October 22, 2012 E-mail

Hello hello!

 

So everything is going crazy good here.  The Tenn Nashville mission has the highest numbers in everything except baptisms.  We are only high average there, so that's stuff just around the world.  So the new ages for missionaries is going to bring thousands of more missionaries in to the mission field in the next few months.  The Tenn Nashville mission just split another stake so now there is 7 stakes.  Since I first came out last year this mission has added 8 new areas (took from other missions), opened around 12 new wards (branches), and split the young single adults from 1 ward in to 5 with another one soon to be.  Things are going crazy in the south... as for Paris its self we have a lot a lot of investagators (friends) - like 29.   They all love us coming over but fail to ever want to change their church.  They dont see a need for truth, just a rock band or some guy to yell at them...

I'm doing great.  I finally hit 180 pounds like 3 weeks ago, but my body I guess is not made for the weight because I lost it all and am back to 165. :(  I still have not made any pictures yet to send home... 

 

As for things I have learned, the biggest thing I have learned on my mission is trust. Now the thing which is really getting me is God's trust in us.  Like today we had a lesson with this older lady named Cathrine, and she has this concern about coffee and tea and she wants us to prove to her why it's bad for her.  So after talking and talking about all the bad stuff that was in it, it all came down to this: Father in heaven gave us the biggest gift - one that we could not even come close to understanding.   This gift was agency, the ability to choose and do.   It was part of our creation and this life was completely built around this gift.   Now this is where it's really got me going crazy about this trust thing.  We have been given commandments and we were told trust in the Lord and you will be blessed with everything ....... I had a personal "ah ha" through the Holy Ghost that this was a two way deal, so we trust in Father and Father trusts in us.  Now what that meant to me was because He knew  life on Earth would be hard and hard it is.  He knew we would try to choose right so as we receive trial after trial we should thank Father for knowing we could handle it . :)

Love, Caleb

October 8, 2012 E-mail

If you are on, near, around, behind or standing on your computer, you might be a confused redneck.

If your grandmother chews tobacco while shooting a deer from the back window you might be in Kentucky.

If you have had to chain your house to a tree to keep it from being stolen your living in east Tenn.

If your 5 main food groups are Coon, Possum, Tobacco, Squirrel and Hog you are in the south.

If your heading north and wonder why it's getting more south your probibly going to fit in lol...

If you are going hunting and the only camo you have to hide you from the deer is your bare chest and your new suspenders, you probibly don't know it but your a Redneck.

If your house is a Nascar hall of fame it's a sure sign you're a redneck.

If you go to a church and the preacher has a mouth full of gold, and he says he needs more money to improve his families lifestyle, you are in a Penacostal church in Henry Tenn. (true story) lol we were asked to leave:) .....

 

If you ever find yourself looking at a house, horrified to go in, you might be on a mission and at your next dinner appointment. lol (it always seems to be the person that signs up every week)...

If you ever accidently pray that you don't die from the food , you might be a missionary with a name that starts with a P and ends with an N.

If you ever find a gross tie at a second chance store and think you are truly blessed you might be a missionary.:)

If you start to pick up rocks and are thinking about sending them home, you are on a mission.

When you look at girls and all you see are baptismal numbers, you are a good missanary.

When you go to the closet and only see white and black don't be alarmed you're on a mission...

When you wake up, get in the shower, get dressed and start studying, then wonder if your companion is sick or something because he is not up it might be 4:30am.............................

If you figure it would be funny to change the clock times to worry your companion and get him ready, you are on a mission lol..

 

 

So have fun every one, I am!

 

Love, Caleb

October 1, 2012 E-mail

So sorry for slacking off for a long while... Anyway, things are going good.  It's been raining for the past 16 hours here.  There has not really been anything super cool that has happened in the past couple of weeks.

We have been meeting with this guy who was a preacher at another church and we are working with him a little bit.  He lets little litte things get in the way of us getting him to do anything, like crazy simple stuff.  But he is interested in becoming a member and he is a cool guy, but he is a difficult one.

We have been doing a lot of service on cars and stuff like that.   That's about it really.

 

Love, Caleb