Elder Kopischke

Joseph's letter from May 19, 2014

Hey family,

                  This week has been great. Monday we saw Mark and Kim in the evening and they were doing good. On Tuesday we went to see Sam; he is doing great. We then went to see this lady named Brooke. That evening we went and saw Miss Kitty. We were able to answer her questions about the Book of Mormon. Wednesday we went to see Sam again and answered some of his questions he had about the church. We also talked with this guy named Jimmy. He is moving soon and going to Texas. After dinner we went down to Pinnacle Mountain to stay with the Pinnacle Mountain Elders because I had a Dr apt on Thursday. Because of the influx of missionaries they have like 10 mattresses in their house so we got to sleep on a mattress. The next morning we got up and went off to my Dr apt. It was a usual apt and the Dr said that everything was good and they would see me in 3 months time. We then went to lunch and drove home. Not much else happened that day. On Friday we went to the Greenbrier Elders' house and waited for President Oliver (he is the counselor to President Petersen). We then went with President Oliver and the Greenbrier Elders to the Stake Center to see Elder Kopischke. It was very good. We talked a lot about following the spirit and recognizing the promptings of the spirit. He talked about being "diligent about the daily duties of discipleship". We need to do the big spiritual things first and the rest will come. It was really good and cool to see him again. After, we went to Jacksonville for a baptism interview that President Oliver had to do. We then went home. It was a great and long day. On Saturday we went to see Sam and check up on him. We then went to see Dan and had a good visit with him. He is reading and knows the church is true but he can't get work off to come to church. On Sunday we went to Mountain View again to go to church. We are in the process of finding a place in Leslie to move into. Church was very good and we talked about how important it is to pay your tithing. In gospel principles we talked about how important it is to live the word of wisdom. After church we had a potluck lunch at the church. It was really good. After that we went to try and see a bunch of people but no one was home.

        Well that's about it for my week. We will be working more in Mountain View this next week. Thanks for all you do for me. I hope y'all have a great week.

Elder Talbert

Happy Mother's Day

Joseph's letter from May 12, 2014

Hey Family,

                Ok I know I just talked to y'all yesterday so lots of this might be repeats. But this week has been good. On Monday I got notified that I would be leaving West Memphis. Well we played some games that day and went to the Jones that night for dinner. After dinner we took pics and went to the Anderson's to say goodbye. We took some more pics and visited with them for a little. Then on Tuesday we went to the Lott's for breakfast and more pics. After the Lott's we went home and I packed my bags. I called Noland and talked with him then we went to Sonic and visited with McKenzie. We went to the Orey's for dinner and and visited with them and Nana and Papa Jim. We then went to Gene Jones house and visited with him. On Wednesday we went to see Sister Teeter and say goodbye to her. We then went off to transfers. At transfers I got moved to the Arkansas side of the mission which I was expecting. We then loaded all our stuff on some trailers and drove to Little Rock. From there I was told I was going to Choctaw 3 (Clinton). My new companion is Elder Eatchel. He is new and has been out for 3 months so I am follow up training him. We were asked by President Petersen to work more in the Mountain View area. We then went to Clinton and by the time we got there it was around nine so I unpacked. On Thursday we walked around most of the day. We aren't on bike week but one of the other missionaries crashed our car so it is still in the shop. We saw a few people. One is a recent convert named Sam. He is really cool. We also saw Mark and Kim and Miss Kitty. Mark works a lot and it's hard to catch him at home but is really cool. Miss Kitty reminds me of Pat. She is always doing something and knows everything about the town. We also went and saw Dan. He is a 19 year old that likes playing video games. On Friday we went and got the car out of the shop because it was done. We then went to the Conroy's. They are less active members that we have FHE with on Fridays. On Saturday we went to town square in the morning and did service. We then went to Mountain View to see some people. When we came home, we went to see Sam and teach him a new member discussion with the Carson's. On Sunday we went to Shirley where Bro Dunlap lives. We went with him to church up in Mountain View. When we came home we talked to our families. We then went to see Dan later that night. 

 

                 That's it for my week. It has been a great week and I think I will enjoy serving here in Clinton. It was nice talking to y'all yesterday. Thanks for all y'all do. I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert 

May the Fourth be with You

Joseph's letter form May 5,2014

Hey Family,

                  This week has been good. On Tuesday we went to see Delores. She is doing great and has been really busy. We are going back this week to teach her the Word of Wisdom. We also got to see Dynasty and Destiny. We talked with them about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. That evening we went to the Orey's and talked with them. On Wednesday we had zone meeting. It was lots of fun we played this game about working together. We then talked about how we need to work together as a companionship and as a district. That night we went to mutual and played some football with the young men. On Thursday we went to Chevy Dealer because they have had a recall on 2014 Chevy cruises because their has been some cracks in the axle's. We happen to drive a 2014 Chevy cruise. We got our car checked out and there were no problems. That evening we went to see Arsenio. He is really cool and seems interested in the gospel. We set up a return appointment with him for Sunday. On Friday we went to see Delores but she wasn't home so we went home for lunch and Sister Justice called and asked us to come up and give her son Karl a blessing. We hurried up to Wynne and went to see Sister Justice. We gave Karl a blessing, then we went to see Sister Bynum and give her a blessing. She has been sick this last week. We had planned to go up to Wynne on Saturday so we were fine going in the first place. We then went to see the Hansens and they were excited to see us and talk with us. They said they would come to church. On Saturday we to see Dynasty and Destiny. We had a good talk with them and they had some friends over. One of the friends asked the strangest questions that were worded in such a way we had no idea what he was talking about. We answered his questions the best we could and we taught the first lesson like 3 times before he understood what we were talking about. It was a crazy lesson. Sunday was good we had fast and testimony and I got up and bore my testimony. in gospel principles we had an investigator that wanted to learn about the church more. He already knows quite a bit because his daughter is a member. We had an open discussion about his questions. After church we went and saw Arsenio and taught him the first lesson. Today was transfer call Monday and I am leaving West Memphis. ): 

            That's about it for my week. It has been a great last week here in West Memphis. I don't know about Mother's Day call home so I will call you on Mother's Day and I will make it in the afternoon. Hope y'all have a great week and I will talk to you next week.

Elder Talbert

No Tornados Yet

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! On Tuesday we had district meeting. We focused on helping people keep commitments and on teaching the commandments inside the first 3 lessons. After district meeting we went and tried to see a couple of people but they were not home. That evening we went to go see a lady named Ruby. On the way there we passed this family and I was like "I should give them a card". Well we went to see Ruby and she wasn't home so we decided we would see if we could find that family that was walking around. We saw them and tried to make it as non-awkward as possible to give them a card since we had driven by them at least 3 times. We gave them a card and they were hesitant at first but then we got their names and set up a time to go see them. The mom's name is Tamara and the daughter is Brekerriya. On Wednesday we were going to go on exchanges but the Lakeland elders couldn't get a ride so we didn't do that. Instead we went around and saw quite a few people. We were walking in the only shady neighborhood in Marion and this car was stopped at a stop sign. They leaned out the window and asked if we were Mormons. We said yes and walked over to tell them about our church. They said they had a friend in the church. We asked them who and they said Shyanne Butcher. We talked for a little and set up another time to come back. Her name was Dynasty. That night we went to mutual and played volleyball. It was lots of fun. On Thursday not much happened but that night we went and saw Tamara. She was busy with family problems but we briefly taught her the first lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon. Friday was Elder Fredette's b-day. Well during the day we went and saw Dynasty and her twin sister Destiny. We also taught their cousin, TK. It was a good lesson and Dynasty had been taught before so it was a good refresher for her. They said they would come to church sometime. That night we wen to the Soto's for dinner. We then went to the Anderson's and they fed us Taco Bell. After the Anderson's we went to the Orey's and they had cake for Fredette's b-day. It was a fun day. On Saturday we saw Noland. He is really busy. Then that evening we went to the adult session of stake conference. It was really good and they talked a lot about hastening the work. On Sunday we went to stake conference and it was really good. President and Sister Petersen spoke and they talked about how much they have learned and how they are going home soon. It was good. That evening we went to the Teeters and had a good visit with them. 

                  That's about it for my week. Hope y'all have a great week. Thanks for all y'all do. I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert