james letter 6-25-12

First off, thanks for giving me Adam's address, I'll be sure to send him a letter. Sorry that you didn't get the letter last week mom, I thought I sent it to both, but I must have forgot.

This week has been much better. We doubled our total lessons, and I feel a lot better about what we did this week.
Elder Awtry and I are getting along great. He is a great guy, and he does want to work, I have been able to see that more this week. The wards here are very missionary-minded, which helps a lot. We have been doing more member lessons, trying to get more referrals. It's working slowly and surely.

Something cool that happened this week: on Tuesday we had a really good training and practice by Elders H and P, they taught about finding when you teach, and teaching when you find. They challenged us to teach a principle to everyone we talk to, and to ask referrals from everyone. As we tried to implement that this week we were able to receive two referrals, while tracting. That is something that has never happened before, and it was really cool. We also asked Sonya, a new investigator, and she said that she didn't know anyone right now, but that she would talk to her friends and let us know during our next lesson. It was really neat.

This week we have also been getting our exercise in, we did some more country tracking, and we had to bike up some pretty large hills. First up one, then down one, then up another, and around the bend. There were some really creepy houses up there. I swear someone was murdered at the one, it just felt creepy, and run down. There were tattered drapes, and flies everywhere. We only knocked once. Whats really weird about that is on the same street as the serial killer house there was an 8 MILLION dollar home. It had gates(which were left open so we could get in) that had roses in them, that looked really cool, it was surrounded by pine trees. It was probably the coolest house I'd ever seen. No one was home.

We also met someone on that street who went on and on about how Obama is the anti-christ, and other such things. There was a really creepy purple house, with a drunk lady in it, and a bearded guy that told us that he almost joined the Church once, but there was no hope for him now. I told him before we left that there is always hope. He smiled and shut the door. When we were done tracting we biked back around the bend, then down a hill, up a hill, and down a hill to dinner. I was so tired by the end of the day.

I spoke in Church this week for the Springville ward, the first counselor asked me just before sacrament, so the only time I had to prepare was during the Sacrament. It was good though, the topic was easy enough.

Next week we are going to the employee store for Columbia, so make sure that I have enough money in my account to buy the jacket, I'm thinking about getting some rainpants too, they were about 20-30 I think, so maybe plan for that. Let me know in your emails how much I have so I know for sure what I can afford. I'm hoping to keep it under 60-70. I know money doesn't grow on trees.

I'm looking forward to your package, Julie should be sending one soon too. It's a late birthday package from her, but after the cherry pie I got I think I can forgive her.

Love you guys so much. Christmas is around the corner, I'll talk to you then.

Love,

Elder Schultz

PS. Can you believe that I've been out over 9 months already. September is close by, and then it will be a year. Where is the time going???