World. I beleive it holds close to 110,000 people, and they still won't be able to seat all that want to come. So its going to be big. Five other missions other than ours will be there. All the Mexico City mission, Cuernavca and Puebla and we are going to sing "Called to Serve" at the end of the program, some 1,100 missionaries! It's going to be real powerful. We have also learned that President Eyring will accompany President Monson to the Rededication. It's possible that the missionaries will have a special meeting with them before. So were all real excited.

All is well. Our water is fixed again so we have hot water. woot... Things are still well with my comp, we are working hard and its showing. The members have been a real help also to us with our investigators.

about the package, food would be nice, and it would probably be better with the money idea, but it doesnt matter and ill have to ask about the Abreva. but i bet i can get it here. but it doent really matter what you send, but also some pictures.

I attached 3 pictures, tell me if they turn out ok. I'll send more.

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/20/08

2008-10-20T10:38:00.001-07:00

Yes, yes, its true...another week has passed and my companion and I are having great success. We baptized a husband and a wife yesterday and they are just so excellent. We have a another one setup for this week also. This guy is so awesome. His name is Alfonso and his job is so cool. He makes jerseys, like soccer jerseys, but imitations of the actual ones and he’s really, really talented. He has given up beer and playing soccer on Sundays, (which for him and a lot of people here is hard, because its tradition) and also is getting married this week. That’s not cheap to do that here. It’s amazing to see the change that the Gospel can make in a person. His wife isn’t interested but supports him.

Dad, I see what your saying with the power of two and I think your right. So we are going to try that.

All is well with my companion and I. We are getting along great and serving well. The Lord has blessed us. My comp has helped me a lot with my Spanish. Like phrases that are hard to say but are easy for people to understand. So I am beginning to explain myself better and feel like I can teach more and explain more in depth. Which is such a blessing. This area is just full of the Lords elect, and He is blessing us to find a ton of them.

My companion thinks that I’m going to be transferred in the end if this cycle and made a leader of some kind. I don’t feel like I could take that responsibility yet but I know that the Lord will qualify me if I’m called to that. I found out at zone conference this past week that I’m the senior companion. I thought that it might be a problem with my comp, seeing as he has 20 months tomorrow in the mission, but it didn’t phase him which was such a blessing.

The weather is still getting cooler and we are having trouble with our water again. But oh well, all is well.

Gotta run

Love you guys,
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 10/13/08

2008-10-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

hola familia

This last week i got my new companion. His name is Elder Castaeda, he is from Torreon Mexico and has about 19 months in the mission. After I received my new companion, the Mission President told me that on Friday he wanted my companion and I to come back to Aragon(where the transfers are, and the temple etc..) to meet with him. So for days after I was wondering what I had done or why he wanted to see me. But none the less my new companion and I worked hard. He is a lot like me when pertaining to the work. It’s so awesome. he knocks doors on one side of the street while im on the other, while im contacting someone in the street he is other people. so awesome.

Elder Mora(my first comp.) was great, but we were always contacting the same people and knocking the same door together, possibly because I’m new to the lang. Also, Elder Mora liked to contend a lot with every person. My new comp and I present the message and if they reject it we bear testimony and move on. It’s exactly how I’ve wanted to do it. The only problem was I didn’t really understand people, but the language is coming along great. My companion and I are preparing for 2 baptisms this week and possibly 6 the following.

So, Friday, we returned to Aragon to meet with President Bulloch. First, he wanted to talk to me, so we went into a room and he began to ask me how my comp had been the last couple days. I said that all has been well. He’s working hard and we are having success. He then told me that my comp has made some mistakes here on his mission and hasn’t been the missionary he should’ve been. He told me that my companion is one little mistake away from being sent home. But this past transfer he felt that he could trust me with him. To make sure he’s up on time and following the rules, and to make sure with the ladies nothing suspicious happens. It was a complete shock. President told me to call him if anything happens or if I need help with anything. President said that I know you only have 5 weeks here in Mexico but I know that you can help this Elder to finish his mission strong and be focused. So.....yeah, I’m happy that President trusts me with this, I just hope that I can help in some way, and I know that the Lord will help me.

My new companion has clippers and a razor for hair, but is a little timid with them. So I cut my own hair this past week for the first time. Not with the clippers, but with the razor. It turned out real well. I don’t remember what sizes I used but, on the sides it was different than the top. So it took some art, but I cut around my ears and sideburns to. WOOOOOTTTTTTTT!!!! I’m a PRO!!! I’m not going to lie I was scared. but WOOOOTTTTT!!!!

Mom, I don’t need a bug tent I think that I’ll be fine.

C.J. you are a stud in your uniform. Keep up the work and I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of you during volleyball.

Con todo amor en mi corazon

Elder Howard

p.s. dad, your comments last week have really helped me. about cutting the investigators off. For some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about your comments all day last Monday and the answer came to me when I was reading my scriptures. It was a strong personal revelation and I understood what you were saying. Thank you for helping me to understand better what the Lord wants.

Dusty's Email -- 10/6/08

2008-10-09T13:36:00.001-07:00

Hey

Well this last weekend was great! Yes, I got to watch all sessions of conference and we had some investigators come and hear President Monson speak. But I totally agree with you Dad, this conference was so much more powerful. There are a lot of things that I need to work on and improve. But I’m happy to say that things that I was praying for were answered and that I received personal revelation during this last weekend and I’m excited for the next weeks to come.

My companion was affected by transfers, he is going to a different area to be a district leader. Which is weird because I guess it never happens that your trainer after only one cycle gets transferred. So I’m not being trained anymore after tomorrow. I don’t know who my comp is until tom. afternoon. But we’re getting my comps bags all packed up and ready to roll out.

This last week we had a good week of contacting. A quick story...one guy and his wife we are teaching, and we taught the first lesson and were returning on Thursday to talk and teach again. but when we showed up we were met by his brother and a neighbor who had a million questions for us. I’m happy to say that my comp and I answered them with no hesitation and with the Spirit, but this guy is like Jewish and Catholic. But they attended the conference session on Sunday, along with a neighbor. So it was really good to have that.

Also yesterday I baptized another person. He was so happy and thankful. But we had to do the ordinance 3 times because he kept locking his knees. Finally the third time I basically “chucked” him under the water, since he was having trouble bending backwards. But all was well.

Dad, I know what you’re saying with the whole cutting the investigators thing, it was a worry I had to. But this past week we visited most of them and all told us that they didn’t want the message and basically they didn’t have faith that the Lord can answer prayers. I guess it’s a big problem that we hit down here. Because of the strong catholic influence and they don’t believe God can answer a prayer. It’s difficult to talk to these people. But know, Dad, that we did go back for them, this past week to see them. Yes, my companion and I were real frustrated and hurt, but we returned and they rejected it again, and we can’t keep returning. But we will pray that at some other time they’ll better understand what we taught them.

Everything else is great, we got our water fixed so it’s hot now. We are beginning this month with a bang! We found a family last night who are interested so my new comp and I will continue on. But dad know that we did try again.

I hope that all you could watch conference. When I heard about the temple in Rome, I was freaking out it.

Mom, they had another TV in another room where conference was in English for us ‘white’ folk. But it was so powerful, especially priesthood session.

I love you all and hope that all is well.

Elder Howard

P.S. Mom I forgot that your b-day was in August and not Sept. The other day it hit me that the 30th of Sept was not the day. So sorry. But Happy late B-day. and Lynette too. Hope all is well.

Dusty's Email -- 9/29/08

2008-09-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

Elder Howard with President and Sister Bulloch

hey hey hey,

This last week my companion and I found a ton of people to teach, and all of them were keeping their commitments to us on reading and praying and so on. We had 17 people that we had committed to go to church this week. We visited all except for this family of 6 because they were gone all day Saturday.

But Sunday....only 3 came. yep, so my companion and I were a little down Sunday. 3 of the 17 we have been teaching for a couple weeks and one of their baptisms was suppose to be Sunday, but Saturday night 20 minutes before his baptism interview he and the other two decided to inform us that they weren’t really wanting to be baptized and knew Joseph Smith was a prophet but were going to stay catholic. We talked for a minute or two and they had just been lying the last couple weeks about everything.

That’s the problem here. Many people listen because its the word of the Lord and just go along with it, even accept a baptism date and then we find out they were just lying. The others we showed up to their houses to pick them up and they either weren’t there or didn’t want to come to church. Out of all our investigators. We have 3 left. We decided as a companionship to find all new ones this week. There is a lot of work to be done.

I’ve been here for a month already. Wow the time has just flown by and even though it’s hard, I love it. I’ve made a list with my companion, it’s called the “Apostata Lista”. It’s all the apostasy and all the funny things that people say that they believe, there is so much, I’ll show you when I return. It’s funny all the stories.

Mom and Dad got your package this last week…and all the food is gone. haha, but thank you so much. I never thought that I’d miss beef jerky. But that was so awesome. The pictures are so sweet of Brady and the girls. It was so hard to listen to the tape, especially the part right after the babies left. As mom was talking, I admit it I cried. It was real hard to stay focused the rest of the night because I couldn’t be there to help you guys through this. Its continued to motivate me to do something, I don’t know what, but something with CPS or the law or something when I get back. But I got awhile.

Thanks again for the package I really appreciated it. Oh and the toys, might not get to the kids here, because me and my companion have started playing with the animals with the parachutes. We go the roof of our building and throw them off and then run down and get them and do it again. haha.

The cycle ends this Sunday and probably my companion and i are staying here. Well I know that I am, but he has 3 months here, but the District leader who is leaving has 6 months in this zone.

I love you all...

CONGRATS to CJ for his awesome performance with the band and the awards that they won. keep up the work man I love ya!!!

Hope that the baby Bergen is staying healthy and strong and Lynette and Ryan and ALENA too!!!! I miss you all!!!

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 9/22/2008

2008-09-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

yo yo

So yes another week has passed. We did a lot of work this last week but didn’t really see any of the benefits. like I said before we were suppose to have 5 baptisms this last Sunday. But only one of the investigators showed for church. One of them, her name is Juana decided that she wanted to be baptized in December, but we told her that when that time came, just like the last time, she would push it off. So we lost her, because she wouldn’t change her mind. Another named Miguel had promised us on Friday and Thursday he would be at church. Both his mother in law and wife are members, but he didn’t show up because he was too tired. So we had to push his date to the first in October.

There are another three that we are teaching, a mom, her son and the mom’s sister. They are all adults. They had committed to live the Word of Wisdom and needed to attend church this Sunday and then could be baptized the following. We called them at 10 o’clock in the morning, to make sure that they were coming to church. They answered and said yeah, of course we’ll be there. They lied. We left after my talk in sacrament meeting and went to their house, and only the son was there and he got ready and came to church. We are going to talk to them tomorrow and see what’s up and see if they truly want to be baptized, so yesterday was a little discouraging.

We taught 31 lessons this last week and had 11 new investigators. But only 4 investigators showed up for church. After we ate yesterday my companion and I were changing from our suits and my companion asked what we’re doing wrong, if there was something wrong with us. So we prayed about it and just went to work last night. We’ll just continue to work this week and try to find some others that need the Gospel. We were real excited for church yesterday, and it was kinda a letdown. All these people that need the Gospel and the blessings decided that it wasn’t that important. We are thinking of our gameplan when we talk to them tomorrow.

So yes as you read, I gave a 7 minute talk in Spanish yesterday. It went great I felt and a lot of people said that my Spanish was great and they understood all of it. Which was the point, I fasted and prayed going into Sunday so that I would have success. The bishop had asked me the night before if I could give a talk and of course I agreed, because, come on, you can’t turn the bishop down.

But this last week I understood almost everything and was able to communicate real well with everyone, and so I feel like I can really be of use now that I know what the conversation is about. The Lord has certainly blest me with the gift of tongues.

Today we had to go to the Office of Migration. It was about a 2 hour trip. We took a bus to the metro and rode the metro for almost an hour. Then took a taxi to the office and then did it all over again to return. We had to be there at 9 so yeah we left at about 7 for the metro. The metro in the mornings and at night are insane, because everyone is trying to get on them, and so the doors open and hundreds of people shove their way into the metro. It can be a little dangerous… haha, but it’s fun. I’m sure you’ve seen on utube or on tv the trams in Japan and Mexico with all the people trying to get in. Then there is no space at all, everyone is shoulder to shoulder crammed in. Haha, its really hot and smells funny. But it’s a good experience. haha.

We went with the other elders in my district who needed to go also. So Elder Tanner(the elder that was in my district from the MTC who is also from Gilbert) was there and we got to talk. I enjoy getting together for district meeting because he’s there and we get along great. But also all the Elders from my district from the MTC had to go there today. Most of them are in the zones furthest away so they reported around 10. We didn’t see any of them. When we were in the metro about to get on to return when we saw Elder Miller (my comp in the MTC) and of course Elder Tanner and I and Elder Miller all ran at each other and hugged and talked for a couple minutes before we had to leave. Then we were waiting for the next metro to come when the one across from us dropped off some people and then left and we saw Elder Snook(Elder Tanners companion in the MTC) we couldn’t go talk to him because he was all the way across the way. But we yelled that we loved each other and then our metro pulled up. The only person that I didn’t see was my other comp in the MTC Elder Christansean. But I’ll see them in November.

I hope that all is well. the weather is wonderful here and things are great. were going to go look for soccer jerseys right now so take care.

Adios

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 9/15/2008

2008-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hey hey,

This last week I had my first zone conference. It was great and of course in Spanish, except for one of the speakers. He spoke on thoughts and the power of them and a bunch of really, really good things about them. I took a lot of notes and am using a lot of the different principles that he taught.

Today is the Independence Day for Mexico so we

have to be in the house by 6 o clock because it’s really dangerous because everyone is drunk.

Yesterday we had a baptism, which was great and yes, I did the baptizing. We were suppose to have 3 others get baptized. But there is a problem with them, well, only with the mother. It’s actually a problem all over Mexico. Many people are together but not married and to follow the law of chastity you need to be married. The lady and her boyfriend don’t want to get married because they have a lot of problems, and they don’t have enough money for one to move out. So for right now they can’t be baptized and neither can their kids. We asked the bishop about the kids and he said no, either all or none. Me and my companion were having a hard time with that. But it’s the Lord’s will at this time.

My Spanish is getting better day by day and I'm starting to understand a lot of what people say and communicate with them. This last week we found 2 people that have already accepted a baptism date. So we don’t have a baptism for this week but the last week in Sept. we have 5 scheduled for that day. so that’s really exciting. My companion and I are getting along great and we are communicating well. I’m learning new words from him every day - and learning words not to say. haha

This last week has been great and the time has just flown by. I'm really enjoying it here. The people are really nice and the food is amazing. The best thing that I've had is called a huarache. Dad you would love them. There isn’t really a way I can explain it but it’s so, so, so good. Before we

have to return to the house tonight we are going to buy some. They are huge.

It’s starting to cool down in the nights. and we don’t have hot water. Ha ha ha, so showers are really fun each morning. But it’s great.

I love you all and I hope that all goes well. I love to read and hear how everything is going. I hope I’m not forgetting anything. Remember the Lord everyday and never forget the blessings that we have. The city I’m in is total poverty with graffiti everywhere and just a lot of rundown buildings and homes. But the people are so humble and give all that they can. So be grateful for the blessings you have.

Love

Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 9/8/2008

2008-09-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Family

I’m really torn!!

I’m so excited that Lynette’s baby came and that everything is well with him. I can’t believe that when I get home he’ll be almost 2 years old! That’s so sweet and I’m so excited.

I'm torn because of the babies, but I know that this is for a reason and its going to be of experience to us. I always have the babies picture on my desk and I always will wherever I am and work for the rest of my life. It sounds like Mom and everyone are getting through this time the best that they can. Which is good and is always good to take steps forward.

Speaking of taking steps forward, everyday has been a challenge but everyday I'm moving forward with the language. It’s difficult to talk with people because they talk so fast and have different dialects and some don’t have all their teeth.....so yeah, they just slur everything together.

Sunday we were going around picking up our investigators for church and we stopped at this little store where we taught this lady to see if she would only come for an hour. We were in the process of convincing her when her husband pulled up in his taxi. The day before we went to check on her and asked him when she'd return and he was drunk and yelled at us that she wasn’t here and to leave. So as he's pulling up this lady and her daughter are telling us to leave. So we do and as we are leaving he gets out of the car and says "venga" which is basically “come here” and of course you don’t go to someone unless you know them, because they most likely will rob you. We were just walking away as he was stumbling, but he said “voy a partir a su madre”. so I stopped because I was confused.

“Cuz partir” is to divide or to part so I was really confused, because it literally means “to part your mom”. But my companion said to come, so we left. I was asking him what he said and I guess that it means “I’m going to beat you up, or hit you”. haha, it was funny because what went through my mind was "my mother isn’t here how can you divide her" haha so it was funny but unfortunate that the husband was standing in the way of his wife getting the Gospel.

This last week was tough Because on Tuesday I was a little down because we had a district meeting and I didn’t understand really anything, but the day got better. Wednesday and Thursday I got sick. Wednesday morning I went to the bathroom 6 times before I left for the day to go teach and stuff. Thursday I felt better because I bought some Pepto Bismol and I didn’t use the bathroom as much but still, more than usual. I was concerned because I thought that I've only been here 2-3 days and somehow the water has gotten into my system. But I just ate something that gave me food poisoning, and the food poisoning here is worse than back home. But I'm better now. We had 10 investigators show up for church yesterday. Which is great because that’s 10 progressing investigators, and 4 of them have a baptismal date for this Sunday. But we hope to baptize close to 10 this month.

Last week was kind of long, like the first couple days in the MTC because I was trying to get use to the schedule and stuff.

Saturday was good and bad though, we went to an investigators house, and he had been just rolling along perfect, but had a ton of doubts now because of the people that attend his church. He was just reeling off all these different things and this and that and said that he needed 90 days to decide to join our church. I finally got sick of it and slammed my hand on the table and said Manuel (of course all this is in Spanish) “You have no faith, there is only one way, one Lord one faith and one baptism, you know that, you said that you know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. What more do you need? You need to trust the Lord, you say that the Lord is all your life and your everything but you doubt this. I know that it’s not easy to change something that you've practiced for almost 60 years but it’s for the Lord”.

It was quiet...like an awkward quiet and it was raining out and he got up and said that he needed to do something outside and so we were talking to his wife for awhile until he returned. When he returned he said that I was right, but still needed time. He knows a lot of English so I talked in English to him and just bore my testimony again, and said that the only reason that we're here and not back at home studying and living life is because we know the power and truthfulness of the message. He thanked us, but asked us to return in 2 weeks. So the work presses on.

Other than that everything is starting to move along and going great. I'm learning everyday and progressing the best that I can. I hope that everything is going well besides the thing with the babies. I will try and send some pictures someway of the baptism.

Love Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 9/1/2008

2008-09-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hey que tal!!!

Ok first off, I don’t have an address, you can send a package and stuff to the Mission Home address, but I'll only get them when I have a transfer!!!
Yes, my companion is a native and doesn’t know any English so its kinda tough but it’s nice because I'm doing everything in Spanish! We live in this little apartment, it’s just a front room with a sink and 2 desks and a fridge, then there is the room with 2 beds and a bathroom. To get the heat to work we have to turn on the gas and light it. it’s pretty sweet!!!
Saturday I met my companion and we went to teach some lessons but the people weren’t there so we got to contact people and it’s really hard because they speak extremely fast. ha-ha, but I love it. Church on Sunday was awesome, I didn’t really understand a lot but I was asked to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting. I was nervous but it all worked out. After church you'll never guess what I did?????? I baptized a 14 year old kid. It was awesome and I was really nervous but it was so, so, so cool.
We've eaten pretty good here. Here in Mexico, the meal that people feed the missionaries is lunch. You have a huge lunch and then maybe something to eat later. SO yesterday and today we didn’t eat till then, but they gave us so much food......it was so, so good, I don’t know what I ate today, some kind of animal, but it was good. All the food that I've had the last couple days here is awesome.
I'm so happy that Mom got me that camel pack, everyone wants one know. it’s a great idea. It’s so awesome. The church is the only place that has clean water, except for the bottled water at Walmart, so I just fill my pack up each day at the church. It’s all good.
Oh and funny story. Yesterday, after the baptism we returned to the apartment before our eating appointment and I changed my shirt and dropped of my wet stuff. We were with another companionship and my companion forgot the keys in the house. We had no extra key the owner doesn’t live there. So we spent last night at the other companionships house, it wasn’t very comfy, but it’s just another day. We got up this morning and tried to find the owner at his other job at the market but he wasn’t there. So we went all the way across our area thinking that we left them at the eating appt the previous day. But no.
Finally, we came back to the market and found this guy that makes keys, and he actually busted into our house, and low and behold, the keys were there, on the desk. Bueno!!!
I hope that Lynette’s baby comes here soon. So that she can be comfortable again. I'm glad you guys got my tape, I'm not sure but I don’t think that I can receive mail, like I said I don’t really have an address, so this is how I'll be communicating for awhile. My Mission President said that I can only email with family, so I want to hear from everyone and how there doing but I can’t email back. Letters only, when I get that option. sorry!! That’s how Tanner can get a hold of me. I hope all is well, I'm still trying to get any kind of hold on the language that I can, but it’s really difficult.
The area that I'm in is really cool. it’s really, really ghetto. There is graffiti everywhere. We ride in buses, vans and taxis to get to anyplace. It’s really insane because there are no traffic laws here, only speed bumps to slow everyone down. There are people trying to cross the street and cars, buses, vans and taxis are just flying around everywhere. it’s insane. The police don’t do anything about traffic things. The area is really run down but the people are so humble and they work extremely hard for all that they have.
Elder Tanner is in my district, the one that is from Arizona and was in my district in the MTC, we played soccer earlier with the other Elders. There are 8 of us, 4 companionships, not in the same area, but we all go to the same building, and our areas our big with a lot of people.
Mexico City is so much different than America. It’s really crazy!! But it’s really cool to see the culture. They do this thing called the ‘brazo’. I'll show you when I get home but it’s pretty sweet.
Not much else. We have an appt this evening so we need to go clean our apt. and prepare it for the next week. There are some crazy people here, but there are all really nice and kind and patient while I try and get through my Spanish. The city that I'm in has a really long name, I don’t even know how to spell it, it’s like neohualcoyotl, that’s not right but its close enough. We're in a little internet cafe here. Tt’s cool but there are a ton of people.
I'm so happy to be serving here and to be learning this language, but especially to be serving the Lord. This is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. It was so cool to baptize someone yesterday and I look forward to the opportunity to baptize someone that I've helped through all the steps.
thanks for the scripture and the advice, I know that everything will work out for us and that the Lord will bless us.
Never forget the words in Master the Tempest is Raging "the wind and the waves shall obey thy will peace be still" the Lord is in command of everything and if He wanted it to be easy, He could make is that way, but He doesn’t because we need to learn and gain experience.

Love you all and wish you a great week
Elder Howard

JH

Dusty's Email -- 8/28/2008

2008-08-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day of news from Dusty.

"hey guys

Sorry about the tape its still sitting in my room and all i have to do is go and mail it. but I've been busy this week. Monday my whole district except me and Elder Christensen got called to see the Consulate so it was a bummer for sure. But yesterday we were called and I have my visa for Mexico.
I don't know when we'll be leaving. We're hoping tomorrow, but I'll be allowed to call home and tell you guys when i call from the airport. So its been exciting. We're going to the travel office right after I'm through emailing to see if we are going out tomorrow.
The Lord has blessed us. Let me share the miracle that He has done for us. Remember i said that all those Elders left to like Georgia and other places in Utah? The ones that were delayed and what not. I guess with them leaving they bumped us up towards the front. And remember President Dickersons run in with the Nephew of Mexico? Since about last Monday the Consulate has done about 18 visas a day. My district and I never realized it until Monday when I wasn't going to the Consulate, it hit me all the blessings that the Lord had given us. I remembered that the those other Elders that had been sent out a couple weeks ago were going to be there for a whole transfer, so they went behind us in line. The Lord has truly answered our prayers, we had faith that He would bless us to receive our visas on time and He did it. It such a blessing. This has taught me a great lesson of faith and patience. And I'm grateful for that!
So we are anticipating getting our plans today! I hope that we do so that we can start. The other Elders that got their visas last week, left Tuesday and are probably doing their thing in Mexico.
Everything else is going great, the language is going fine and we are all working hard and enjoying ourselves. But we are ready to go and serve. We've been doing Spanish calls in the referral center and its such a blast. The people are so patient with us.
I hope all is well at home and that everyone is in good health. Continue to stay faithful. i love you guys and thank you for your support and letters and I hope to continue to hear from all you. I hope that everything goes well with Lynette's baby and that she has it and that its healthy. Rely on the Lord during this time of hardship with the girls. Obedience and hard work can solve almost any problem, one of our speakers said that, i think that it was Elder Steven Snow of the Seventy on Tuesday, that has been what has helped me.

Love
Elder Howard"

Then Later today we got the following email:

"OK, big news. After i emailed you guys we went to the travel office and we are leaving tomorrow morning at 6 am. we'll get to Mexico about 230 tomorrow. My flight is at about 935 so I'll call between 7-8 tomorrow your guys time. so i know its early but i guess if you don't want to talk to me you can just sleep and not answer. but I'll call tonight just to reaffirm that I'm going to be calling at that time but i only get 5 minutes. so there's the news i just sent the tape. lo siento. But I"M GOING TO MEXICO!!!!!!YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAY!!!

Love Elder Howard"

So he is on this way. What a wonderful turn of events for him. We are so happy and grateful that the Lord has made a change in the heart of the consulate allowing this to happen. Dusty will be five days late into the field, rather than the months we had worried.

He is so excited he can't even contain himself!

Dusty's Email -- 8/21/2008

2008-08-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hey family

First off, apologize to mom for me, because, I couldn’t talk to her but also because I called your cell on purpose so that I wouldn’t like break moms heart. lo siento.

Anyway, yesterday after I got off the phone with you found out that we weren’t going anywhere for 2 weeks. ya, so we were all bummed out, mostly at the travel office because they have told us about 3-4 different things this week and its really annoying. But it all presses on and we continue to study and practice. But great news this morning....3 Elders in my district are going to see the Consulate today. They aren’t going to Mexico City, they are going to Oaxaca(I think I spelled that right) and the other is Tuxtla Gutierez, so they will leave for sure on Monday, but we have no idea what the heck is going on, whether we leave next week or are here for 2 weeks or if we are just going to spend time here for 2 years or what....that last one was a joke. haha I will try and keep you guys updated the best that I can.

But it was so awesome to get a package from you guys. I loved it...and the big guy Deklerk that snores, he hasn’t left yet, that was my other roommate, so we all got a laugh when you said that about him, he was like...."what, your family is giving you advice on how to stop me" it was pretty funny. But he leaves next Wednesday for Peru. The food is awesome, I'm downing these corn nuts like crazy, thanks for that. I'm hoping to respond and send it out tomorrow.

Ok our devotional on Tuesday was so sweet. It was Elder Oaks...yup, Dallin H. Oaks. It was so good , he talked about the importance of the sacrament and it was really, really good. I took a ton of notes and set some goals to improve. Oh and thanks for sending that letter from Mike, i got the package yesterday, and like i said that was the day that we were told that we were gonna be here another 2 weeks, so we were all bummed out, but the tape and the letter made it all better. and thanks for forwarding the letter from Todd, that was so, so awesome to read, and I laughed for like 10 minutes over some of the things.

I have no idea when I'll be outta here, hopefully I'll get to talk to all you guys and that the new baby is here when I call. So but I hope that all goes well health wise for Lynette and the baby. oh the pictures I loved. all three babies have grown up so much since the last time that i saw them. I can’t even believe it.

Let’s see, not much new, still just doing my thing in the MTC, today we went to the temple, good session as usual. but thanks for all the letters and all the news about what’s going on. I really appreciate it. I hope that all is well and that you continue to recognize the Lord in your lives.

Paz
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/14/2008

2008-08-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

hey Que Tal??

So its coming down to the wire here. This is my second to last P-Day in the MTC. My branch President said that whether we have our visas or not we're heading out August 25th. But great news, you know the story that I told a couple weeks ago about my Branch President at the store with the guy who's Uncle is President of Mexico. Yeah, 50 visas went through this week:) He usually only does 10. So we're hoping and praying things will continue to move along. But President Dickerson says that if we don't get our visas we'll probably go to Georgia. That's what he said but we have no idea.

So we're doing another week of week of Spanish and its actually really hard to type in English because I keep coming up with the Spanish words.haha, but esta bien. Anyway things are going great here, we're teaching in Spanish, not just the task that everyone has every week but a progressive investigator also. We're doing both in Spanish and so we're teaching almost everyday on Spanish, its really sweet. There are times that the words just come and also thoughts to switch the subject or to ask a question and there is just some way that you're able to say it. Its amazing, the Spirit is so strong here.

I'm still a little sick. I feel fine but i have a sore throat and I'm coughing a bit and have a runny nose. But I'll take that over anything else, if this is the extent of the sickness i get here, that's fine. Others have had worse so I've been blessed.

I hope that you guys got my tape back, I sent it on Monday so it should be there any day. But how are things going? It sounds like its getting tougher as time presses nearer to the babies leaving. That's been tough for me too, and all I can do is just work my butt off in Spanish and trying to learn something at times to get my mind off it. But it will be for our benefit, I don't know what that is, but know that the Lord is aware.

One of my companions parents sent him part of a sports page about the Olympics the other day, yeah we were wrestling to all read it first. hahaha, but its fun. my district is so awesome, this last week everyone left that was older than our district, so now our district is the oldest and there are three below us. So we're getting to help them out a lot.

Well again time is just flying by, its time for me to finally be in the field and then I'm sure time just flies right on by.

Quick story, the other day my companions and I had to teach the investigator(member just acting the part) about the plan of salvation, and the situation was that his brother had died and we were teaching him about where he goes and what not. Well after we finished, he decided to share something with us. When he walked into the room we noticed he had a crutch and come to find out he had polio. He's from Peru, and so when it came to the age to serve a mission he wanted to serve so badly, but the church wouldn't let him because he was disabled and they didn't have missions like that back then.

He wanted to serve so badly, and when he was 21 he was called to serve in the bishopric and the bishop handed him a letter and told him to read it in Sacrament to the congregation, and in the letter the first Presidency announced that disabled members could now serve missions. He was so happy because one of his deepest desires was to be a full time missionary. He went to his Stake President to ask if he could serve as a full time missionary, and was praying that no matter the answer he would accept it as the Lord's will. The Stake President said no! He was so sad but was still able to serve somewhere in Peru but not as a full time missionary. But in a blessing a little while later it was said that how blessed he is, because he has put the Lord's will first instead of always being bummed about not serving a full time mission. Of course he was crying as he told this story, and so were we, the Spirit was so strong.

He then looked at us and said that you are healthy. Don't waste your time, enjoy it, but get to work, Because one of my greatest desires was to be a full time missionary like you, and I was never allowed. It really left an impression with me and it really changed the way that I study and do things now.

I hope that all is well and I love hearing about whats going on.

Love you guys
Paz
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 8/6/08

2008-08-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hey

Ok, so I got your watch that you ordered for me today and its really nice. I only wanted one from like Wal-Mart. But thanks anyway. Oh and all the Elders in my zone say thanks for the gummys and the candy.haha, they've been pigging out on them all week. But anyway, this week has flown by, but we found out some news yesterday. There have been a ton of rumors going around about the Consolate. But i guess he's like froze up visas because parents have been calling and complaining to him. So please if you hear of any or your doing it to him, please don't because its only hurting the missionaries.

But what they are doing now, instead of having the missionaries wait at the MTC for their visas there are sending them out. So all that were waiting are gone, and at our 9 week mark, we'll be gone too, to Mexico or to somewhere close. Or far.... two Elders in our zone got sent to Georgia. but most are going to somewhere in Utah. so I don't i know whats going to happen. We thought because of President Dickerson's run in with that guy at the restaurant that they'd all go through here soon, but its at a hold now. So I don't know, I can only prepare myself to serve in Mexico or wherever before that.

Question....have you guys talked to Mike at all? I haven't heard from him, but I hope that there is someway you guys are. And I hope that your sending my emails to Todd and Jake and Kenny, so that they have my email so that when I can email, i can hear from them.

But the MTC is great. Its rained a couple times here, which has been nice. Oh yeah...guess who i ran into here??? Chris Olsen. Remember him from our ward in Chandler. Yeah he's headed to Jake's mission, and his brother is actually serving in Brazil now. My companions and i were out testifying to other Elders and i ran into him. Crazy. But i appreciate all your letters and everything. Its been so nice to hear from you guys and everyone else that has written me. We have an Elder here who came in about 2 weeks ago into the zone and he reminds me so much of Jake,haha, its funny, but he leaves Tuesday for the Guatemala MTC. So I'll have no one to play with now.haha.

I've been extremely blessed with so many things i cant even name them all, I'm speaking and teaching in the language well. I'm working on it everyday for a long time. But thank you guys for your support and love for me.

How's Dad? I haven't heard from him in a awhile. And tell Lynette and CJ i will write them a letter because i gotta go to get some laundry in. And there is no time to waste. I love you all and think about you all the time. I hope that you guys are safe and healthy. oh i did sealing for the dead for the first time today. I'm excited to get married now.hahaha, broma, just kidding. but it was really sweet. well i love you all and hope that God is with you till we meet again.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/31/2008

2008-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hey, whats going on?

This week has been flying by so so fast. First off, amazing news. So President Dickerson, my Branch President, this last friday was at work and always eats lunch at 1130. But for some reason it completely blew his mind and so he ran across the street from his work to get something to eat. It was this little Mexican restaurant. SO he got his food and went and sat in the corner and was eating facing the wall, well this guy who came over an was talking to him, this guy was the owner of the restaurant. So he asked if he could sit by President Dickerson and he of course let him. They started to talk and the owner was saying how he joined the church about 10 years ago and taht he feeds the missionaries for free because they brought him the truth. So President Dickerson asked of there was anything he could do to help pay for the expenses that the missionaries have racked up. And the owner said no that it was his pleasure, and then asked if there was anything that he could do for President Dickerson. Jokingly President Dickerson said you could get me some visas for my missionaries. The owner said whats wrong with them. President Dickerson siad the Consilate was dragging his feet for whatever reason and was only allowing 10 to get theirs a week. The owner then looked around real quick and then leaned in real close and said that his uncle was the President of Mexico. ANd that he would call him and have him call the Consilate and get things moving. Crazy huh???

Well its almost been a week since that happened. Word is that 60 missionaries are recieving their visas and leaving by Saturday or Monday. This is such an amazing story. There are no such things as coincidences, there is only Divine Guidance. There was a reason that President Dickerson forgot about lunch that one day.

But everything is going so awesome here. I got to go to a temple session finally. For the first time since i got here. Cuz its been closed for 3 weeks and the other week I was with Elder Woodland at a Doctors Appointment. But it was so freakin amazing.

My new companions are really cool, Elder Miller and Elder Christansean, there are amazing Elders and we are getting along great. We taught the first lesson for the first time in Spanish and I love it. Spanish is so so amazing and I'm loving the challenge of learning the language. I've truly been blessed with the gift of tongues and I know it and I thank the Lord everyday for it.
We had Bishop Edgley come and speak to us this last Sunday from the Presiding Bishopric. It was such a good talk. The talks are so amazing here, alot of them are from emeritus quorum of the seventy but they are still amazing.

Our teacher Hermano Allen took a job with the Spain Consilate so we got a new teacher. It this little short Guatamalean woman. She so lil and cute I could just fold her up and put here in my bag and take her with me.hahaha, jk, but she is an awesome teacher. Well I'm attempting starting tomorrow to do a whole week only in Spanish, I'm so excited, no English.
Everyone is in great health here and I'm loving it, the food is great and so are all the arrangments dad. And i dont have another email for that person, lo siento. And mom yes some of the Elders have started from scratch, but after 5 weeks it amazing what you can learn and know. The Elders here are so awesome. I've been playing basketball with theis Elder who is like 6'5'', and played at Dixie. He really good and dunks it all the time, its so sweet. Him and everyone else here are trying to convince me to move to Utah and go to BYU after the mission. hahaha, we'll see.

But everything is going great, the Elder that was sick is all better, exactly a week after he started to be sick, he was up playin basketball. All is well.
I love you all and hope that all is well.

Love
Elder Howard

The Coming Islamic Tidalwave

2008-07-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

This was created by some film makers in the Netherlands. This video has already been pulled by many sites, so I thought that I might post here because I found it chilling about what is going on around the world in the name of Islam.

There are some graphic images in this, so be warned. This is a view of what is coming our way if we are not careful!

Terry Anderson on Barak Obama -- Must Read!

2008-07-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

TERRY ANDERSON, A BLACK LOS ANGELES TALK RADIO HOST, WENT DOWN A LIST OF THINGS SENATOR OBAMA HAS SAID THAT ARN'T EXACTLY CORRECT.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 Obama's Not Exactlys

Obama's Not Exactlys:

1.) Selma March Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google'Obama Selma ' for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.)

2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.

3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.

4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Oba ma, is Odinga's follower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that....and for more.

Obama's cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get Sharia muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his followers have burned Christians' homes and then burned men, women and children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth.

5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn't allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.

6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and 'Baraka' (from which Barack came) means 'blessed' in that language.. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.

Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother's side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father's side. While Barack Hussein Obama's father was from Kenya , his father's family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama's father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father's birth certificate even states he's Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more.....go to.....

http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?Barack_Hussein_Obama_-_Arab-American,_only_6.25%25_African

7.) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.

4-3-08 Article 'Obama was 'quite religious in islam' http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559

8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book).

February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago: Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (it'll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.' This is just one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says 'Obama's narrative is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.'

9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says you could speak the language.

10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign Experience - NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn't even speak the language. What did you learn except how to study the Koran and watch cartoons.

11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies.

12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine

13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.

14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn't, and never did, exist.

15.) I Won't Run On A National Ticket In '08 - NOT EXACTLY, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first..

16.) Voting 'Present' is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.

17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.

18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.

19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE.

20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you didn't write it, introduce it, change it or create it.

21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days from start to finish.
22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.

23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.

24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.

26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.

27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.

28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them.

29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction off Israel .

30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the delegates decide.

31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time.

32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26, most of which you didn't write yourself.

33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.

34.) I Don't Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it.

35.) I don't Have Lobbysists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting.

36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.

37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren't in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time.

38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 who don't have to buy it.

39.) My uncle liberated Auschwitz concentration camp - NOT EXACTLY, your mother had no brothers and the Russan army did the liberating.

Ken Blackwell on Barak Obama

2008-07-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

The article is authentic and was written by Ken Blackwell, an African American conservative columnist. This column appeared on Townhall.com on March 14, 2008.

Blackwell is the Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment for the Family Research Council in Washington D.C. He is a columnist for the New York Sun and a contributing editor for Townhall.com

* * * * * * * * *

Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun

It's an amazing time to be alive in America. We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.

We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender.
Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.

The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.

Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton.

Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America. But let's look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial 'beauty.'

Start with national security, since the president's most important duties are as commander-in-chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists - something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.

Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on 'the rich.' How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.

Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, 'All praise and glory to God!' but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have 'hijacked' - hijacked - Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and pr omises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois, he refused to vote against a statewide ban - ban - on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood, and Sa n Francisco values, not Middle America values.

The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don't start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of 'bringing America together' means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandon ing any conflicting beliefs.

But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and - yes - they're talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama's radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.It's time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let's first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.

Dusty's Email -- 7/24/2008

2008-07-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

So i just had this huge letter typed up and then the computer restarted and i only got 8 minutes.

So everything is going great and the Lord is blessing me with the language and learning the Gospel. My whole district has only been speaking Spanish and we still got 5 weeks left. Its already been a month, crazy huh? Well all is well, the Elder who got really sick is still really sick but it seems like he's getting better. The last week has been really stressful, but we've pushed through it together and the Lord has blessed us so much. We know that, and recognize it.

How's Lynette and Ryan, i havent heard from them in a while. I'm glad to hear you guys texted Mike, I hope he's doing well. And I've been writing with Kevin and I'll get his emial address to you later.

Thanks for all your support and prayers. I truly appreciate it. I've been called as the music person for our zone and I love it. The Gospel is true and I wish that I could write a longer update but i gotta go.

Dusty's Email -- 7/17/2008

2008-07-17T21:05:00.001-07:00

“Hey

Well this week has been great and the package that i received was awesome mom and dad thank you so much. But today is a sad day because my companion left to go home. About two days ago he asked me a couple of real serious questions which I answered for him, and he then began to go into all these interviews with the Branch President and the District Presidency. The last two days I've spent more time studying in a waiting room than ever before. But I had my thoughts about what the meetings were about, and yesterday in the last meeting he was told that he was going home the next day.

He was telling everyone that it was his body that needed more time to heal. But my suspicions turned into actual truth when I was told last night by the Branch President that he was going home for other reasons. It was real sad and hard. I loved that Elder and served him and tried my best to make sure that he was comfortable, and that he caught up to where everyone was. It was just kinda disappointing. This morning I told him that I knew and I told him basically what the Branch President told me he needed to do, that he needed to humble himself and get rid of the pride that held him back from clearing stuff up. It’s just kinda a downer.

But on a happier note, on Sunday I heard a story in Priesthood meeting about the Mission President in Scotland a little while ago, The President asked what there number of baptisms were the year before, and he was told 9. So the President called everyone in the entire mission together and told them to send either their Bible home or themselves, so everyone sent their Bibles home and the baptisms the next year went to 125. So here we get to teach the lessons, and I've put my Bible away for this week and only taught the lessons from the Book of Mormon, and relied on the Lord to guide which way the discussion goes. And it’s the most amazing thing!!! I love it!!! The Book of Mormon is so amazing. Every lesson I've taught from it and just knew the things that I needed to hit, but told the Lord that I was gonna rely on Him to lead the discussion, and He did it. The Book of Mormon is amazing!!! It the most correct of all the books on this here planet. I love it so much and am continuing to gain a deeper testimony of its power. It will stand on its own, despite what others say. We don’t need proof from the Bible, the Book of Mormon is all thae we need. So read it daily.

I love you all. Things are going great and the language is going amazing, and so learning the Gospel. And I love waking up every day and getting ready for a packed day of missionary work.

Continue to pray for the visas, yeah the missionaries that have been called to Russia the last like 3 or 4 months are getting their calls changed to like Cali or somewhere local. My friend Jeremy, Jason’s cousin, I think is the last ones allowed to go. So he barely made it. But the word is that visas may start going through beginning of August. So keep praying for it. The church is true and I love to hear from everyone about how things are going. If you write me i will write back. Promise.

Love Dusty
P.S. How's CJ? Haven’t heard from him in awhile

Dusty's Email -- 7/10/2008

2008-07-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

hey

Happy Birthday Dad!!! Hope your birthday went great.

Hey everything is going great here, I'm loving it. We taught a family yesterday and it went so well and the Spirit was so strong and my companion and me both said things that I dont think that we prepared to say. It was so awesome, and before that, we had to speak Spanish and ge tto know someone and everything about them, like famly and hobbies and stuff like that, and I spoke great and so did my companion.

You guys had some questions for me:

- The food is gerat and I'm loving every meal, its true that it does give everyone gas, but hey, its food, and buffet style.
- I dont need anymore hangers I'm good there but thanks.
- A present we got on the 4th of July was to stay up past curfew and see the show that BYU put on, and it was amazing.
- I'm not really lacking anything, except pictures, i would love to get some pictures of family, friends whoever. I really want that one by the computer in the dining room of todd kelsey and me.
- We've had geat devotionals and we've had to members of the Emeritus Quorum of the Seventy come and speak and they were awesome. Elder Morrison was my favorite and he spoke on opposition, and how nothing great comes without great opposition and that the Lord will not show you the great thing until after you've been tested and tried. It was a great talk. It was said in our little meeting after the devotional with the Elders in my district, that as we endure through our trials faithfully, we begin to take steps towards Gethsemane. We begin, though we wont ever fully comprehend, to take steps towards the Savior and his Atonement for us. It was extremly powerful, thats not exactly what was said, but the jist of it.
- The language is coming great, and I'm excelling ahead of my class a little bit and setting goals that seem really hard, but I'm reaching them everyweek, and opening up my vocab.
- Stamps just send me a single book, and then I'll let you know if i need more.
- We dont excercise on pday or sunday, but the other 5 days we get almost an hour of gym.

No body in my district plays the piano so I've been on the piano playing hymns everyday for almost an hour practicing and I've rekindled my love for it. I'm in the process of doing a special number for "If You Could Hie to Kolob". Its turned into one of my favorite songs and i love to play it. On Sunday I played a musical number "Come thou Fount", basically sight reading and it went well. The Lord has restored this gift to me, despite for a while i didnt use what he gave me, i think this is my last chance:) So i'll take it.

Thank you for your prayers, please pray that visas will go through, its getting pretty bad, please pray that the consolate of Mexico will soften his heart. Oh and mom thank you for the letters ... Anyway its almost laundry time and I gotta write a few more letters by hand, but the church is true and there is no way it cant be, despite obstacles, its true.

Love
Elder Howard

Dusty's Email -- 7/3/2008

2008-07-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the email that we got from Dusty after his first week in the MTC:

"Hey Family,

Hey thank you so much for the package mom. I had to buy stamps this last Monday to be able to get out a few letters and I was gonna ask you guys to send me some. But then I got your package. The MTC is so amazing. The Spirit here is insane. I love it so so much. And I'm so glad that I chose to serve a mission and I'm not ever in the field yet.

My district has about 12 other elders in it. Most of them are going to my mission. My companion showed up Monday. He had a minor surgery and is now here. His name is Elder Woodland. He's from Sacramento and is going to my same mission. He's such a nice guy and me and him are tearing up teaching and learning the language. We taught a 101 year old man the other day and we were trying to teach him the first lesson but he kept asking all these questions about different things in the church, and so we kept trying to move the conversation back to the topic but it was a true testimony about teaching by the Spirit. We answered every question he had. It was so awesome. We went to the temple today and did some initatories. It was so cool.

I got all my laundry done and am getting ready for class tonight. So my p-day is Thursday, so those are the days that I can email you guys. But I can get emails from anyone but right now I can only respond to family through email, and everyone else I can see emails but i have to respond through mail.

But my email is elderdustyhoward@myldsmail.net.

Again thanks for everything, but what is going on with the babies? Lynette hinted at something in a letter, but i have no idea what she meant. Thank you for your support and prayers, I truly appreciate them and I hope that you all have a great week and remember that the church is true, no matter what.

Love you all
Elder Howard"

Dusty's Address

2008-06-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

For all those who wish to contact Dusty in the MTC, here is his address for letters or care packages.

We would ask that you remember that Dusty is serving the Lord, and that we as his friends and family should do the best we can to help him focus on this task. We ask each of you to read the following advise from a missionary and keep his words in mind when you write Dusty. Each of us can help Dusty have a great experience, but we need to remember that what and how we write can have a major impact on that.

The following was published by the LDS Church in 1997. The words are still very wise:

“Missionaries love to hear from home, especially from close friends. What makes it tough to concentrate is what is contained in the letters. Write about their mission. Share personal missionary experiences you are having at home. Write about insightful things you’ve learned in the scriptures. It’s all right to write about home; just don’t dwell on it. Nothing distracts an elder more than talking about the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Don’t reflect on past dates or discuss when he will come home. People change a lot in the mission field and at home. It’s best to be only friends. A key to being a positive support to a missionary is to cut out any type of romance in your correspondence. If you are focused on his mission, he will be too.”

Further advise follows from the same article:

"Letters are a great place to talk seriously about the gospel. This will not only help the one who receives the letter; it will be of great value to the person writing the letter. Include copies of stories you have read or clippings from magazines. Write down thoughts or poems that you particularly like. Record interesting or funny things that have happened. And keep a duplicate of each letter you send. These letters can be a nice addition to your journal."

"Missionaries who really focus on their missions are the happiest. They look back at those years as a time of great service and growth. If you want to help in making his mission a wonderful time, keep your letters upbeat and light. This is also a time for you to pursue worthy goals in education, work, or missionary work."

"Many missionaries choose to memorize all seven verses of Doctrine and Covenants 4 about missionary work as a field ready to harvest. In verse five it encourages those who labor to have an “eye single to the glory of God.” This focus on the work makes missions more satisfying. Letters that encourage and uplift missionaries, rather than add to the homesickness, can help a missionary lose himself in service."

Now with those words of guidance out of the way, Dusty will be in the MTC through August 25th, 2008. His address is:

Elder Dustin Howard
MTC Mailbox #120
MEX-MEXE 0825
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Ut. 84604-1793

You can also visit www.dearelder.com to send a letter directly to him at the MTC or via pouch service when he gets into the field.

Thank you for your interest in keeping in touch with Dusty and please help him to have great two years!