November 21, 2011

Hello family! Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!! how are you all doing sounds like the usual... keeping busy. that is always nice. well things are pretty interesting around here... my groove has been thrown off fo sho... transfers were this weekend and well i was involved in the 12 week program with my trainee and so i was with him for only 6 weeks... i was transferred to Glendora 5th ward! crazy huh and they just wont give me a break on this District Leader stuff haha... it should be good im actually glad that i will have a companion that is going to be on the same page as me. training was fun but it was alot of hard work... i had to watch my every move because actions speak louder than words so i had to make sure i was the best example the past 18 weeks or 3 transfers... becasuse i had Elder Nielson for 12 and Wagstaff for 6.

My new companions name is Elder Naeta... he is from West Valley... big ol tongan! it will be great i am excited to be here. its actually kind of funny... ever since my first week in Hacienda Heights Sandra Meek (aka Nana) has been trying to get all of her family in the church... well this has been going on for over a year now i guess. but she has a daughter that is very stubborn and will not join but she goes to sacrament every week... so i told Sandra that i wanted to teach her so she should have her over, well we never ended up having the time for that. then on Saturday night we were talking about her daughter and i cant remember what we were saying but i said jokingly " i just need to get transferred so i can go baptize here" about a half an hour later i got a call to be transferred to her ward!! haha that is funny huh? so Sandra told me that i have a job to do and we need to get her. it is going to be good i can already feel it!

i am a little bit sad... Brandy's mom liked us alot becuase we were nice to her daughter and she liked the church and we were willing to always help them... when she found out that we were not with our family for the Holidays... she demanded Brandy to ask us to come over for dinner on Thanksgiving haha it was pretty funny... but i am not going to be there so i am sad about that... but the missionaries will do good so i shouldnt worry. Brandy and Carlos are so awesome they will be some of my favorite people to come visit when i am home... i am so happy i was able to teach them!

Well that is about all for this week family... i love you all and i hope you ahve a happy thanksgiving... Stay safe and be happy!

I love you with all i have

Love Elder Emery

Baptisms

November 7, 2011

Hey everyone! this email is going to be a little bit on the shorter side today because we are a little rushed for time... but this week was so so great! well i hope things are going well there at home i do miss you guys... thank you for the email mom i do appreciate it and i love you alot just always know that.

Well yesterday we had 2 baptisms! it was the baptism of Brandy and Carlos... it was so cool i loved it. teaching them was one of the coolest experiences and we have built such a good relationship with them... i am full of joy right now and it is so great!! they asked me if i would give the talk on the Holy Ghost at there baptism and of course i said yes. so when i get up to talk about the confirmation and different things i think everyone was surprised when i pulled out a golf analogy... ya know like the holy ghost and a caddie. it was awesome they loved it!

on Halloween we played soccer with Brandy and Carlos and two of their friends it was pretty fun we take care of business.

it rained this week which was kind of a bummer because nobody wants to answer the door when its raining... we did get a new investigator and a few potentials from knocking in the rain so it paid off! we have been in the finding process because all of our investigators are getting Baptized!! i love this area everyone is missionary minded in the ward and are always willing to help out! ... WE evenhave a dinner for thanksgiving already lined up haha! lucky you guys... going up to park city... jealous.

i know this is not much but it feels like alot because the baptism was the best part of the week! i will try and send a pic if i get it uploaded.

you asked me about stuff for Christmas and i am not sure yet... it seems like it is too early for that. i think i will have something for that list by next week, because i really dont need anything but i might... i just have to pray about it and then i will let you know next week :)

alright well i do miss you all and i am very thankful for your email it was good to get that today! it has made my day for sure!

I love you and hope all is well thank you again for all that you do for me!

Love Elder Emery

October 31, 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! i cant believe it is here again... its crazy! sounds like you guys have had a busy week... i do remember end of term last minute assignments... always fun. sounds like you are all doing good though and i am glad to hear that.

Mom its kind of funny how you mentioned distractions... i have had a few thoughts lately about distractions. alright so the part of your mission prepares you for the future right? well i have thought about the future (which i hate doing because i feel like i am going to have an anxiety attack) and one of the big things that comes up is that i dont want to have distractions.... because i know what i want and i am going for it i have alot of goals that i want to accomplish... some are short term goals alot of them are long term ones. we will probably talk more about it during the Christmas call because i might have you guys do a few things for me so i can just get right into it... i guess the big thing is that i dont want to be idle. right now i am going a hundred miles an hour always having something to do and i love it... do you kind of understand what i am saying? i hope you do.

ok so one of the things that i feel i should share is about something i have learned and i have been learning it and am still learning it... it means alot to me though thats why i am going to share it.

Mom a couple weeks before i left... you said something to me that has stuck with me, but the way i look at what you said has changed.... you were talking to me because i... well i was a piece of work and had probably done something dumb or was just being rude about something and you were upset with me and you said this " i cant wait for you leave here and go on a mission" for a long time i didnt understand why you said that and i was just kind of like whatever because i was not very nice and i didnt care, but it has always stuck with me since then.

throughout my mission i have had alot of humbling experiences that have helped me become stronger. since i have been out i would say that i dont see a huge change in me... but what has changed is my attitude, my mind set, my people skills etc. all those kinds of things have changed, but im still me. The biggest thing that has changed is my conviction that Jesus is the Christ. i know more now than ever before that he lives and loves me and he loves everyone. i have come to understand that this life is meant to be like him... how could i become perfect like my father in heaven or the savior if they did not live? you cant become a perfect nothing. i know that this is not just another religion... i feel that it is a way of life... by us taking on the name of Jesus Christ at baptism and everytime we take the sacrament... we are promising that we will be like him. when we "remember him" we want to be more like him. and that is what we are suppose to be doing... this life is a time to prepare to meet God. i feel that i need to ask myself everyday "what am i going to do to prepare to meet God?" i get emotional talking about this, probably because of the different experiences i have had to understand this... also its probably what you said to me "i cant wait for you to leave here and go on a mission" because you could see my future and all the little small mistakes i was making were putting up walls for my progression or what i was to become. you could see what would be best for me and i was throwing it away, and so you were hoping that me going on a mission would teach me these things and help me for the better... i wish i would have understood that then, but i am so happy that i have learned it and i thankful that you sent me out with faith and those words stuck with me because i feel that if i didnt have any success out here with people... the one thing that God wanted me to learn was that... you have to convert yourself before you can help convert someone else.

i seem to be out of time, but i love you guys and i am thankful for everyone of you and i hope you love every second you have in life because Life is Good!

you are always in my prayers and i hope you have a very successful week in all that you do!

Love you as big as the bags of candy you get tonight!

Love Elder Emery