What a great week it was! It seems like so much has happened since I have written y'all! Monday you heard about all the fun that we had and Tuesday was no less fun than Monday was. We were able to go to district meeting where Elder Browne (my district leader), one of the Elders from Mobile taught us and basically set up expectations. We then went on a "road trip." We recently have just gotten a van for our new mission car and so we were able to go pick up all of the missionaries that were going home early in there. We were able to go clear over to Destin, Florida, it was a lot of fun. One of the Elders going home was one of the ones in my district when I first came out, the only thing weirder than seeing that was seeing Elder Musgrave get on the plane Wednesday morning. I don't really know why but goodbyes and me have never really mixed but I was just fine. 

   We had lessons with two of our investigators this week. Joe, who has had problems with drinking in the past was sober for both of our lessons this week. I was only there for one of our lessons but we taught him the plan of salvation in two different parts focusing on how he needs to do the work not only for himself but also for his ancestors. I feel like it recommitted him from what I heard from Elder McPherson.

   We basically lost another day of proselyting because we had to go do an interview over in Bonifay Florida. I was the initial one to give the interview but Elder McPherson had to go in after me to talk to her, weirdest interview or conversation i have ever had on my mission, good stories though. Our other lesson was with Derrick. He is one of them that doesn't meet with us all for the gospel aspects of it, his girlfriend is a member and that is where most of his motivation is coming from, we had a bit of a come to Jesus lesson with him and we feel it went really really well. I did have one tradeoff with My zone leaders and all we did all day was move them out of an apartment and help one of their members move, i was so exhausted by the end of the day! really fun tradeoff though. 

    Nothing really mind blowing this week other than you need to study the scriptures! You wont progress a single bit without it. Love and miss y'all! all is well!

Elder Welch

  This week we actually got to do a lot of missionary work! That's nice when we are this busy. We have another good week of proselyting this next week but the sad part about it is that week will be a man down, Elder Musgrave is leaving on Wednesday. I sent some pictures that showed what we did last Monday. We went to Wakula springs and a boat tour...yes it was approved you missionaries who are now raising an eyebrow about me getting on a boat. There were a bunch of manatees, alligators, and turtles, the river was no deeper than 2-3 feet until you got to the deep springs. I really really enjoyed that.    

   Tuesday was zone conference and oddly enough, they do things a lot differently here in Tallahassee than they do in Mobile even though it is the same mission, good meeting though. A few highlights of the week. The first one was the lesson with Joe Suber. They have been teaching him long before I got here and he had been doing really really well in that time. He has had some issues with the Word of wisdom and the only times I've seen him is when he is under influence of those things. However, we had a lesson with him on Friday and we had planned to just got in there and read a chapter with him to set up for the next visit but topics were brought up that made us not even read and we just went crazy. Now I cannot tell you exactly what happened in there because #1 it was not my experience, it was my companions(Elder Musgrave) and #2 it is too sacred to share. Topics went to the spirit world and family history and all I will say is that he became more coherent for the end of the lesson and his whole attitude changed. The spirit was so strong in there! Wednesday's lesson with be amazing with him, we will be teaching him the plan of salvation. Finally, I don't know if you remember but I was having a hard time my last couple of weeks in mobile because of member involvement. The elders here have been doing service lessons here that are amazing so I have had a ton of opportunities to serve here. We teach Mosiah 2:17 and commit them to find something for us to do this week for a service opportunity, the bonds grow so much stronger between the members and missionaries, I love it! 

  Things we learn as missionaries and just people here on earth is that life at times can be hard. I have had some great studies that explain why. The Lord chastens us to try our faith and patience. We have to have faith and be ok with it at times. The Lord only chastens those He loves and if we endure the chastening that is only when we can be counted worthy(he's proud) as his Sons and daughters. Additional study that makes this make more sense.

Mosiah 23:21-22

Hebrews 12:6-7

Proverbs 3:12-13

All is well. Love and miss yall

Elder Welch

   What a fun week it was! Tuesday we had a great district meeting and then had to prepare for the new missionaries coming in. This transfer was a little weird for everybody. It was weird for me because this was the transfer that I came into the mission field a year ago but now I was picking them up. It was weird for everyone else because with it being all of the new missionaries coming in after school is done so it was a pretty large transfer, I believe there was 15 that came in. That night we had a dinner at the mission home and a small orientation. The next day we had to get up at 6am to go and pick the sisters up at the hotel. All that day we did training with them, it was really cool to be able to help the new missionaries. Going back to Tuesday night; we gave the missionaries their trainers names and their new addresses for the next couple of weeks so they could let their parents know. There was one specific Elder that was having a super hard time on the phone with his parents. I remember specifically how hard it was for me to be away from home at the beginning of my mission I was able to help him, he should be doing fine now, he looked fine, it was just the call that killed him.

   Thursday was the actual transfer date for the whole mission. President Smith does nothing with transfers other than the actual placing of the missionaries, all of the logistics are done by the assistants. We hooked up a 12 passenger van and a truck to a trailer and set off. With there being 3 assistants driving wasn't that bad because we had to drive from 9am to 6pm. There was a stretch when I was driving the van and the trailer that it was just down pouring for about 10 minutes, it was super scary but i did it, of course it would be the stretch that I was driving the most difficult vehicle! Once we got back that evening we had a dinner with all of the departing missionaries and had a departing testimony meeting. That was amazing but one of the saddest meetings i have been in on my entire mission. President Smith through down a mean sermon about home life, it was really nice to hear. The rest of the weekend we had some proselyting and good contacts but nothing too big yet, really really good potentials though. We have one investigator who had a baptismal date but he has had a problem with drinking, he was sober for a month and fell back into it this week so we are praying and focusing on him. 

   What hit me hard this week points directly to those of you who have served missions but can be applied to anyone. You had amazing faith to go on a mission and you learned and grew a lot because of that experience. You have now grown up and learned a lot more but i see a reoccurrence in a lot of returned missionaries that is sad. They may not go less active but they are "less active" than they really should be in the church. Be active! Work how you wanted members to work when you were on a mission. Just because you took a physical badge off doesn't mean you took the spiritual one off (baptism). You had the faith to enlist in the mission field. Make a choice now. Do you think you have the faith to reenlist as a representative? love and miss y'all. All is well!

                       Elder Welch

Boy oh boy what a week it has been! Monday after I was done emailing shaped all of it so I will start there. Since y'all heard about my wonderful accident two weeks ago with tearing a ligament in my foot we had arranged to get myself a boot last Monday. With how crazy it was with arranging that I was in contact with the mission office a lot that day so when President Smith's name popped up on my phone it didn't shock me all that much, I just figured it was about my foot. As I answered the phone he did exactly that, asked me about my foot, how I was doing, and if I was going to be coming to the mission leadership council that Wednesday. It is only my toe so I told him of course I would be coming to the council. Then he hit me with it....he said "will you have your bags packed for me when you come on Wednesday?" I was somewhat confused until he told me he was calling me to be the new assistant to the president and that he wanted me there to help him with figuring out transfers. The big thing was that he told me I couldn't tell anyone because transfers were for another week or so. I thought that the people in Mobile would catch on super quickly with all of the hints that were thrown out but I guess the Lord didn't want them knowing either. Once i actually left word went around pretty quickly. 

  I absolutely love my new companions; Elder McPherson and Elder Musgrave. They are some of the funniest people I have ever met. It will be sad when Elder Musgrave goes home in two weeks. We have only done 1 hour of proselyting since Wednesday because of all of the administrative work that was going on.  I am thankful for the call, I am thankful for my companions, I love being around them, I love being around "the keys"(president) so much and to see how he works...brilliant man! Know that all situations we are put in are for us, our learning, our understanding, and people that we will need to help in the future. Learn everything now! love and miss y'all.

All is well. If you need my address...talk to my ma!

Elder Welch