She had a coworker who was a really good example.

May 29, 2007

Dear Family,

Well, we ended up emailing today. Yesterday was p-day, but the libraries were closed. I don't think I will be able to check my email next week; I'll just get the mail.

Michelle's working at Eastside Harley, eh? Is that a motorcycle dealership?

Bryana didn't get baptized yet. She was really sick again this weekend, not able to come to church, and so we have to push the baptism back. It'll be soon after I come home though, I'm sure.

The Twiggs are coming back home today. They're down to 2 cigarettes a day. They're almost there. Nicole came to church this week and after a great sacrament meeting (one returning, one departing missionary) I felt the spirit tell me to go up to Nicole and tell her that she needs to be baptized, and soon so that she can start having the benefits of the gift of the holy ghost now. I was able to give her a very strong baptismal commitment, and so now she just has to set a date. That was probably the highlight of Sunday. Also, in gospel essentials class, we talked about baptism for the dead and she started crying because she had a sister who had died at 16 years old without ever being baptized and she felt regret at not trying to help her sister believe in Jesus Christ. The doctrine in the class really did fill her with joy and hope.

We did a lot of service this week. It was my first experience being an electrician helping a guy with an addition to his house. We haven't plugged in the electricity yet, but by the time the moment of truth comes, I'll be long gone, heh!.

I saw Caitlyn Hermann at church on Sunday. We chatted. She's like 19 now; that's so OLD. She knows the Porterfields in the Encinitas ward. She says that the CV4th ward reads my letters like every week. That's kinda cool.

Elder Burton and I got in a door on a follow-up and taught a lesson and got a return appointment this week. It was his first experience with that, and he was thrilled. Her name is Diane and she's interested because she had a coworker who was a really good example.

The progression of our investigators is pretty slow, though, and it's not looking like any of them will be baptized before I go. But Elder Burton should have some good baptisms next transfer.

I hope you guys are all doing well. I better get going. I love you all. I'll email next Wednesday.... if you really want me to. The mission's been the best, and I'm trying to finish strong and work my guts out this last week. Thanks for the prayers.

Love,
Elder Myers

She had a coworker who was a really good example.

May 29, 2007

Dear Family,

Well, we ended up emailing today. Yesterday was p-day, but the libraries were closed. I don't think I will be able to check my email next week; I'll just get the mail.

Michelle's working at Eastside Harley, eh? Is that a motorcycle dealership?

Bryana didn't get baptized yet. She was really sick again this weekend, not able to come to church, and so we have to push the baptism back. It'll be soon after I come home though, I'm sure.

The Twiggs are coming back home today. They're down to 2 cigarettes a day. They're almost there. Nicole came to church this week and after a great sacrament meeting (one returning, one departing missionary) I felt the spirit tell me to go up to Nicole and tell her that she needs to be baptized, and soon so that she can start having the benefits of the gift of the holy ghost now. I was able to give her a very strong baptismal commitment, and so now she just has to set a date. That was probably the highlight of Sunday. Also, in gospel essentials class, we talked about baptism for the dead and she started crying because she had a sister who had died at 16 years old without ever being baptized and she felt regret at not trying to help her sister believe in Jesus Christ. The doctrine in the class really did fill her with joy and hope.

We did a lot of service this week. It was my first experience being an electrician helping a guy with an addition to his house. We haven't plugged in the electricity yet, but by the time the moment of truth comes, I'll be long gone, heh!.

I saw Caitlyn Hermann at church on Sunday. We chatted. She's like 19 now; that's so OLD. She knows the Porterfields in the Encinitas ward. She says that the CV4th ward reads my letters like every week. That's kinda cool.

Elder Burton and I got in a door on a follow-up and taught a lesson and got a return appointment this week. It was his first experience with that, and he was thrilled. Her name is Diane and she's interested because she had a coworker who was a really good example.

The progression of our investigators is pretty slow, though, and it's not looking like any of them will be baptized before I go. But Elder Burton should have some good baptisms next transfer.
I hope you guys are all doing well. I better get going. I love you all. I'll email next Wednesday.... if you really want me to. The mission's been the best, and I'm trying to finish strong and work my guts out this last week. Thanks for the prayers.

Love,
Elder Myers

The best way to drop a non-progressing investigator is to try to commit them to baptism.

May 22, 2007
Dear Family,

The Twiggs are doing a job up in Riverside county right now. They have been staying in a hotel up there. They're still struggling but want to have quit by the time they come back.

Sunday, the Samoras didn't come to church again, so Monday we went over and were ready to tell them to get serious or we're not going to spend any more time over there. Well, our mission president always says that the best way to drop a non-progressing investigator is to try to commit them to baptism. So, Bryana Zamora is getting baptized next Saturday. She's not going to wait for her cousin Victoria any more. It's pretty solid and they're really committed. So, that's good news.

We've had some good work with less-active members this week. We were able to get in there and not beat around the bush and challenge them to read and pray. This week we've had a lot of lessons and I've seen a lot of progress in those members who are struggling.

Nicole is still not really progressing. I'm sure she's going to be more of a long-term project.

Our zone had 6 baptisms this weekend. A lot of time this weekend was helping the other missionaries prepare for the baptisms. We gave invites at 2 of the baptismal services. The stake leaders are thrilled with the success in the stake right now. I think the members are getting pretty excited in some of the wards too. A couple years ago, the stake was having about 6-8 baptisms a year. Last month, as a mission, we had 69 baptisms, compared to our average of 40-50. There's an added measure of excitement about missionary work at many levels.

This week, on a tract-out in the Olivenhein ward, we tracted into one guy named Rudy and made him promise to read the pamphlet "The Restoration." He called us back that night and told us that he really liked it, agreed with a lot of what was in it, and was going to start reading the Book of Mormon.

Well, there's not much else going on here. I hope you all have a great week. We're still working hard.

Love,
Elder Myers

He said he'd probably come to church. He also might have been drunk.

May 15, 2007
Dear Family,

I'm glad you had a happy birthday, Becky. I sure had a happy your-birthday. It was nice to talk to all of you on Mothers Day. I have made good use of the jokes.

Well, this week, I went on exchanges with Elder Navarette (from the Phillipines). Earlier in the day, we went to check on a less-active member; she had moved but we talked to the neighbor, and got in and sat down and taught a lesson. He said he'd probably come to church. He also might have been drunk.

That night, we had some time before one of the members of his ward picked us up to go out, so we went street contacting and tracting. First, we walked through a parking lot of a shopping center. I thought I was helping a little old lady, when she started taking her cart back from the car, I took it from her and said not to worry, I'd take it back for her... well, she went into the store and got another cart, so, I guess I stole that lady's cart. I felt pretty stupid Heh. Then we went tracting in this neighborhood where there was a little kid skateboarding. Three times, as we passed each other, Elder Navarette said, "Hello, little girl!" Finally, the third time, the kid said, "I'm not a little girl" in a rather low voice, and Elder Navarette felt stupid.

This week, Elder Baadsgaard and Elder Navarette had a family randomly come to church who wants to be baptized. They scheduled all the lessons for this week and a baptism in just a couple weeks. Then yesterday, they got a new investigator and in the first lesson, they asked her if she wanted to come to the baptism. She said yes. They asked her if she'd like to be baptized then. She said yes. So, there's some pretty amazing success going on in the district.

We taught the Linkowskis again last night. We took them locally-famous VG's donuts to teach them the gospel. We illustrated faith by the fact that there were donuts in the box which they couldn't see, but they believed they were there. We illustrated repentance and baptism by requesting that before they could eat the donuts, they had to go wash their hands. Then we ate the donuts. Their grandpa is going to baptize them, and not within the next couple weeks, so it's not going to be while I'm here.

The Twiggs are doing pretty well. Still having a hard time quitting smoking. Today is 25 days without alcohol.

We went street contacting in the grocery store parking lot, and there was a guy selling newspapers at a table out front. So we went up and talked to him. He was Christian and converted to Buddhism. We taught him the first three lessons and went back the next day to give him a Book of Mormon and the pamphlets. He says he'll read the Book of Mormon. He lives out of the area, though.

We went to the bible study again this week. He asked us to prepare the discussion for next time. We're glad to do that. He is also working on an addition to his house and Elder Burton is a certified electrician, so Elder Burton offered to help him. That should be later this week. It's a good service opportunity.

The Twiggs were the only ones who came to church. The others all had mothers day excuses.

Well, that's about it for what's going on here. I hope you're all doing well. Good luck training for the bike ride, mom. I love you all.

--Elder Myers

Nobody came to church this week.

May 8, 2007
Dear Family,

I heard about the missionary getting killed in Seattle. We still haven't got killed yet. Prayers, helmets, head and tail lights, common sense, and speed limits have kept us unharmed.

Okay, about what's going on now:

Nobody came to church this week. The Twiggs were up camping. They said that Sunday the temptation to drink again hit pretty hard but they didn't, and it scared them but it was a good victory so they know they can do it. It's now been about 2 and a half weeks since they've had a drink. They quit smoking this morning; we went over with the bishop and gave them blessings and read scriptures with them. Keep them in your prayers.

The Linkowskis and Zamoras were out of town. We met with the Linkowskis last night. There's not a ton of progress, but we're taking little steps. I was pretty frustrated that the Zamoras didn't come again (they went to Tijuana to see some family) but we need to keep being patient. Nicole and John didn't come to church either; they seem stuck in a time warp in that hotel - Nicole's high blood pressure causes her to have a lot of trips to the hospital and doctor's office, which causes John to miss work, which is stressful because of the high cost of where they're living, which keeps the blood pressure high. They're still trying to find more housing. I wish they'd be able to come to church.

We taught a guy named Sammy this week. He was a referral from Tammy, a young lady in Carlsbad who just got baptized. He had a lot of questions about the church that he was asking her, apparently, and she said that she'd have the missionaries contact him to answer his questions. Well, we called him and left a message, and he called back that night and left a message saying he would be interested in learning more. The next day, we hadn't called back yet, and he called again to make sure we had got his message. We called him back and set up an appointment. On Wednesday, we taught him the first lesson and answered a lot of his questions. He said he'll think about it and pray about it and then when we call him again he'll tell us whether he wants to hear more of the lessons.

We've been getting some practice teaching with the less actives and recent converts in the ward. Elder Burton is making progress in his teaching; I try to give him as much time to teach as possible in those settings.

Thursday was zone conference. It was really good, as usual. Friday's bible study cancelled. Saturday's car wash yielded a potential investigator. We'll call him tonight.

So, really, where we're at right now is this: We're still trying to find some good new investigators, and our existing investigators are progressing pretty slowly (except for the Twiggs; they're doing really well.) The Twiggs want to be baptized before I go home. Let's hope it happens.

I look forward to talking to you on mothers day. Make sure to have some good stories or jokes to tell me or something. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Myers

We had a really good car wash this week.

Dear Family,

On Wednesday morning, Elder Burton and I went to see Nicole with the bishop of the Encinitas ward. He's giving them some financial assistance now. John, her husband, is working two jobs right now. Nicole's health fluctuates a lot; she wasn't able to make it to church again. I finally talked to John on the phone and he agreed to try to meet with us this week. Nicole is still interested and wants to be baptized, but we're going to wait so that they can be baptized as a family.

We did some street contacting and tracting this week. Nothing big came of it, but at least Elder Burton got the experience to write home about. He's a good match for the Zamoras - he was a primary teacher before coming out. It's still not happening with them though - but one of these weeks I'm sure they'll come to church.

The Twiggs are doing really well. They came to church again this week. They say that every time they get the temptation, they just think about how sick they were last time, and it goes away.

I told Grandma to work through the Wilsons on Elsie Whitnack. She agreed to let Elder Burton practice teaching on her. We're trying that approach on a couple other people too.

We got appointments with a couple referrals this week. We'll see how they go. It's nice to visit or call a referral and they actually want to set something up to learn more.

We did go to the Bible study - none of their friends showed up, so we just taught Jeff and his wife about the Book of Mormon. It was pretty cool. We'll go back this week. I don't know how much potential is there, but at least we have the opportunity to testify.

Brother Ek, the Cardiff ward mission leader, helped me raise the seat on my bike, so that's all good now.

Becky, do you still play Neopets? There's a 40 year old man sitting next to me playing it. Heh.

We had a really good car wash this week. I met two cars of Chinese people. It was extremely busy - at times we were washing 5 cars at once with one or two waiting.

We didn't get to meet with the Linkowskis this week. Bummer. We'll try it again.

Yesterday, while street contacting, we found a guy named Fletcher. He was painting some doors at a shop on the highway 101 and he's pretty open to the gospel. He said we could drop off some stuff for him to read and chat with him about it. He lives out of our area, but his wife owns the shop, so he's always there.

That's about it. I've done a lot of training to get Elder Burton into the groove of things. He's a good kid. I hope you all have a great week.

Love,
Elder Myers

This is what Californians do all day

April 24, 2007

Dear Family,

Well, my second son, Elder Burton, was born today. Elder Archibald got transferred so I'm training a new missionary straight from the MTC. He's from west valley and I think he will do very well. Brother Ek the ward mission leader in Cardiff ward drove 4 of us from transfers, bought us in-n-out burgers, and we ate them in the car on a cliff over the ocean and watched some dolphins. "This is what Californians do all day," claimed brother Ek.

Elder Archibald's last week in the Cardiff ward went well. The Mastergeorge family in our district got baptized. We gave the baptismal invite. The Twiggs slipped - and the thing about alcoholics is that once you've slipped a little bit, you go all the way down. We gave them blessings and helped them pull themselves out of it - after they had that first drink, for six days they'd fight the urge until the withdrawal pain and shakes were so bad they'd go drive down to the liquor store and buy more. The recipe for getting out: Scriptures, Prayer, Priesthood Blessing, and.... taking their car keys, with permission. The next morning, they were through the worst of it, and wanting even more not to fall again.

We taught a few other part member families this week, but didn't get any new investigators. Lots of long-term projects in this area. The Twiggs AND the Linkowskis all came to church this week. That's very good.

They split the area of the other two missionaries in my district, so now there are two more elders. Elder Baadsgaard is training a missionary from the Phillipines. I served near Elder Baadsgaard in orange county; he used to serve in my current area and is all the members' hero. He goes home next transfer also.

The bible study that I lined up at the carwash postponed till this week. We're still planning on going.

We met this lady a couple days ago named Elsie Whitnack who is pretty much an 80-year-old dry Mormon. ("Just add water," you're familiar with that term, right?) Her late best friend was a member. That family is the Wilsons, who own Wilson Diamonds in Orem. She has read the Book of Mormon several times, subscribes to the Church News and Ensign, and encouraged both of us to marry active members of the church in the temple. She's trying to get her kids to convert too. I think her husband is holding her back. How strange. She'll be baptized -- someday.

On Friday we rode in the rain to the Zamoras. My pants were soaked. My Mr. Mac jacket kept the rest of me dry though. The parents still, despite all the assurances they could give that they'd be there, didn't come. The kids have to come to church to join it.

That's about all that I can remember. The other investigators I haven't mentioned this letter we've been keeping track of by phone until they can meet. That should work out soon.

Elder Gibbons is coming to BYU during summer term too. He might come over to Grandma and Grandpas once or twice.

Elder Moreno got called to a Spanish area. He'll do great there. The new Chinese missionary is finally in Chinese, and he couldn't look happier about that.

Well, the work is going well here. I'm enjoying myself. I love you all.

--Elder Myers

that's just as good as a baptism

Apr 18, 2007
Dear Family,
Well, this week, p-day is on Wednesday. I hope that didn't throw you off too much.

Well, I'll give you this week's report on the investigators. The Twiggs missed church and afterwards "fell off the wagon." Yesterday they were drinking. They don't want to be drinking. They still want to change. But the baptismal date is not on.

The Linkowskis are doing really well. The dad helped us teach. We also had the stake president and ward mission leader at the lesson. It was really good. We're hoping that they can all, dad included, get baptized together if possible.

Nicole is still sick. We didn't see her this week.

I got Frank Xie the Book of Mormon, but he had to go back to work so we weren't able to sit down and have a discussion.

At the car wash, I talked to a guy named Jeff. At first, he just wanted to argue about how we weren't Christians or something, so I showed him our beliefs about Christ from the Book of Mormon and... well, he was pretty much confounded. "You sound like a Christian!" So, we're going over on Friday night to his Bible study to teach them what we believe about Christ.

Somebody else at the car wash wanted to give a donation. They told him we can't take it, but if he came to church on Sunday he could give it to the bishop. Well, he actually DID come and gave it to the bishop. That was pretty cool.

We saw Steven Wilson once this week. He says he's thinking a lot more about Jesus lately. This year, he's quit drinking, lost 50 pounds, and become determined to "make it" in life. He says he wants to repent of his sins. He's a little flaky on appointments though... but we'll keep trying to work with him.

The Manguses were busy this week. Maybe in a couple weeks we'll have more to say.

The Zamoras also didn't come to church. They're sick. There's a lot of sickness going around. I'm trying not to catch it. The Zamoras are learning though and they're getting prepared for baptism.

After the carwash on Saturday, we went to check on a Chinese guy who had been found on a zone tract out. He let us in and I taught him about prayer and some other basics. I don't know how interested he'll be in continuing the lessons but he said I could come back this Saturday. His English is not very good.

This week we had a lead for somebody named Tinker who has been inactive for decades. Her sister, who was in a similar situation, just became active again and told us to go over there. Well, we went and we got her a ride to church, and she really liked it and wants to stay active. So, that's just as good as a baptism. Now she's got a nonmember family who are really supportive and so there maybe some teaching opportunity there.

My companion and I went to lunch at one of the Chinese restaurants here in Cardiff-by-the-sea and our server was none but Jennifer Xie, the mother of Henry who we taught for a while in the Chinese branch. We talked quite a bit in Chinese as she came around. She says Henry still asks her to go to church. So I called the Chinese elders and told them not to forget about him.

That's about all that I can think of from this week. It's been busy. We've been doing our best and the members are noticing that and really supporting us as best as they can. The work is going really well. Transfers are next week, and I don't know if I'll stay or go. I love you guys. Thanks for all you do.

Love,
Elder Myers