10-29-12

Dear Family!

   This has been without a doubt the most stressful last 2 weeks of my life! This area has almost killed me! haha last week I wrecked my bike when a car tried to cut me off but timed it wrong and almost hit me. Thankfully the brakes on my bike were great. I rashed up my knee and right leg a bit, but honestly was nothing like it should have been. The Lord really does take care of his missionaries! The people here in this area do not like the missionaries at all. I have been sworn at and yelled at from cars more then I would ever care to be for the rest of my life! I have even had twice this week a full cup of soda thrown out the window and hit me while I have been riding! WHAT A WASTE OF A PERFECTLY GOOD DP!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, my thoughts on it all is that the Savior was spit on and beat for teaching the gospel and so I can deal with a cup of soda here and there. The worst part though is that I ripped my favorite pair of pants when I wrecked my bike!!!! They were the only ones that still actually fit me! I have been waking up with Elder Makaya every morning at 5:30 to work out since we have a really nice gym in our complex. I have been really slimming down the healthy way and it has been great, all except for the fact that my pants are loose and I had to cut another hole in my belt this morning. haha I love it though- I am really getting healthy and feeling great. My cramps are only happening on a day or two a week basis now because I am healthier and so I am really enjoying that!

 Thanks for all the letters today by the way! Kinzi- I will try to hand write a letter to you this afternoon because I am running low on minutes today on the computer. Aunt Kim keep it up! 

    The big news for today is that in less then a week I will be returning back to Freemont to baptize Marlin Jefferson. We found a member who was more then willing to drive us out there and so that is going to be going through on Saturday! Pictures will be there next Monday for sure! I don't think I have been so excited about a baptism since the Borlause family! He is such a great man and has really done wonders in his life and in the life of his family! Thank you all for the prayers and the support that you have given me and for the prayers his way! I know that he has really been thankful for them and has felt every single one of them!

     The work here in Brentwood is going great! We just finished a week with 12 lessons and so that was a HUGE jump from last weeks 4.. haha Me and Elder Makaya have really set some good goals and are just trying to learn to work together to be able to teach in unity. We don't get along as well as I would like because we are so different and he doesn't pride himself in being exactly obedient but we had a good talk last night and he is willing to try to change. I have a lot of things I need to change about myself too. I have been working on my humility and my patience! He is a great guy, he just needs an example so that is what I am trying to do! We had a ward trunk or treat this past week and it turned out great. We have found 3 new investigators since I have been here and all three of them were there with their families! It was such a blessing from the Lord and our ward is really great with befriending them and helping them to feel comfortable with being at the church.

     Now about my bike... I have popped 5 tubes in 2 weeks which should not be happening, but the people I bought it from refuse to say that there is anything wrong with it. I have been on a members bike the last 2 days so that I can get around till I could buy 2 more tubes today! It has been so frustrating. Plus with it only being a 7 speed I can't keep up with Elder worth anything. The store doesn't allow refunds either so I have to make the best of it. I wish I would have just had you send me my bike from home. It would have been cheaper and wouldn't have had as many problems with it as I have. I can't keep spending this much of your money on tubes. I am not exactly sure what I am going to do, but I need to think of something or we are going to be broke hahaha. Sorry for spending so much, if you have any ideas for me please let me know. I should have just gone to sports authority. They were having a deal I didn't know about- I could have gotten a 27 speed for like $380... Wish I would have just gone there instead of where the church said to look. Its ok though it will all work out.

     Well the computer says I am out of time so I love you all and please know that I know the church is soo true! I have loved my studies the last few days. I have had a lot of questions out of the bible and I don't know the bible at all so I have been doing the Book of Mormon and the bible right next to each other and cross referencing them back and forth and actually found some really cool facts that I didn't know before that I have applied to my tracting speech haha. I love this work and I love the hard times. They are not fun while they are going on but they truly do build us up and make us stronger and learn more! Thanks for the prayers still and for all the emails and letters! Haha I didn't know that there was anything but granola bars in that box mom until I opened it to get one out this morning! It sat closed for two days hahahaha. I guess you tricked me! Love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Shelley

picture-Elder Shelley and his bike

10-22-12

Well, this week has been super hard. But it also has been a very good trial for me and I have been working hard. Elder Makaya is a great guy. He is not exactly obedient and so I have a little bit of work to do there, but that will be ok. His last three companions have all been on their last transfer and so they were super trunky and didn't teach him to work very hard. So I am trying to set a better example for him and to get us both going on the right track.

The picture is of the two of us. I am wearing the shirt that I bought with the 20 dollars from Grandma Shelley. Please tell her how thankful I was for that money! I love the shirt. Can't wear it as much as I would like- but I wear it as much as I can. If you can't tell by the picture I have been getting a LOT skinnier! But for the first time on my mission it has been in a healthy way! We have a gym in the complex and so we wake up and run and lift weights every morning plus we ride close to 30 miles a day on our bikes. Our area here has an area that we go to around 2 or so times a day that no joke is just like Las Sendez!... My legs and butt were so sore this entire week. Thankfully they are getting better. Yes I did buy a bike. It is not a very good one, but I works for me. It is only a 7 speed because anything more then that would have cost me over 5 or 6 hundred dollars. This was the only bike I could find under 500... That didn't come with a helmet or lock either and so I will still have to go and buy those things. Sorry.. I am going to buy a really cheap helmet and ask the mission home if I can use one of the spare locks there so that I don't have to spend any more money. I have to go buy 2 new tubes also because these ones were super cheap and popped within the first three days.. I am riding a spare that we have at the house that is an Asian persons size, because the elder who was here before me was Asian and they gave him a mission bike. I will have to go buy tubes today. I am going to try to get the ones with the green slime to help prevent flats. This area has a lot of thorns and things that we have to try to watch out for.

Yes I am going to be able to go back to Marlins baptism and baptize him. President interviewed him and said that he hasn't felt that strong of a spirit in someone who four weeks ago was smoking 2 packs a day ever in his mission. He loved Marlin and is even going to try to come for his baptism also! He is so prepared and has really gained such a testimony. I can't wait to be able to go back and see him. I have been asking members if they would drive us down since we don't have a car but it is like an hour and a half drive one way with traffic and so I don't think anyone is going to be willing.. We are looking into taking the Bart- that is like the light rail on steroids in California! We will see. Hope that won't cost too very much! Because of changing apartments I had to start over on food and am probably going to be living on roman noodles for the next 2 weeks until the next months support drops! haha no big deal though. I have really learned how to budget my money well and that has been a great blessing. It is going to be something that I use for the rest of my life.

This area is basically dead. I came in and they were teaching on average 2 to 4 lessons a week. They don't have any investigators or focus families that they are seeing and so I am having to basically start completely over from scratch. That has kinda been the story of my life for my entire mission though so I am excited about the challenge again. My district only has one other set of elders besides us and a set of sisters. We are small but we are ready to really work hard and try to put the numbers up on the board for the mission. We are setting great goals and have even gotten a few really good referrals that we are excited about.

My testimony is that God loves us! I have felt his arms around me so many times this last week. Being responsible for 5 other missionaries besides yourself is a lot of work and I have been really struggling keeping everything straight and collected. I have spent hours on my knees asking for support and help through this tough calling. And I have felt that love and that help through the times that I needed him most! Please continue to pray and to come closer to our Savior! I love you all so much and pray for you also on a daily basis. Thank you so much. Sorry if I didn't answer all the questions, we only have 50 minutes in this area because we have to email at the library!  Love you all so much!

Love,
Elder Shelley

oh ps. I met the guy who is the center snare for Blue Devils B corp last week. He lives in the zone leaders area and is investigating the church. His parents are members and he is trying to figure out where he fits in in the world! He was a great guy. He know Morgan Chan who drummed with him in that corp and who also was the center at Basha for a year or so! Love you all- just thought I would throw that out there. We drummed on his snare for about 10-15 minutes and that was a super cool experience. I didn't do too bad with him- but let me tell you I am not anywhere near Blue Devils material! hahahahahaha

Picture: Mackay and Elder Makaya

10-15-12

Dear Family!

      Well, transfer day is yet again upon us. Me and Elder Roberts thought for sure that we would be fine and not have to worry about transfers this time around because we had only been together for a transfer and are starting to really see success in this area. Well, Thursday afternoon came around and we were doing service for a sister in our ward. Haha we were moving her in and she kept telling Elder Roberts, "No, put that down! That is too heavy for you, leave that piece for Elder Shelley!" hahaha So I had to carry all of her heavy boxes and pieces of furniture. Well I was mid carry of a bookshelf when the phone rang. I told Elder Roberts to grab the phone out of my pocket and answer it. He answered it and put it on speaker like we always do. It was President. He told Elder Roberts that he was calling to give him a new assignment.. I just stood there in shock. We both thought that we would be together for at least one more transfer. Elder Roberts was told that he had been called to be a trainer and so that means that I would be leaving the area! He hung up the phone and just kinda stood there in shock and looked at me. He didn't expect that at all. He said that he was excited to train but that he was sad that we were going to be split up. We really got along great and had some great goals set for this next transfer- but that is ok.  So normally the transfer calls come from the zone leaders on Saturday night unless it is a special call. Well Friday afternoon the phone rang again. I answered the call and it was president again but asked for me this time. I was talking to him and he told me that the Lord had called me to be a district leader in the Brentwood district in Antioch.  I was speechless. He just kinda chuckled and asked if I would except the call. I told him that I would but that I was very nervous because I don't feel like I am qualified to be a district leader. He told me that he was glad that I was nervous because he said that if I wasn't nervous that he would be worried about it. haha so me and Elder Roberts were both called to leadership positions and are going to be split up on Tuesday.  So I am going to be put on bike and as the District leader!  I am very humbled and nervous but also know that the Lord is going to take care of me and help me be qualified for this calling. Please send up some prayers for me and my new companion because this is going to be a very hard transfer for me because I am going to be on bike and also trying to learn the area. Unfortunately I have not heard anything too great about my new companion yet.. I have been told a lot of things and if they are true and he is like he has been put out to be then this is going to be my hardest transfer yet. But hey, that is what everyone told me about Elder Narvasa but he ended up being a great elder and one of my best friends who helped me through a lot when I really got sick. I like to think that I am able to get along with most people. I am just going to try really hard to apply the Christlike attributes to my life and to our companionship and try to always be the bigger person and just work hard and be a good example to him. President has the trust in me to call me to the area and he said that remember that the Lord is the one that makes the call anyways so there is nothing to worry about! It is going to be a great few transfers. I should spend a few months in this area and be able to really see some miracles!

      So Marlin Jefferson is officially able to get baptized because of his smoking! He has been clean for three weeks and has set the date for Nov. 3rd, because he has to wait for his back to be able to bend. He had a pretty rough past and so he is going to have to be interviewed by President Meredith tonight. If he passes he has asked me to be the one to baptize him. Because I taught him for this transfer the rule is that we can come back to the baptism as long as it is within a transfer after the one that you taught him. So if he passes tonight and President gives the ok then we are going to be able to come back to the area and get him baptized! I am soooo excited to see this man enter the waters of baptism and join his family in the Gospel! I have never seen someone work so hard to join the church. He has really been working hard to quit smoking! He has been sucking on jolly ranchers to replace them. The other night he had like 4 in his mouth haha. He is doing really well.He told me that he is really looking forward to me coming back because he has gotten so close to me and never felt so close to a missionary before! I was so touched. That is going to be a great day!

      Thank you everyone for all of my birthday stuff!!! I really enjoyed the boxes and the gifts! I got the family and grandma and grandpa's and then I also got the Dickson crews that night at the temple! Thank you all so much! All the gifts were perfect. Mom and dad the speakers are perfect and we have really had a good time with them! We are having a great time together and going to hit up In & Out one more time together. We wish that we could have gone golfing like we planned to today but because I am leaving I have way too much stuff to do! Dad I may have to take you up on your offer for golf though this coming up transfer. I hear there is great golfing in this next area! Cant wait! haha

     Guys I have to hurry but I love you all and know that the church is soooo true! I am so excited for the future that is in my path. I am super nervous but I am also really excited about what is going to be coming! Please keep me in your prayers. I don't want to let the Lord down with being a district leader!

Love you all so much!!!

Love,

Elder Shelley

pictures: 1. Elders Roberts and Shelley with Marlin Jefferson and his step daughter

              2. Hayward District

10-8-12

Dear Family!

Yes this is my 20th birthday P-Day!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha I know that I don't turn 20 until Friday but hey when you only get one day a week to really do what you want to we are going to live today up. I did get my box and even though I was super tempted to open it I didn't..... hahaha I know mom and Grandma are going to be proud of me! We are going to go over to a western wear store today. I want to get a new button down with the $20 that Grandma Shelley put in my account! Tell her thanks by the way. I got her a letter off the other day thanking her for the pictures and the time that she put into helping dad do that! I was so happy to get those pictures! It was life changing to see them! 

We don't have a ton of time today to email because we are going to have a bbq for the last p-day of the transfer as an entire zone. It should be a good time. They didn't know that i enjoy bbqing so they had already asked one of the other elders to cook and he was really excited to try. Haha I heard the word try and said oh boy we shall see how this goes! =P just kidding- well if they feel like they would like a little Red Neck thrown into the meat I would be happy to help. It will be a really good time to spend time with the zone and enjoy a Pday together.

So the area this week was a pretty good one again. We found 2 new investigators and so hopefully we will get at least one more transfer together so that we can see this area really start to take off. Marlin Jefferson is doing sooo well. He has completely quite smoking and has been sober for 12 days so far. That is the longest that he has been clean for 20 years he said. He used to smoke a pack a day- at least and so you can see the power of the priesthood can really change lives! I absolutely love this man and his family. We found out last night that he has an 8 year old step daughter that has been waiting for three weeks to be baptized because she wants to be baptized with Marlin or her daddy as she told us last night! It was sooo sweet. She was telling us that she was so proud of him for not smoking anymore and that he was her hero! He started crying and told us that he has never been happier in his entire life. He doesn't read very well because his eyes are really bad. But he told us that he wouldn't read the Book of Mormon but that he would listen to it on tape. Well we went over last night and on his desk was a large print Book of Mormon! He said that telling the missionaries that he wouldn't is not how he wants to start his membership and so he had sent his wife to find him a copy with print big enough that he could see it! He is so prepared! 

So I want to wrap this email up with my testimony of conference! I am super sad that I forgot my notes at the apartment and so I am going off of just memory and we all know how bad my memory is- but we will try! haha I loved the talk about manning up! I think back to the old days when a hand shake was a binding document. Now unless you get it in writing it means nothing- even with the writing sometimes it doesn't matter. I am with Elder Christofferson when he said that it is great that women are now stepping to the plate and really taking charge and not letting guys run over them and tell them what to do, but at the same time that doesn't give the men the right to just sit back and become lazy good for nothings. We have a solmon responsibility and calling as priesthood holders to stand up and be men! We need not be above or below our wives but equal partners with them in raising our children and getting everyone back to heaven together. I love that! I also really loved the talk by President Monson when he said that men can change! I love that! I have not had the greatest past but as we go through life and apply the atonement into our lives we can change and become better. I know that I didn't change as much as I wanted to when I came home from the Philippines but this time around I was able to learn from that and I am setting goals for myself that are really helping.  I am not even close to the person that I was when I left home 2 months ago. I have grown so much and have really worked hard to become the person that my Heavenly Father wants me to be! I love serving him and realized that what I want in life really doesn't mean much. I need to stand up and answer the call that is being handed to me! I am so excited to hear that the age for missionaries has come down! I think that there are so many 18 year old guys who could really do some great work for this gospel and for the sisters that is going to be such a blessing to them! They won't have to choose between marriage and a mission anymore because they can leave at 19 and come home 21 just like an elder could! They will be able to gain amazing experiences and grow to be even stronger in the faith and be more prepared to be a mother and a wife! I know for a fact that this is going to seriously bless the missions all over the world! I look forward to seeing how many more missions and mtc's open up all over this world! Oh and what about the Tucson Temple!?!??! No body said anything about that!!!! Haha Us Arizonans must be doing something right!!! hahaha I love this gospel so much and can't wait to be able to drive all around Arizona and enter the temples that are being built! 

My testimony is still the same that this gospel is true! I love it with all my heart and would not change where I am for anything in the world! I was able to finish my 2nd journal of the mission field so far! I am so excited to start my third. It is a lot bigger and thicker so I hope I will be able to finish it by the end of my 2 years! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and through our Prophet and Apostles we are able to receive modern day words and lessons to apply to our lives! Please study your notes from conference and apply everything they talked about! I love you all so much and have enjoyed the emails and letters. Please keep writing them- you have no idea the joy that comes to see a letter in the mail. hahaha It is like Christmas morning every night when we open the mail box! I just wish i could write back faster to everyone! I am trying though! Love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Shelley

Mackay had asked Don for some pictures of Grandpa Shelley (He passed away when Don was 16). Mackay has always felt a special connection to him and as you can see placed his picture in a very special place.

Picture: Mackay's two favorite men

10-1-12

Dear Family,

     Brother Kocherhans is the Elders quorum President?!?! Who am I going to sit with in the back when I get home?! Frank only shows up half the time so I relied on Jay!!! hahaha But that is soooo amazing! He is a great man and is really going to do wonders for that elders quorum! Please pass on my love to him and tell him that I am so proud of him and that I know that he is going to do great things!!!

     Hey I wasn't sure if you had already mailed my birthday package because me and Elder Roberts were talking and the zone really wants to start playing rugby on Pdays because it's a better work out then football and just way funner! Could you send me my Rugby Ball?! I hope you haven't sent the box. If you have then I guess it's no worries you can send the ball whenever, but we were just hoping to get a rugby ball asap and not have to go buy one.

  

  I'm sorry that you weren't able to get my phone call on Wednesday. I knew I should have called on your cell phone just in case but thought I would try to call. President was really worried about my health and said that as a parent he would want to be able to hear that I was ok and that there was nothing that I would have to worry about. He asked if you guys were ok and I told him that I thought so but that I felt bad that dad had to get the call from lab corp and not have all the details. He then handed me his phone and said give them a call and talk for five or so minutes so that they can hear that you are ok and that you love them. Haha I was super nervous calling. I don't know why I guess just because I was super excited. But the message came on so I was able to leave one for you. Maybe that was better so that grandma and grandpa could hear it too. Just want you to know that even though I still have cramps on a daily basis most of the time I am feeling much better over all. I have been trying to watch my diet and eat low fat foods and low carb foods like the doctor said.  I was just glad to hear that everything came back clear. All I could think when I started having problems again was that I was dumb and didn't do that final test that the doctor wanted me to do and because of that they weren't able to find something that was still there. But now I have peace of mind and I am able to know that I am free of whatever little bugs were in there. The doctor wanted to see before and after pictures and so I showed him the one with me and grandma and he just started laughing!!! He said that he would have never guessed that I was ever 260! I laugh and tell him that I can't believe that I wear a 32'' pant size now when I used to wear 42''. The jeans that we bought right before are sagging now and I tried on a pair of Elder Roberts 32'' and they fit great. Haha who new that all I had to do to loose weight was go on a mission!!! hahahahaha.

     The area is actually picking up slowly but surly.  We had 12 total lessons this week! Most were with less active members who we are trying to get back to church so that was cool. I have a little bit of experience with less actives since that is all I really did in the Philippines. So that is really neat to be able to use the teaching skills that I learned out there to help our ward here in California.  We are really trying to get the ward members to get more involved here in our ward because they are about 80% older people. They don't always want to go out and spend time doing missionary work because they feel like they have done their time and so now it's everyone elses turn to go out. I don't blame them for thinking like this but at the same time, when the only people that are in the ward are older people everyone has to work together to get us the help that we need. Our scripture study class that we put together last week was a big success! We had 10 active members and 2 less active members show up. We were hoping that they would bring non member friends but that is ok. We had a great study on faith and how faith is the key to success in this life. Nothing other then faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can get you through some of the hardest times in life. The Savior knows and experienced even the worst pains and sicknesses that we have felt. He understands what it is like to have struggles.  HE is there to help us! He wants to give us advice on things that he knows is so hard! 

     I have been forgetting to write about a very special man that we are teaching. His name is Marlin Jefferson! He is a black man whose wife is hispanic and a member. She has some kind of  a disease and so she is sick a lot of the time and can not come to church. He has been looking into the church for many years but has a really bad smoking problem and so he has never really put forth the effort to really try to quit. Well we went over to his house about two weeks ago and talked to him. We had a great lesson with him and he even excepted a baptismal date. He is preparing for Nov. 1st so that he can have time to try to quit smoking. He was having a lot of back pain and found out that he had three herniated disks in his back. He went into surgery last week and called us the night before. He told me that he had heard about the priesthood blessings that we give and wanted to know if I would come over and give him one. I told him that I would love to and so we did. When we got there he was all prepared with a chair and had all his step kids in the room. We told him about oil and why we used it and asked if we could use it. He agreed but said I just want Elder Shelley to give me the blessing! So Elder Roberts anointed and I gave the blessing. In the blessing the spirit was so strong! I promised that man things that I never would have promised if the spirit wouldn't have put them into my mind. I told him that if he would be faithful and pray every day and read his scriptures that he would come out of the surgery with no desire to smoke again. He gave me a big hug after and told me how thankful he was that I came into the area and that he met me! I was so touched! His wife called the other day and told us that he was home from the hospital. She said that there were some pretty bad complications during the surgery because of his breathing. They said that he had smoked for so many years that his lungs really couldn't handle the surgery and they almost lost him a few times.  When he found that out he was so upset with himself for ever smoking he said he is never going to pick up another cig in his life. He said heck I am 48 years old and am way to young to be having all these problems. He told me that he knows that he had those complications so that he could see how bad his smoking was and that was because of the blessing! He said that he knew Heavenly Father kept him alive so that he could be bapitzed and even asked me if he doesn't smoke for 2 more weeks if we can move his date up to the 20th of October! We said that all he has to do is be clean for 3 weeks and then he can be baptized. He said that he is never smoking again so we might as well move it up!!!! What faith! I hope and pray every night that Satan doesn't get a hold of him and get him smoking again! We are trying to have daily contact with him so that we can keep building him up through the pain that he is having from the surgery! I just want you all to know that the Priesthood is real! I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to both give and receive blessings! I know that they are blessings from God and that through our faithfulness we can be healed!  

     We went tracting at the college in our area this week also! Cal sate east bay is in our YSA ward area and we were going to go knock some doors there. I am not kidding literally the 2nd person that I stopped on the street talked to us and took us back to his apartment to listen to more of what we had to say. His roommate came into the room and sat and listened also. They didn't seem super interested but both of them said that we could come back and teach them again! SO we found 2 new investigators from 20 minutes of work at the college. The Lord truly is blessing us for our work. We may not see any fruits from our labors this transfer but the Lord has big plans for this area and we just have to be patient and be ready to work even harder when those opportunities come! 

     Guys I know that this church is true! I love this work soooo much and I wish that I never had to take this tag off again! It has become part of me and I had to take it off once and it was the worst and hardest thing I have ever had to do. I wish I could just keep it on the rest of my life! The Scripture says"We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." This truly is the church of Christ and we must stand as modern day witnesses of it at all times! We taught a Catholic theologist the other day. We walked into his home and he had a stack of anti Mormon internet pages sitting on his table ready to go. He, through his notes and his phd in college knowledge, tried to prove to us that what we were teaching was false and that there was never a great apostasy and that we were being brain washed our entire lives! We calmly sat and listened to what he had to say and answered his blows with the best of my scriptural knowledge which we all know is not much. We walked away from that bible bash basically with only one thing to say to him. Is that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God! That the Book of Mormon was the True word of Our Heavenly Father. He told me that I had no proof. My testimony had been shattered by the doctrine that he was able to throw our way and the quote on quote proof that he showed us. Elder Roberts just sat quiet with not much to say and as we left all I could feel inside me were these words. You may have no proof but you know it's true! I looked him in the eye and said just that! I may not be smart enough in the scriptures to give you any proof, but don't tell me that I don't know these things are true! I bore testimony and we left. I have never had my testimony challenged that harshly.. I literally felt like I didn't know why I was here and why I was teaching something that I couldn't prove... But the very strong feeling came that you don't have to be able to prove it through doctrine! You know it's true and that is what faith is! Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge! Please don't let anyone tell you that you don't know what you believe. The spirit is real and he can witness to you that the church is true! We don't have to see angels or Christ himself! We know that it's true!  Mom and Dad if I can give you any advice on the trek with your less actives and your non members, read your scriptures in places where they can see you. Always be talking about how the gospel has blessed your lives. Tell them how happy you are that they are there with you and just serve them the entire time! Also when it is night and the guys are under the stars, dad go out and talk to them about how blessed we are that our Heavenly Father has given us such a beautiful world! Tell them that Heavenly Father is watching them right now and that those that came before us are watching also! I know that Grandpa watches over us every day. Those men and women that lived before us can live inside of us if we just let them! I love this church so much and I love the gospel and everything that it does for my life! I have not had the easiest life or mission, but because I have had the chance to pray and ask for trials and burdens to be made light I was able to bare these trials much easier! I love you guys so much and truly look forward to your letters! Please keep them coming! Kadon way to go on your comps! Can't wait to be able to be home and watch you march live! I bet your a stud!!! Keep up the hard work. It all pays off in the end trust me!

Love, 

Elder Shelley