Week 13 in Plano, TX

Very short email this week. Wasn't too chatty today.

Well this week was transfers and now I am getting used to new missionaries that have moved in here. We have been working hard mostly knocking on doors. They cut our service hours so we had to cut back a lot. The weather is still crazy and thankfully we didn't get any snow. We did hear about what happened down south. Still haven't been able to see the Christmas family. We are starting a new program in the ward to help the ward members be better missionaries. By helping them make mission plans. 
Well I hope that you guys had a great week. 

Week 12 in Plano, Texas

No transfers for Jesse this time around.  He is happy to stay in Plano and to stay with Elder D****. Short email this week.  Glad I was able to chat back and forth with him or we wouldn't have gotten much of a report at all this week :)  They haven't been able to get back with any of the previous families, but all is well in Plano.

I had an awesome birthday. One of the best parts was the dinner. We ate with a family named the H****. They took us to an all you can eat restaurant. There I had steak, chicken, and I tried liver. that was a mistake. Big mistake. Still can't believe that I am 19. Elder D**** yesterday told a person that we knocked into that I was 18, and I had to correct him. If the rule had not changed I would just now be getting my mission call or just leaving. It is weird to think about. Thank you for the package. I really loved the car show and the calender. Well here are some pictures of my night.

Here is how to put 19 candles on one ding dong. 

Step one put them in the ding dong.

Step two light. 

Step three has two parts. a. blow the candles out

                                         b. use fire extinguisher to put out fire started in room by dumb missionaries.

Luckily i didn't do step three part b and I didn't burn my fingers at all. Although I see that I was a bit stupid to put the burnt matches on a paper towel.

Step four eat.

I got Bode's toothpaste. I think that I will be good on toothpaste for a year!

I am staying with Elder Davis. It will be his fourth transfer here. We found out that his companion when he was in Henderson is still there. This is his 6th transfer there. It will be crazy if I stay here for 9 months or 6 transfers.

I hope that you are staying warm. I love you all.

Have a great week.

Every year we go to the car show for his birthday. This year we had to send the car show to him.  We sent him some of his favorite cars, Lotus.

How to put 19 candles in a Ding Dong:

Step 1 put them in the Ding Dong

Step 2 light

Step 3 blow out the candles

Step 4 Eat

Week 11 in Plano, Texas

 It is really hard to get investigators where Jesse is at.  They get real excited when they meet people that will allow them to come back and teach them.  Keep M****in your prayers this week that he will be receptive to the message Jesse and Elder D**** have for him.  Jesse is really happy where he is at.  Transfers happen next week.  He will find out on Saturday if he will stay in Plano or be transferred.  I hope he is able to stay a while :)  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers in Jesse's behalf.

Some really big things happened this week. it has been really exiting! this is my top 5 Friday list taking place on Monday. So I will go down the list from most importance to least importance.

1. I saw a bobcat. It was really weird because I thought that it was just one on the M**** cats until I noticed that is was bigger and had a little tail.  Its face was a bit different too. I saw it from inside. When I went outside to look at it it ran away.

2. My bike decided to break down this week. After we did service I got on my bike and started peddling and my bike decided to switch gears on me without me changing gears (the left gears, the ones that control the gears by my pedals.) It was stuck in first gear and I noticed that my wire was loose. So when I got home I tightened the wire and it still didn't change. Then the high gear lever fell off. Thirty minuets later I got it to change into second gear. Still couldn't put the lever back on so I decided to duck tape it on and hope that nothing else breaks.

3. Got into a bible bash with a Catholic lady. Her argument was genetics and the ancestry of Adam and Noah (i think that she believes that the flood didn't kill everyone).  She just wanted to keep going and going and it was going no where. So we just left.

4. I saw a squirrel 

5. I made a half court basketball shot today. I'm not that bad at basketball.

Oh ya we met a guy named M**** he is interested and we gave him a book of Mormon. He said that we could come back.  M**** is living with his parents. He is going to college or ending high school. He says that he is interested and he has a friend that is Mormon. We haven't met his parents.

I do have a funny story about a cat and running. Last night we just got home from a dinner appointment and we were packing to go out and tract and there was a knock at the door. No one was home so I answered it. It was the bishop and the stake president. As I open the door, the M***** cat (they have three cats, only one is supposed to stay inside the whole time.)  made a break and ran out the door. The bishop was looking for a guy named B****. (different story, B**** moved in with the M*****. His family is in the ward. They didn't say why, but my companion and I think it is just the mother bird kicking the 20 year old out of the house. He doesn't go to school and he doesn't want to serve a mission) anyway back to the story, I told them that he was not here and they left. So I ran out to get the cat and I chased that stupid thing around the house three or four times before I caught it.

We actually went to a barber shop for a haircut. The guy that did my hair was like 90 and he had shaky hands. Two days after the cut I looked closely in the mirror and my sideburns were really off. So I had Elder D*** fix it. I will just let him do it next time.

Well as you can see there is nothing that could have made my week more fun. I hope that you all had a wonderful week. Hope ya'll have a great week.

New haircut

Christmas 2013

Family History Center at the church where the missionaries go to email.

Week 10 in Plano, TX

 Always excited to receive pictures of Jesse!  He did tell us that he is letting Elder D**** cut his hair today.  Hopefully we will see the results next week :)

     Well this week wasn't all that exciting. Just up to normal stuff again. We only did 5 hours of service this week because of New Years and the temple trip. Oh ya I did get to go to the temple this week. The zone hit a goal of 24 contacts a day for two weeks and we got to go to the temple. yay:) We tried to see the Christmas Family (the family we found on Christmas) but they were not home. For New Years Eve the M***** had us over for games. So we played with them and the N**** family until 10:30. and that is when we had to go to bed. There were no fireworks. I didn't even notice that but now it seems really weird.  Then on New Years day, the Chinese missionaries had a baptism. That was cool to watch. Then on Friday my companion and I went on exchanges with the district leader and his companion. We do splits with our district leader. We do it for two main reasons, the first is for the district leader to see how the missionaries are doing, and the second reason is to see for yourself what other missionaries are doing to find/teach people. So we don't get stuck doing the same things over and over.
     I found out about BYU and Notre dame's games when I was tracting. We ran into a Catholic that talked to us for a bit. Not interested but told us about the games. He has three children that went to Notre Dame. 
     Brother M***** went to Michigan and that is why there is a banner at their house. He doesn't support them much any more because he says that they are too liberal (big topic in Texas). Sad I couldn't welcome in the new year but I needed the sleep.
     Well I have to go now have a great day. Don't get sick. I hope that you all had a wonderful new year.

Dinner

Out on splits

Jesse and Elder D**** out on splits

Week 9 in Plano, Texas

We were able to talk with Jesse for an hour and a half on Christmas Day!! It was great to see and hear him.  He had so much to tell us and actually expanded on the stories that that he has written below.  I will add the extra info in :)  Thank you all for making his first Christmas away a special day for him.  He is loving the area that he is in and his companion.

     Well I had an awesome Christmas. A Christmas miracle happened. We actually had people listen to us on Christmas and I got my first lesson with an investigator! (They had a goal to make 24 contats a day during the Christmas holiday.  They had knock many doors Christmas day.  These investagators didn't answer the door when Jesse knocked, but after a few mins got in their car and found the boys and asked them to come back to their house so they could hear their message.) We gave them a Book of Mormon and they said that they will read it. They did say we could come back in a couple of months after they read it. We will check up on them in a week and a half.
     Other then that it was a slow week. It is amazing how fast the spirit of Christmas leaves some people. Before Christmas they seemed so nice when they said we have a church and we know Jesus, now when they say it they seem so mad. oh well.
     The ward Christmas program was really good. There are a lot of really great singers here.
     Thank you for all the people who want to make me fat(add sarcasm) ( he has actually lost weight out in Texas.  Getting back down to his running weight without running). I am so grateful for all of the packages.
     I hope that you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Some of Jesse's packages under his tree.  I love all the chips on the bookshelf.  Glad he is eating so healthy!

A Christmas Selfie

The M***** Family would put the Elder's Packages under the tree as they came to the house. 

Week 8 in Plano, Texas

     We are so excited to be able to talk to Jesse on Wednesday!!! We were able to chat back and forth on Monday for a little while.  He is doing really good and his spirits are high.  They haven't had much success with teaching new investigators, but are doing lots of service which he loves.  One of the members there in Plano e-mailed me the picture at the bottom.   They both offered the prayers during our Christmas Sabbath meeting yesterday - Elder D**** gave the opening prayer and Elder Jorgensen the closing prayers. It was perfect, as Bishop  comments about the Spirit of Christ centered on how the Spirit of Christmas involves missionary work and serving others. 
Merry Christmas to ya'll!!
     Well howdy ya'll. This week in Texas has been great except for the cold and the rain. The beginning of the week was warm, but then it just got cold and wet and windy. Most of our work is spent tracting still. Most people just say no thanks and shut the door. Then this week I got two new experiences of tracting. I had two people right in a row open the door and slam it immediately after just looking at it. Then another guy told us no thanks he worships Satin. I don't know if he was joking or not but he just got in his car and left.
     We had a specialized training on Friday and it was Christmas themed. We had to buy a $5 present before we went to the meeting and put a lunch in it. We don't have much lunch items at the house so we went to a gas station and bought a sandwich and some chips for the lunch and I bought glow stars for the present. At the meeting we put the presents in the back of the gym. Then we all lined up and the presents were given out a random to the other missionaries. I by far had the best gift. Everyone wanted to see it and there was a huge crowd around me. (see the picture) The autograph says "all my love and best wishes Nance" Then afterward we watched our Christmas movie. I watched Ice Age. There wasn't much else that happened this week. The picture was the highlight of my week, it was so funny.
     Well I hope that ya'll have have a great Christmas.

Jesse's amazing Christmas present from the Christmas party.  It is a picture of one of the sister missionaries.

His Christmas Tree

Taylor made Jesse a Christmas pillowcase for Christmas

Jesse and Elder D****

Week 7 in Texas - Transfer to Plano, TX

We were so excited to get Jesse's letter this week and see him so excited and happy.  Thank you all for your prayers in his behalf.  Our prayers are truly answered!  Merry Christmas to all of you and we look forward to speaking with Jesse in a week.

hello everybody.
     Well as you know I got transferred to Plano and I love it here. The big changes are I am staying at a members house. There is dinner planned for most every knight.Ii can understand everything and not just pieces. We are on bikes and We tract more.
     I am staying with the M**** Family. They are a really nice older couple. Sister M**** is a ward missionary. Everyone around here thinks that their house is strange because it has a basement. I live on the second story. The house has a main floor, downstairs and a basement. Then it has a second and third story and it has an attic. We stay mostly to our room and it is way smaller than the apartment. We do have a mini fridge the only problem is that is our main fridge.
     Since it is a biking area we do bike a lot and it is really fun. The first two days we had to walk because there was still ice on the ground, but it warmed up and it rained so all the ice is melted.
     My companions name is Elder D****. He is a really awesome elder.
     The area is nice, we really only have one investigator right now. The rest of the time is spent tracting or doing service. We do service at three main places. One called Minies food pantry. ( the  people who run it say that sometime next year that they have a spot on Good Morning Amercia, but I don't know too much about that right now) Then we serve at a thrift shop called Support Your Troops. My first day the person who runs the thrift shop gave us each 25 dollar gift card for our service. Then they gave us a pair of brand new dress pants. Wow. I am so lucky! The third place is a senior center where we will call out BINGO. I haven't been there yet, it was supposed to be on Tuesday but that is the day i got transferred out here.  I am really glad that the weather warmed up. It is supposed to get into the 50's. 

My new Address is, 2608 stone creek drive Plano TX 75075
Oh I almost forgot I got chewed out by one of the families I visit because I said "you guys" instead of "ya'll". They really take it seriously out here. So I will talk to YA'LL  L8TR.

Shoes that he bought for $25

Ice storm in Carrollton TX

A nativity made out of bullet casings

Room in Plano Texas

Apartment in Carrollton, TX

Room in Carrollton, TX

Letters and pictures sent to him

 More pictures from his little cousins (Sorry don't know how to turn the picture)

High School Football stadium

At a ward Christmas Party