Christmas Parties

Hey yall! I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone.. it was amazing talking with my family.. we had so much fun this week. it doesn't happen much as missionaries, but I do gotta say, we had fun this week and I felt the spirit a lot throughout it. 

Christmas this year has been probably one of the best ever! It was filled with a couple different family's parties.  That was a great feeling. Being around families enjoying each others company was probably my favorite memory.  We did karaoke at one family's house.  KILLED IT!!  It was awesome!  Friday was a somewhat normal day. Weekly planning and lunch at Huddle House.. it was so weird.. christmas was over like that :( oh well.. time goes on.  

On Saturday we did service for a family. It was fun! We took out a window, attempted to put a new one back in, but had the wrong size.. and then we also chopped wood and cleaned up the yard. I was rocking it in my overalls!  Service is always a good way to show your love to people. And it's easy to serve those you love. It's just true. 

Saturday night we went out to dinner with a family here, they took us out to a place called Western Sizzilin'.. It is just a more southern version of Golden Corral.. So good! The family that took us had the funniest 5 year old kid I have ever met! He was just hilarious!  He was a chubby kid and that added to it. The parents agreed! haha. such a good family.  

This Christmas season my heart was always turned back to family, cuz that is all I was surrounded by. It makes me happy to think I can see my family again soon, but also sad, because I have to leave my family down here..  

Church on Sunday was great. It seemed a spiritual day. In every meeting someone was crying.  

Just another p-day today.. nothing too exciting. Just more rain and another tornado watch. oh well! 

I hope you all have a great new years season! Its always a good time to restart and do better. 

I love you all!  

Elder Bodily

His Southern Family

His Forever Family

A Special Baptism

This week went by really quick! 

We were so excited for Saturday and the baptism of Willie Mae Simmons.  

At the church this week, we had a Relief Society dinner that we were the priesthood in the building for  on Tuesday, the ward christmas party Friday, and the baptism Saturday! it was great!  At the party Friday I was able to meet more of the ward here and make friendships!  

Saturday was one of the best days of my life.. The baptism of Willie Mae Simmons was beautiful. Elder Beckman baptized her. It was very neat to see him be able to do that so early in his mission.  During the baptism service, I felt the spirit bear testimony to me that this church is true. I mean, no other way would I be able to feel the same emotions in a room with 100 marine recruits, and then in a room with about 35 people.  Words just can't describe it.  

For dinner Saturday we went to a mexican restaurant that one of our investigators owns. It was so good! Reminds me of El Sol!  But yeah, they may have had the tv on, and the Aggies game was on!! So that was awesome to catch!! haha. GO AGGIES!!  When I got home, I threw on my new Aggie shirt that the Corbetts sent me! The light rays from the light are awesome! hahah. 

Sunday was great. It was the ward christmas program here in nashville. It was really good and then we went to the stake center for the stake christmas program. That was amazing too. I saw a couple people from one of my old areas!  Him and his band played some bluegrass versions of christmas songs and a hymn I'd never heard before, #336, School Thy Feelings. It was amazing.  

Well, times up! People are waiting!!  

I hope yall have a merry christmas! 

love,

elder bodily

Willie Mae Simmons

Thank you, Corbett Family!

New Area: Nashville, Georgia

hey everyone!  

I was transferred back down to the good ole south georgia country!  I am now in a town called Nashville! no, not Tennessee... oh well haha. I am really excited to be here, even though it killed me to leave Beaufort...  

Our first week here didn't really feel like I was here. We had 2 big meeting on thursday and Saturday. Thursday was just a zone meeting in Tifton, and then Saturday we had a huge 4 zone Christmas conference in Macon! A Member of the 70 spoke to us for a little while on applying scriptures to our lives and being able to move forward and grow. The rest of the meeting was just a big testimony meeting from certain people.. no movie.. no ipad..boo!! oh well. we just got word this morning that we will be having a mission wide conference in January with a member of the Quorum of the 12!  That is exciting! 

A few things from this week though. Our area covers quite a big area. I'm excited. Here in Nashville, my first night, they were having a big dinner for the older ladies and single women. It was a party, we of course were invited to it, so it was a good way to kick this area off!    

On Friday, we had our weekly planning party at the house, so I got a little bit more aquainted with the area, and then after we went to Huddle House! A member owns it so yeah.. free food twice a week! We usually hit it up on mondays and fridays. While we were there, an older gentleman sat behind a glass divider parallel to us. He reached his arm around and handed us some little papers from his church.  One of them said "Are you Decieved?"  Haha, it was pretty funny. So we handed him a "He is the Gift" card.  

Later on that day, we went up to the hood here in town and played some ball with a bunch of peeps. It was pretty legit. haha. My comp is 6' 5" and he can't play basketball to save his life.. haha. he knows it too.  

In one of our towns, there is a part member family. The husband/grandpa isn't a member, he is hilarious.. the elders warned us about him.. I am excited to get to know him better. haha. 

We have one lady right now, she is 85 years old, and the missionaries met her about a month or 2 ago.. she is incredible.. probably one of the most elect ladies I have met. She is getting baptized this Saturday! She is amazing. Willie May Simmons is her name.  

Church on Sunday was great.  This ward just got a new bishopric, ward mission leader, elders quorum pres, and young mens pres. so a lot of changes, but PEC on Sunday was great. The ward is excited. They had me and Elder Hatch, the other new missionary, speak briefly. It was very powerful. as I spoke, I could feel the spirit. I knew that this is where I need to be now.. no matter how bad I miss Beaufort, Nahsville is where I have work to do now.

I love you all! here is my new address.

Elder Bodily 

504 W. Hull Ave

Nashville Ga 31639

i love you all!

Transfers and the Last Sunday With Recruits

Well, transfer calls is always a nerve racking time.  I will be leaving Beaufort this week. It has been a bittersweet time. but i wouldn't have chosen a better way to end it here. 

On Tuesday we had a great experience. We went up to an apartment complex to try one of our old contacts. He wasn't home, but as we went downstairs, Jeremy came out of his door, taking out his trash, so we stopped him and talked with him.  He wasn't really too interested, but he loved asking questions, so it was a good time. And then his neighbor came out and he told her to listen to us, it was pretty cool haha.  

On Friday we had an appointment that was set up by the sisters, it was with a guy they had met last week. They told us that he was in a wheelchair, but all there. Our lesson with him was incredible. We talked for almost an hour and a half. He has had an incredible life and so many spiritual experiences. He had a brain aneurysm when he was 7 and now he is 32. It was amazing.  

On Saturday we went out to the airport and saw our friend Jerry's plane. It was fun! He is awesome! He's been flying for 63 years. He is awesome.  

On Sunday, I was so grateful it was a fast and testimony meeting. The best way to end time in a place I call home - both for Parris Island and Beaufort.  I bore my testimony to the marine recruits about "an island that God forgot about", and how they truly found God. After I bore my testimony, one of the male recruits who is new and not a member, got up and bore his. It was amazing.  I really am going to miss those Marine Recruits so much.. as missionaries we joke about a bad lesson being one where they bring up Kolob (this'll be awkward if someone doesn't know..) anyways, in Sunday School in Parris Island we broke up into small groups to answer questions. It was great, except for the fact, the first question I got asked was "What is Kolob?"  ugh!! haha, it was funny though.  Back in Beaufort, I bore my testimony again.. It was hard on me to stand in front of my family and say goodbye to them..  So many good memories with all of them..  It sure is going to be hard to leave them.. they even threw a party for me.. except it was for the Christmas Devotional.. haha. Oh well.  

Hope you all have a good week!!  I love this gospel!

Elder Bodily

What do you drive to church?

Lacrosse and a Cello ~

This week went by like a blur and i cant believe its december now..  so much happened this week i dont know where to begin!  

We went to rite aid one day and as we looked behind the counter, it was one of our new investigators that we met a couple weeks ago that we lost contact with! it was awesome. 

Tuesday started the wonderful week.  our early afternoon plans fell through and so we texted a member to see if he would text his friend who is a less-active that we could all meet up. Well he texted us and said they were playing lacrosse with a bunch of kids. so yeah. you already know that i was in the car driving over there!! there were about 7 guys. and an extra goalie stick.. so yeah, i jumped in. no pads, just a stick.. they didnt shoot hard, but i got hit a couple times, it felt so good haha. 

 Thanksgiving day came.. i was excited! we had a turkey bowl with a bunch of guys, some of which we met on tuesday playin lacrosse! it was so much fun! 

For thanksgiving lunch we ate at a members home, and there were like 4 families there! so much food and such good company!  



















When we got home that night our dinning room carpet was soaked wet.. so we called the company and they sent someone to look at it..  it was our old neighbor! haha. well. they couldnt figure it out, and our neighbor was gone.. so yeah.. Sunday afternoon comes around, thats 3 nights later of water running, we get home from church and our neighbor is home! apparently our upstairs neighbor's kitchen pipes got clogged and it went into our side neighbors sink and kitchen..  huge mess over there and we only got the run-off.. it smells so bad but getting better.. haha. oh well..

Sunday was once again the highlight of the week.. church on Parris island was great. we had 10 male non members there! and most of them are only on their second week.. long way to go. but some of them are so spiritually prepared. the spanish elders came out with us, so in our Sunday school class, the sisters had to leave early, we had us 4 missionaries and 25 marines around us.. and 4 of the 7 male members are return missionaries! it was great.   

In Beaufort, church was normal, nothing too big happened, except for choir practice! a member brought her cello! and so yeah.. i played during practice. it felt so good! and later that night we went over to a members and continued to play for a bit. it was great.   

Well i hope you all had as an exciting week as we did!  

i love you all! 

happy thanksgiving!

Some random pics:  (notice the price of gas!)