This transfer has been one of the fastest of my entire mission. I think it is because of the busier I get the faster it goes. I cant believe that I have already spent 4.5 months in Mobile, it seems like I spent 3 times that time in Fox Run. I had a really good district meeting this week, I feel like teaching has been my biggest struggle as a district leader but it has come around a lot! I'm getting comfortable with it.

    This week I feel like there wasn't a lot that went on. We had quite a few of our investigators drop, one that was really had to drop was Scott Chandler, he's the same one I sang to. All of our lessons with him went off topic and he started to become contentious so we had to make a decision to drop him, the teaching experience wasn't for nothing though. We strengthened his faith and got him to pray which he hasn't done in over 2 years. I also learned more how to love someone that tries to not like me or my beliefs haha. We taught a pastor that we OYM'd a couple weeks back and he fed us lunch. I honestly was a little nervous about it because I didn't want to get bashed but he didn't do any of that stuff. We taught the restoration and he asked us questions about the bible verses we used. I knew he would question us and i knew i might not know all of the answers to had to say a little prayer and that helped a bit, I was able to answer everything to his satisfaction. On Saturday I had an exchange with one of the areas in our ward that has always had a hard time and was able to help the missionary and the area a little bit, plus we made beignets (look it up). Having tradeoffs once a week makes time just fly! We did service for the Red Cross this week and played basketball with the doles. We have 2 weeks until Elder Ballard comes and next week we find out about transfers. It just blows my mind how its all going by so fast...

Sorry there isn't much to say about this week, its just been slow as far as things happening.

   As i was calling one of the areas in the district I was talking to a missionaries about members in our wards and he said something that I really liked. People view themselves "active" but don't understands what it means to be active. There is to be active in the church and to be active in the gospel. In order to count yourselves as active you must be active in both, going to church and living the teachings in your own lives. It reminds me of a scripture in DC 18:15-16. Your own soul counts as "saving one soul," to be active you must do the second part and bring others to the gospel as well, we cant do it without yah. Love and miss y'all! all is well.

Elder welch

 I cannot believe that it has been 8 months since I've left. I was thinking about the day that i entered the MTC which I don't like to do very often because I don't like to but it juts amazed me that it has been 8 months since that time, my year mark is just around the corner! This week was about normal speed so that is good but we had a lot of things happen! First off we had our zone conference on Tuesday with president Smith and the AP's, we get them about every 3 transfers. We talked about mission unity, church tours, and family history work, the same thing that we talked about in zone training but reemphasized. We also found out that our mission is having transfers on Thursdays now. After that I had a tradeoff with Lucedale but I stayed in mobile with Elder Garn this time. We got to teach a few people which Ill talk about later in the email. As we were trading back the next day I was driving to Wilmer, Alabama to meet in the middle and we cant have the phone while we drive so he was holding onto that, as we traded back and were just pulling into mobile we realize that Elder Garn still had the phone! We had to go over to the zone leaders apartment to make arrangements to get it back, that was eventful.

   As far as our investigators go we only really have one to really talk about and that is Scott Chandler. He is kind of hard to teach because he likes to oppose everything even though we can prove him the scriptures oppose what he says but that doesn't matter much because he has progressed so much. One lesson we had with him was a church tour, we thought we'd try it out since president is really pushing for us to do them. We went through the church and it all was going alright and as we were showing him a picture in the primary room I got a prompting to sing to him. I was really scared and honestly didn't really like that prompting so I shook it off. As we entered into the room that had the baptismal font I knew that this room would be the one that he needed the most. We were talking for about 2 minutes when I just stopped and got up and told elder clayton to follow me to get the primary hymn book, I flip to "I feel my saviors love" and  explained to him about the baptism by fire and that this is what my baptism reminds me of. I sang the song as I was shaking like a leaf(we had 3 members there too so I had an audience). The spirit was really strong and them we had a testimony meeting there for Scott.  Patrick Baldwin was one of the members present and said he really needed it just as much as Scott. Scott prayed twice and hasn't said a prayer for 2 years so that was HUGE progression for him.

   Mardi Gras is going on and will be going on for the next 2 weeks so that makes the work slow down a bit but its all good. We are half way through the transfer and this will probably be mine and elder Claytons last transfer together but who knows! I love the kid. As for a spiritual thought this week I want to talk about the power of a fast. I heard about everyone in Elko fasting for moisture and how that helped but I want to talk more on an individual basis. Fasting helps us overcome problems that we need added strength for or for extra forgiveness. As you weaken and overcome your carnal desires your spirit will grow. I have seen this happen so much in my life. I feel like I should talk a little on repentance too. Don't procrastinate it! The savior will forgive if we are willing to be forgiven. Love and miss y'all!

All is well

Elder Welch

 What a fast week! This is a scary time because the slow days of my mission are gone and it just keeps going faster and faster! I always thought that as I was out longer and longer on my mission that it would get easier.  This week has been so hard for me. I have felt the inadequacies that every missionary feels and needs to learn from. Like I’ve said in previous letters, He makes our situations uncomfortable to get our attention...and He has mine now! I did have an eventful week this week though! We started out on Tuesday when we had our zone training. We learned about being unified, setting firm appointments, and doctrine on family history.  It says that people that have already been converted in the Spirit world are prompting their loved ones down here to do their work for them. We had an opportunity to teach it to Scott Chandler too! We taught the plan of salvation with ordinances that we can give to others (his wife died two years ago). I have never felt the Spirit so strong in a lesson my whole mission. I actually started tearing up. The lesson made a huge difference in him. He has gone from not praying for two years to having faith again and he said he has prayed so it is only a matter of time with him!

   On Thursday I had to go to Lucedale, Mississippi.  I had to do a baptismal interview for a lady.  That was a lot of fun even though we didn’t get back until about 9:30. On Friday Elder Clayton and I had an hour of free time so we had time to go out and tract. Elder Clayton felt prompted to go to a certain street in the area we were in and we started going. The first door we went to we met a lady named Yolanda. Common name down here. We taught her about the book of Mormon and half the restoration, she cut us off because she said she had to pee really bad ha-ha, we got a return appointment with her. We then were walking back to our car after a few houses that we knocked and ran into a man named Kyle. He is active in his ministry and a really smart guy and he invited us back to eat lunch in 2 weeks and a lesson, hopefully that goes well. On Saturday I had my tradeoff with the zone leaders and I went with Elder Hadden and went to their area. I love that guy! He has been out about 20 months and is an awesome teacher.  I learned a LOT from that tradeoff. I am also feeling a lot better.

   This week as I have been having a hard one and have seen it in my studies I wanted to touch on Ether 12:27 and Alma 7:12. He listens if we just humble ourselves. Don’t wait like me until you get humbled by the Lord, do it on your own and it works out a lot better! He's there for us and always will be.

Love and miss ya’ll!

All is well

Elder Welch

 This week has been the most bipolar of my mission as far as the south goes. On Monday president emailed/texted everyone in the mission saying that there was some arctic freeze that was coming down from the north and to prepare for snow and that just blew everyone's minds because it hasn't snowed here in 15 years, lucky Elder Welch got the snow...it never leaves me! On Tuesday we made it out safety to district meeting in Semmes and most of us made it home safely. Lucedale did get trapped and had to spend the night at Semmes for 2 nights...lucky ducks! I had a tradeoff that day with the new missionary in the area from the MTC and I have felt bad for this missionary because he is white washing an area his first transfer out(2 new elders in one area). All they do is tract and don't have a lot of members in their area to work with. He loved being able to work(once we got ok'd to go out and drive) in an area that has been set up with a lot of members in it but he is a great missionary from Rexburg Idaho. He actually knows Lesly Hayes(the girl that i met at the Manti pageant a few years back). With it being so cold and wet I did get pretty sick this week, I'm still not over it. I never did stay inside because it would have driven me crazy but I have had a few sleepless nights from headaches and not being able to breathe, it is getting better i just cant speak very well.

   We got two new investigators this week. One of them was a referral we received from Idaho which president smith relayed to elder clayton and I. His name is Scott Chandler and he is a tough cookie to crack! He says he has lost all of his faith(which is false, we can never lose all of our faith or else we wouldn't get out of bed in the morning), he lost his job a few years ago, and his wife died a few years ago. We want to teach him the plan of salvation with family history but haven't been able to keep his lessons on track enough to do so. Our other investigator we received from HQ and his name is Earl. The cool story about this one is when we put his address into the GPS we realized that he lived at the same house as a former investigator that we tracted into, at first we thought that we were getting pranked but it turned out to be an awesome contact! It was his older brother, we taught him about the Book of Mormon and got a return appointment with him tonight.

   So as far as it being a bipolar week as far as mobile goes it was snowing at the beginning of the week, 70 on Friday, and raining yesterday, all seasons in one week. I got sick from the cold/wet weather and it started out with a sore throat, then I got stuffed up, and then my throat got a little swollen, and now i just cant talk very well. I am almost all better except for the whole not being able to talk thing. I woke up a lot in the middle of the night this week with a headache and stuffed up too. We had a leadership broadcast on Saturday with L. Tom Perry presiding with 4 other 70 being there, it was broadcast for the southeast and it was amazing. it talked about the roll of the ward counsel and how they can better work with missionaries. L. Tom Perry has so much energy, he will never die..I Love it!

    This week I had really good studies and I feel like i grew a lot and I want to share one thing I found. I was studying in Mosiah 17:2 This is right after Abinadi preaches against King Noah and his priests and this is what it says." But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them." We can apply this to ourselves especially as missionaries. We go out and teach hundreds of people juts like Abinadi was preaching to Noah and his many priests and as far as Abinadi knew he was just testifying against them but the only reason he was there and died was because one person had to be converted(who ended up being a prophet). We teach hundreds and at times we only convert 1 out of hundreds but we were sent to do one thing. It kind of reminds me of the song by Rascal Flatts "Bless the Broken Road"  I know that it is about a girl but we can apply that as well haha.  We can liken it to our callings, you are the only person on the face of the planet that has your calling in that designated area and you are called for one reason or another.  I love and miss y'all! All is well!

Elder Welch