This week seems like it flew by but looking back to last Monday that was forever ago! It was a great week! Tuesday was a bit of a hard day because it was our biking day since the sisters have the car and it rained all day! We were able to get out and work for about an hour or two but other than that we were inside all stinking day! On Wednesday we were able to go to Crestview and have our half mission conference. Elder Pino of the seventy came to speak to us. I got a little bit of a taste of a foreign mission since he didn’t speak a lick of English and needed a translator but his talk was really good.  He talked about the importance of our studies and being obedient. It did get hard to focus at times with him speaking a different language. On Thursday we went around seeing people and finished planning Cody’s baptism but the best part of the day was going to see my boy Jimmy MacArthur! He lives in a manor and isn’t all there but he is an awesome guy. We all know how manors are and there is this one lady there that is pretty crazy. Well we were in the lobby of the manor and this lady rolls in. Jimmy leans over to Elder Nelson and I and said "don’t talk to her, she’s crazy and she swears" we kind of chuckled and let it be. Some time goes by and we hear her swear at this older man and threatens to flip his wheelchair over and Jimmy leans back over to us and says "see, I told you she was a crazy" Elder Nelson and I couldn’t contain ourselves. We got two new investigators this week who have been hit by the humble stick pretty hard, we taught them the first lesson and one of them committed to baptism on the 20th, and we’ll see how it goes though. They argued with us about dinosaurs, they think they should be in the bible. I had a tradeoff Friday with the new greeny and I feel like that was me yesterday ha-ha, I can relate to him well and hopefully helped him out. We walked ten miles that day because they had used all their miles I was so tired. Not to mention that the very next day we moved 3 people in and out of their home.  We then did some yard work. I was exhausted by the time Sunday came around! Sunday was the baptism of my boy Cody! He has been so ready and he is the person I have come the closest to on my mission so far. He will bless his family for eternity for the choice he made.

 This week I would just like to bear my testimony. Did you know every time you bear your testimony your sins are forgiven? Share your testimonies! I know that this church is true. I know that obedience is the law that governs heaven. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. I know missions are meant for everyone sometime in their life where ever it may be, home, work, or fulltime. I know Thomas S. Monson is called of God and all others called into leadership positions. Bishops, Stake Presidents, Deacon Quorum President, etc.  I love my mission, I love my area, and I love this gospel.

 Love and Miss Yall! All is well

Elder Welch

 This week was really long if I think back to last Monday but it doesn’t seem like it was taking forever to get to this Monday. It has been a good one though! On Tuesday we went out to a less actives home to do our district activity which was football and it was really fun but I was so tired and am still not use to all of the sweating that goes on here in the humid states! That night we went back out to this less actives home to have dinner and after dinner we were watching his daughter jump her horse. Elder Nelson and I were standing by the fence and my legs started to get tired so I wanted to lean onto the fence. Once I grabbed onto the fence I found something out....it was an electric fence! It didn’t really hurt, it just startled me but it definitely was a memory! 

  As many of you have seen this week there was a pirate day at Krispy Kreme where we got a dozen free donuts which was so awesome! I have definitely gotten more of a sweet tooth down here in the south and I have felt it....I have love handles that I never had before and the unfortunate thing is they are useless on a mission! Ha-ha jk! 157lb. I lost some today though so I’m more like 155; I’ll get it down to 150 and keep it there. I also think that I am growing a little bit! My pants are starting to fit me a little better in the length, I don’t have a tape measure to find out but I’m hopefully at that 6' mark! The Porters got a grandbaby this week as well! I got to hold it for a few minutes. TJ hasn’t really been in contact with us too much this week but he has been good since his baptism, he did say it has been harder for him since his baptism. Satan is just as active as Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, unfortunately. Cody has a baptism this weekend at 11:00 and I am super pumped for him, he is such a funny guy and I love him. We taught Ladarius for the first time this week and it was about the atonement, they have a pretty messed up life but are on the right path now. His baptism is still scheduled for the 12th so we will keep on him!

   This week I feel really strongly on what I am going to share with you. I have been having a really hard time this week mentally and spiritually and did not understand what I was doing wrong and why I felt that way. I actually felt that way until yesterday. Obedience is what I want to talk about. I read in my personal study in Helaman 13 about Samuel the Lamanite chastising the Nephites about how wicked they have become and that the Lord was going to destroy them if they don’t repent. We can see today that we are WAY worse than those Nephites. It says in that chapter that it is because of the righteous they are spared. Today we are the ones standing up for truth and are the ones saving the nation.  I definitely don’t want to be a disobedient missionary, there is a spirit of the law that sometimes comes into affect! We have all been on that line of obedience and not so obedient in our lives. I know for myself that there is a fine line between obedient and disobedient and if we find ourselves teetering on that line, get on the right side. Once we take one step to the other side we might as well have been one of the roman soldiers making fun of Christ. We know what the Lord has commanded. Alma 41:10 says wickedness never was happiness and it is true! We know what we signed up for when we were baptized and any other covenants we’ve made. I knew what I signed up to do and the rules I would have to follow as a missionary. I testify that obedience brings blessings! Obedience is for our learning and for our growth. The rules are for us. I love and Miss Yall! All is well

   What a great week! First off shout out to Erin on getting her call to Lima, she will do great down there! On Monday we taught Cody again.  They told us a story of how after our lesson with him on Sunday his wife was trying to cuddle with him or something, and he moved away and said, "Don’t touch me, I’m in a holy place", hahaha funniest thing I’ve heard in response to asking anyone if they felt the Spirit in the last lesson. We have taught him basically everything with in this last week and his baptismal date has been moved up to the 28^th.  I’m 99.9% sure he will get baptized, I love that guy! 

  On Tuesday we went over to Pine Forest ward missionary's apartment and we fried Twinkies, I don’t know why, because I don’t even like sweets that much.  The south has converted me a little bit! I’m only 155 though, no worries! Thursday my companion gave me a buzz cut basically and it is so nice! I love not having to worry about how hot it is when my hair is that long. We also were getting the font all set up for TJ that day and Elder Nelson was trying to kill this cockroach with a pole...well somehow the cockroach gets flung up into the air and I book it and get clothes lined by this pole Elder Nelson was holding and had a fat lip for a day or so, it was really funny. On Thursday night we went out to a less actives home and did service for him, he has a gorgeous home! When I picture retirement I picture his house, he's in charge of all of the airplanes down on force down here. I guess his wife got offended somehow but he is a really good guy! I can eventually see him in a bishopric someday! Saturday went down in the record books! TJ WAS BAPTIZED! I was lucky enough to be able to baptize him and he was ordained to the office of a Priest yesterday. Bishop has big things in store for him in this ward and we know Heavenly Father has big things for him as well, I’m proud of him! Transfers are this week but I am staying here for this transfer! I love the area and Elder Nelson and I are doing WORK! The Lord has blessed us so much. There is opposition in all things so we love it when times are good. The Lord is too good to us! I cannot wait for General Conference and we are having a general authority come the 24th so that'll be awesome as well!

  This week I wanted to talk about trials. Why does the Lord give us trials? Why does he let bad things happen when we have the best of intentions, and are working are butt off? This trial isn’t to punish us it’s to strengthen us! We learn through hard times, we grow through hard times, and most of all we turn to Heavenly Father in our hard times. My challenge to everyone that reads this is to be grateful for all things the Lord gives us. They are ALL for our benefit and growth. I love ya’ll and hit my 3 month mark last Thursday! All is well

  Elder Welch

 This week has just flown by, it was a really good one too. So something I'm going to tell the family but not put in my regular letter. So Elder Nelson showed me a missionary tradition this last week that I did more for a memory than for the actual things it did. I drank magnesium Citrate....its a laxative. It wasn't that bad and they do it because missionaries eat so much nasty stuff that they want to clean out every once and a while. I thought it was cool until I started peeing out my butt...never doing it again but it was fun while it lasted! 

   This week has been amazing! It started off slow and kind of was weird with labor day being last Monday but it didn't faze the work. Last week I talked about how in zone conference presidents vision for the mission is to get more involved with family history work. I want to share how that has changed our missionary work. I OYM'd(opened my mouth) some guy on the street and taught him about family history, he ended up not living in our area but the cool thing about this was this was the single moment where my mission changed, I don't know why, probably because i followed the counsel of my leaders but that very moment is when I started to love my mission, love sharing the gospel, and love where I am. Not everyone comes into the field with that and I needed to find that passion for what I am doing and the Lord blessed me with it. FOLLOW OUR LEADERS! On Thursday/Friday I had another tradeoff with Elder Lane and all we did was service...for 4 hours! It was fun but i was so tired after that. We saw a HUGE caterpillar and banana spider which Ill send a picture of, it was cool! The 70 year old bishop we did service for put up 200lbs for bench press though...I was sore amazed! Now to the good stuff! On Saturday we set up a full day trade off with TJ our investigator. He studied with us and went to all of our lessons. Before Saturday we didn't think he was ready or even wanted to be baptized on the 14th but afterward he told us he was ready for it so pray TJ will be strong through this week! He bore awesome testimony of the restoration in one of our lessons too. The cool thing is it wont only be my first baptism but he has asked me to baptize him. I'm humbled and honor to do so. His member friend might be coming up from south Florida and if he does he will baptize him but that is still questionable. It doesn't matter though! TJ IS GETTING BAPTIZED!  We also went and saw brother curry yesterday, he's one of our less actives and he told us a story that he felt that if the elders came over that day that that would be a sign from heaven that it is his sign to quit smoking, sure enough when we came over he slapped the last pack he had in our hands and we chucked them! He also gave his first talk in church yesterday and he was so nervous but the spirit was so strong! It doesn't matter the words we say its the spirit that we bring into the room. Last week we went over to the Porters who are an active family but one of their daughters are married to a nonmember and he was never interested, in fact when elder nelson talked to him last week he said "this gospel will bless you life if you just let it" Cody(the nonmember) told him not to preach to him and we left it at that. Resume to this week and Sister Porter invited us to dinner and to teach Cody the first discussion, we were so surprised! He is so ready though. When we taught him and I was quoting the first vision I was about in tears because of the spirit in that room! He committed to baptism on October 5th(dads bday)! The message I want to share this week goes along with what I've seen this week with my own two eyes. Gods hand is in the lives of ALL of us. He guides us and sets us up for the future. Follow the promptings of the spirit. This is my testimony. Love and miss y'all

Elder Welch

 I don't have as much time to email today so this might be a little shorter. This week has been a CRAZY one! I have gone from depressed and discouraged, to on the verge of tears, of loving my mission and not wanting to leave, mood swings are crazy out here! We met with TJ this week and set a baptismal date with him for September 14th. (It will probably get moved back) He has gotten his answer, we just had to show him that. He said that when he went to the Orlando temple grounds before, there was a feeling he couldn't describe...here's your sign! We also got to meet up with a less active member who is LOADED!  He is in charge of all of the airplanes for the military down here. We did service out there and hope he comes back to church! On Saturday we had a 5k for the Pine Forest Ward that we were going to help out with and I decided to run. I took the lead at the beginning and was going pretty good for most part of it.  The race just seemed to be way longer than it should, come to find out that I had gone an extra 2k! I still won though because everyone follows the idiot in the front haha. First 5k(7k) and I win!  Representing Nevada baby! I don't know if y'all have seen that website that shows crazy Walmart people but I am sure that they take ALL of those pictures in the south, some of the people I see down here are crazy!

This week I wanted to share the importance of obedience. I unfortunately have experienced both teaching with the Spirit and without. I can tell you that we need that Spirit and the way to obtain it is through obedience. This does not only apply to missionaries but to all members, we all have commandments and have made covenants that we need to keep. If we do not keep them we are no better than the people that spit upon the Savior, actually we might as well be doing that. Obey the commandments and show your love for the Savior. I love and miss yall. All is Well!

Elder Welch