Casey's Mission Adventure: Another transfer! (But not for me ...)

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How about now! (;

Dear Family,

Good news; I'm staying! Bad news; Elder Hansen is heading up to Winder. Elder Indriamiarina (probably misspelled) is coming here with me; he's from Madagascar, and is my "brother" in mission terms; he was trained by Elder Nielsen, like I was! Should be very interesting lol! Elder Hansen is bummed about leaving; I am, too. We got along really well (since we are both Star Wars nuts lol!); I wish him the best.

Not too much happened this week, except the other Elders officially got moved in to the Sherwood's basement; I'm jealous, it's really nice. We can't bum rides from them anymore either, so we're hoofin' it for reals now lol. We even walked to church, which was actually good; it's not too far, and we got to street contact along the way!

Had Author at church again; found out he may not be able to get baptized for a while, for legal reasons I won't go into. That and the WoW issue still, so it may be a few months. He's still solid, though; we got him a big print Triple, and he's lovin' it! He can read on his own now (his eyes were too bad to see the words before).

Some of our other investigators have fallen off the map, but a few have resurfaced; a lady they were teaching before I got here, and her daughter, were both home when we decided to knock. We taught them a first, and the daughter loved it! Only a soft commitment to baptism, but it was a pretty spiritual lesson; I'm excited for them!

Some of our 'gators we'll be moving soonish, so we are planning to send their info to the Elders in those areas; we'll get 'em!

Not too much else is going on aside from transfers; it's always sad to see someone go, but it's also a good growing opportunity for everyone.

In response to your e-mail: Hey Dad! It's crazy Brenna and Garrett got married; who to? Seems like just the other day we were all in the 16-17 year old class eating candy. All my friends are getting married or on missions or in college; I can't really grasp it!

I wish I could be there to help pack; oh well. Six different families checked out the house? Anyone seem promising?

Most door approaches don't last past them answering the door, scowling, and them telling us their Baptist and slamming the door. If I got the chance to, I'd ask them how they were doing, then usually look for clues such as a sports insignia or something to strike up a pleasant conversation. We'd tell them who we were and who we represent, and give a brief summary of what our message is. For example: "After centuries of being lost, Christ's church and truth have been restored to the earth by a living prophet; through those living prophets, we receive more of God's word, such as the Book of Mormon." Then we usually have to send 10 minutes explaining that the BoM is not another version of the Bible (like the New World Translation or International Version or New King James or whatever); if we get that far, they'll usually let us come back and share more. Most people agree with the idea of modern prophets and families being forever, but they don't realize that is only found in Christ's true church; their churches don't teach that, even if they inherently believe in those principles. It's kind of frustrating, but it helps us figure out who is interested, and who might be later. The elect will feel the spirit, and will act on it. I know that if we bear testimony, and invite them to act, we have done our job; the Spirit will do the rest, as long as they allow it. Amen. Anyway, hope the move goes well! Take luck! Thanks for being the best dad ever!

Hey Missy! You're going on a date!?!?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't remember you asking me 'fore permission jk lol but seriously. How could you be 16! You were like 15 when I left, it doesn't make any sense! Oh well; just remember who you are, and what you are forth, and I can sleep tonight. Good job on Personal Progress, that's pretty shnazzy (as Mom would say lol!). Hope all goes well with volleyball and summer and dating and such. Love you bunches! Oh, and that quote is from Megamind; it may have been a year, but I'm still the master; thanks for playing lol jk! d

Hey Devin! Keep up the good work! Keep an eye on Shelby's boyfriends for me lol! You're a stud, stay cool baby bruh. Take Luck!

Hi, Mom! I haven't seen Sister Coleman since the Christmas party; she's going home then? That should be cool, it's fun when missionaries parents can come get them; I wonder if I could see her at the Lilburn building when we all head there for transfers? I guess we'll see. I do need some new shoes; the pair I am wearing as we speak have holes in the middle (that go all the way through lol!) and my other ones are soaked hard core and are still recovering; if i is at all possible, I would like to have a nice black pair that I can wear to church, and maybe another that I can walk around in. Ties are always good, and I could do with another pair of pants (black), please? Hope everything is still okay in the west; apparently it has been on fire the past few months; literally! Hope everyone is safe and happy in Happy Valley while y'all are still there! Love you bunches!

Thanks to all y'all for the letters and e-mails! Take Luck! The Church is true, the Book is blue, and God is a Mormon!