Tuesday, June 25, 2013

His last week in the Florida Jacksonville Mission

Howdy Y'all

(..still doesnt have a ring to it yet.)
 
Its weird to think that i have been in the Florida Jacksonville Mission field for 9 weeks now and have been in Georgia all but 1 day of that. and now i will be in the Georgia Macon Mission for the next 2 years! i am so excited. this is the last week in the FJM. I am kind of nervous because i dont know hardly anyone that is going to be in the mission because of all my MTC buds that are still in the FJM. but thats okay. the new friendships will last eternities also. im like a little kid on christmas waiting for the new mission. 

i hope all is well back home. sad to hear about the yaris :( it can take a beating. if it is totaled, well time to fix up the FLOWER JEEP!! yes!! 
 
This week has been a lot better. It is amazing to feel Gods love for us when we are humble enough to ask for help and guidance. This last week we have started this thing in our zone where one companionship fasts for the day for the whole zone. it is such a simple thing but also it is a great tool. the small sacrifice brings great rewards. this week we were able to give a middle 20's college student a book of mormon and get him to read and pray about it. we are excited about where that goes. we have also been able to find a couple of other potential gators. we are going to follow up this week.
 
this past week i was writing in my journal and i was throwing a little stress reliever football in the air. it stirred my memory of when times were simpler and easier and happier back when i was a little kid. i sure do miss those days when i had beautiful blonde hair.  but then i was brought back to now and my feelings were still somewhat the same. these next two years are the happiest times of my life. or they will be at least. i cant let anything pull me down. 
 
funny experience this week. i dont remember which night it was but i slept deep. one of the best nights sleep i have had. but apparently i am able to sleep talk now. and tell my companion to read scriptures that dont even exist! Elder Meiling told me in the morning laughing, he said that it was around 3 ish and he couldnt sleep. but i asked him hey you up? and he said yeah. and then i said, Meiling!! read Helaman 11:41!  i told him that a couple times.. in the morning i looked.. yeah it doesnt exist.. whoops. but hey jack, thats okay!  
 
this week, it was relatively cool temperatures. it was only like 80 every day. it made the days slow down a little bit and i was able to focus on the spirit a lot more. one night we got home and i actually had time to look up at the sky and see the full moon coming behind the clouds and everything. it was beautiful. i miss being able to just relax and watch nature. except for cockroaches. i wouldnt mind not seeing those again. 
 
After church on sunday, we were approached by a family that we have been visiting with. they were married in the temple a while ago and then moved around because of the military. and while they were in Korea, the wife was called racial terms and offended. she is a mix of samoan and something else. idk. but anyways. they went inactive for a long time. and just since february they have been slowly coming back. it is really amazing to see the change. the father has become active in elders quorum and the family is doing great, but the father approached us and told us that his son, DeAngelo is going to get baptized on sunday!! we were like, ah yeah!! the father is going to do it. its going to be special. so this week, we are working out details for that! we are excited!
 
Last night at the World Wide Leadership Broadcast, it was very special. the focus was on getting the members and the ward counsel involved. it was very strong and moving. especially to think about that could be the last time we hear and see President Packer speak and teach us. He is amazing.  

anyways, till next month! hehe.. I love you all!
Elder Bodily

Monday, June 17, 2013

A Slow, Hot Week in Georgia

this week was a slow one. part due to news i received, a heat wave that came through and also due to a 4 day leave for the army. which means they get Friday and Monday off for fathers day. it is nearly impossible to plan a weekend when half the people we visit are military and gone.  

Saturday we had a good 15 people we have contacted before that we decided to go back and try to visit again.  yeah.. we figured 15 names, at least 5 would be willing to talk and listen.  yeah.  none.  our day was shot.  we just keep trying to knock doors or call people to try and visit.  still nothing.  all day.  finally we gave in and called a member who we knew would be able to meet.  we just had him as a last resort.  so we called up Marc, and we met at our usual spot. Dave Thomas' place.  i will let you try and figure it out.  so we got there about 6:30 and ate and we talked and talked. we talked about better ways to try and get people to talk to us. we talked about his future plans with his gf. which he plans to marry in december after he is out of the army. he is a great guy. lots of life stories.   

this week was very hot.. we got a text message on our phone from the national weather service, at like 4 o'clock in the morning saying a heat advisory was in affect all day.. our car thermometor got to 105~!!! i was drinking a bunch of water that day.  

this week in my training, we focused on the book of mormon and its affect on everything. it really is the keystone of our religion. it is just an inspiration when i pray before i read with a question in mind, that when i read the questions get answered.  i was actually reading last night and i read 2 Nephi 32:9 and it bore testimony to me exactly that. i need to pray before everything.  and then i read Jacob 4:3 and it added to that. that the scriptures were written for us to become happy.  

yesterday we drove out to the middle of nowhere almost to visit a referrel we got on Saturday. his name is warren dasher. his family is one of the 13 original families in the area. he lives on an 80 acre onion farm. driving through the country and passing the fields and all. i felt so peaceful and all. it was really beautiful. i cant wait for when i actually see my first full cotton field! but this guy, he watched byu tv all the time, he watched conference, he loves president monson. he is so elect. but him and his wife only have 1 car and it is a good 40 miles to the churchhouse. so it would strain him and wife. i was about to just be like, warren. you have to sacrifice the drive and all that to become a member. just wanting it, doesnt do squat. you have to get baptized man!  he was a good ole southern man. he talked slow and had humor and all. didnt have much of a accent though. oh well. but he is a great guy. me and meiling are going to continue to work on him. 

reading some of the books about the gospel in the house, i have found some amazing poems and i have come to the fact that i love poetry. its georgeous!  i have also come to the fact that i love the james bond soundtracts from all the movies. the man with the golden gun is pretty much missionary work if you reword it and all. and top gun is good too. 

anyways, i will send some pictures to my mother now! hopefully she shares them!

I love this gospel,
Elder Bodily

"We finally saw a train!"  (mom's note:  I like the picture within the picture!) 


sunset over a field in the countryside
text message with heat advisory 


current temp

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

New Mission Assignment

This past week has been crazy. I guess there was a tropical storm/hurricane that went through? yeah,, no warning on our phone or anything. we kept working though. a little rain isnt going to stop the work. even when we are meeting with our regular, Messan, and he walks a half mile to meet with us and we are obedient and cant give him a ride, so we pop out the umbrellas and walk him home. yeah, we were soaked haha. oh well.  that was earlier this week. and yesterday we had a freak storm come through. it rolled in out of nowhere. again, no warning. we were meeting with a recent convert Nate. luckily we were in his house. well apartment complex. it was fun haha. 

earlier this week we were driving around and we saw a man trying to pull down a tree with a wakeboarding handle and then a chain rope or something. it was funny. so we hopped out and helped him. he recognized us as church people right away. so we helped him take that tree out and we talked for an hour. his name is henry and he is from puerto rico. for some reason, the people of the south trust us and they just open up. i dont quite understand yet.. but he told us his life story.  when he met his gf at the time, he was about to leave to basic training, and then he came back and they got married. he told us, i have forgotten details but he had a lot of money saved up and he bought his family a new fridge and a new tractor and all, a lot of money he said. and then when he asked for 2500 bucks for the marriage the parents argued and demanded him to pay it back when he could.  he laughed and said, yeah, 7 years later, i still ahvent talked to them and paid them back. but he loves his family. he has two kids, a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old. they both can speak spanish and english. it was awesome. but we just talked and then we had to leave. but we went back sunday and met him outside again with his wife and kids. they are catholic. but we talked again for awhile. their dog got hurt or something and was moody. yeah... we tried to feel what was wrong.. good thing the dog had dull teeth. it was a smallish dog too. idk the breed. but Brownie is a cute dog.  its funny, we were talking with him and he joked about there is an easier way to fix it then going to the vet.. we had a good laugh and the wife just stared at us and shook her head but chuckled. 

i suppose, if you have read this far, that you are curious if i am switching missions or whatever you wanna call it. well, transfer calls were last night and it was a good experience. the experiences this week i had and just feelings i have had the last couple weeks, i could feel what was going to happen. but i also knew that the Lord has His own will and could change my course if he wanted. apparently there are people in Georgia that need me!! I am staying in Hinesville for at least another 6 weeks, and from then on, i will be in the Georgia Macon Mission!  I am excited!!  Mom, make sure you put in a good word for me with the Cottles :) since they are going to be the ones that will take care of me now for the next two years. and also, can my plaque at the church be changed or will i be able to get another one? :) i am excited though. im feeling, since i am released from the mission field 14th of april, 2015, im feeling augusta the first week of april? yeah.. we will see what the lord wants of Tiger Woods! i even wore my Tiger Red last night for transfer calls. 

i know this is long but hey, its how i do. i may switch how i email up a bit. but we will see. i have attached some pictures of this last week!

anyways, until next week!
Elder Bodily


Elder Bodily says this is stereotypical to see an ambulance at the KFC  in the South.
Temp reading shows 100.  Kevin added "with 90% humidity!"

His companion, Elder Meiling, as they walk in the rain.


more rain . . .

and more rain.  

Monday, June 3, 2013

Time flying? For whom???

Another week has gone by so quickly.. Where is time flying? 
Probably for the plaque, i would have to chose the scripture Alma 36:24. most definately my favorite scripture. 

Thats sad to hear you are going to make Trevor suffer and make him practice! Sight reading music is the way to go! actually, i am slowly playing simplified hymns on a little piano thing we have for family home evening. so i guess i am practicing too. but shhh.. thats a secret. 

So Randi is auditioning for The Voice?! that is so exciting! I bet Hinesville is hotter than Vegas.. Its slowly killing me out here. though i am growing to love the people here. yesterday was testimony meeting. we dont know our mission fate till next week, so i felt i should get up and bear my testimony. i was actually starting to cry.. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME>?!?!  am i going into missionary mode?! but i really am loving the people. the work is slow.. we meet with the same people usually and then occasionally find someone to talk to but have yet to go back and teach an actual lesson.. but thats okay.. we are working on it. we have 3 possible people this week!
Saturday Morning me and my companion were sitting at our desks talkjing about how we needed to find a new investigator. 10 minutes later, Georgetown, an area just north of us, called and had a referrel for us! oh how it was an answer to our prayers. we contacted him and he is just wanting to know God more.. fresh out of prison. perfect for us! so hopefully we can visit with him this week. 

I totally forgot to add something last week, we come to the church and do mormon.org for an hour everyday and family history.. yeah i found my line back to adam and eve.. i dont think i should be required to do family history stuff anymore. it was pretty great. 

on p-day last week, after emailing, we played volleyball with all the samoans in the ward. wow that was fun. haha me and meiling were on opposite sides. those samoan ladies can get up there and hit the ball! it was impressive. i almost lost my face to one of the spikes. and then we had a feast of food. Sister Matavau makes these rolls with coconut juice under them.. so good. its impossible to describe. 

Friday night we had a ward chili cook off and cake sale. me and my companion along with the bishop were the taste testers.. most of them were good. all different kinds. one of them burned my mouth, not because of the spices, but because it was boiling hot. my mouth is still burned and has no taste buds. oh well. we are going to get otter pops today and just eat those for a long time. 

last monday morning was inspired and also sad. in my personal studies i was prompted to study on "mourning and comfort". i didnt really know exactly why i was. but then i got the email about Dixie passing away and i, i dunno. i just felt peaceful.. it wasnt till tuesday morning when i realized what happened.. 
i read 3 Nephi 12:4, "And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." that was really powerful. Then i broke that down into mourning and was comforted. I read Isaiah 25:4, and it talks about how God is a refuge from the storm. and then another one in Romans 15:4, that through patience and comfort of the SCRIPTURES, we can have hope.   It all hit me that tuesday morning when i opened my binder to study, then i realized what i had studied.. it was very humbling.. 

Today for P-day we are going to a western store and check it out. we are just doing random things today. Tonight we are going over to our best friend's/members home and he is going to teach us how to use a Kunai.. look it up. this guy is awesome. I hope i can be here for 6 more weeks just because all my army friends are leaving in october.

Mom, how did you like it when my other friend Marc texted you?! haha. we were sitting there at the chili cook off and i made a joke about the facebook app on his phone and then he got on there added me, and then he had me tell him your number and then he texted you! haha. i told him after you hadnt replied for 10 minutes, "Haha, you honestly probably made her cry!" he is a great guy though. another one of the army boys. 

anyways, im sure i am forgetting a bunch of important, spiritual, and not so spiritual things that happened this week, but oh well. i will continue to work on that.. oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next monday night, the 10th, i found out my fate of whether or not i will be a MACONITE or a JACKSONVILLEITE. we will see. i am excited either way.. though i have a feeling i know what way i am going.. but wherever the Lord wants me, i will go. 

Elder Bodily