Like a Roller Coaster Ride

Joseph's letter from Sept 22

Hey Family,

                    This week has been like a roller-coaster. It has had its ups and its downs. On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was all about teaching simply and quickly in finding situations. It is really weird to be the oldest (mission wise) at most meeting now days. During the meeting, Doug called and said he didn't want to meet with us anymore. I asked if we could come over later and talk about why and he said yes. Well after our meeting we went on exchanges. I went with Elder Jenkins here in Mountain View. We first went to see Doug and figure out why he didn't want to meet with us any more. He gave some reasons that were more like excuses. The real reason was that he found a Presbyterian church and wanted to go there instead. Well we invited him to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. We then went to see a guy named Bill. When we got there he had just got off work. We talked with him for a little and are going to go see him again this week. We did a lot of walking and in the evening we went to the Thurman's. They are a part member family and they live right across the street from us. Wednesday we exchanged back and then were asked to work the Family History Center from 1-5. After that we had dinner and went to mutual to help out there. Thursday we did a lot of finding and I saw this black guy sitting on a bench near the library. We went up and started talking with him. He said he would love to meet with us and hear our message. His named is Andrew but he goes by Drew. He also said he was one of 3 black people he knew in Mountain View. On Friday and Saturday we did more finding. There are a lot of old people here. Saturday afternoon we went with the Donovan's most the way to Conway to a baptism. When we were about halfway there we got a text saying the baptism was canceled so we turned around and drove back up to Mountain View. Sunday we had a good talk on fasting and prayer. I played piano again in primary and am getting way better at it. I am still not that good though. The primary kids really like me so that is awesome. After church we had potluck. Sunday night we went to see the Thurman's again. It was a good visit and we scheduled to come back this week. 

                        That is about it for this week. Tomorrow we are going to a meeting with Elder Zwick of the quorum of the 70. That should be lots of fun. Thanks for all you do and I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love Elder Talbert   

Happy Valley

Joseph's letter from Sept 15

Hey Family,

                    On Monday we hung out and played some volleyball at the church. Then we went to dinner. On Tuesday we woke up early and went to the church to play more volleyball with the sisters. It was lots of fun. We walked around all day Tuesday and visited with some people. Then that night we played more volleyball with the ward. After volleyball I went with the Jacksonville elders to stay the night there. Wednesday morning we went to transfers. My comp was coming from the other side so I had to wait. We went to lunch and then hung out in the mission office till 6ish when they came back for the other side. We had transfers and my new comp is Elder Randall. He is from Provo Utah. I didn't know him before the mission but we used to be in the same stake so I probably knew of him. We know a lot of the same people from back home. Well after transfers we loaded all his stuff in our volkswagon jetta we are driving ( it's super nice) and went to dinner. After dinner we went to Pinnacle Mountain to spend the night. On Thursday I had a Dr. apt, everything looked good. Then we drove home and unpacked a little. Went shopping and that evening we went to Hardee's (it's the Carls Jr out here) with Pres Woods, Pres Balentine, and a new guy (I don't remember his name). On Friday we went to lunch with sister Hamilton. It was really good and we got to talk with her friend Carl about the gospel. We saw Doug later that day and he is doing good. He is the closest to baptism and we are really helping him get there. We had dinner with the Donovan's and sister Ellefson. Saturday we went to go see Donovan in the morning and had a good talk with him. We were able to talk to his girlfriend which is good since usually she gets mad that we are there but this time she was friendly. We also saw Jennifer and talked with her about the gospel a little. We went to Nash's parent's house and got some eggs from them. We then had dinner with the Matteson's and then went to go see the Donovan's. We had a good discussion with Bro Donovan about the gospel. It was a good day. On Sunday we went to church and the talks were on callings and honoring your calling and fulling your calling. I really think that we need to try our hardest at being the best in our calling. Even if it isn't the calling you want or you don't think you will be good at that calling the Lord has put you there for a reason and you need to do your best to figure out what that reason is. 

                 That is about it from me this week. It has been a fun and eventful week. I hope y'all have a great week and I will be praying for y'all. Thanks for all you do.

Love Elder Talbert 

Sorry it's short

Joseph's letter from Sept 8

Hey family,

                 Sorry this email is coming to you so late. I went to the temple today and after we dropped off my comp so right now I am companionless. I am chillin with the Cabot elders till Wednesday when I get a new comp. This week was pretty lame. My comp was packing like all week and getting ready to go. We have been meeting with this guy named Doug. The one that came to church a week ago. He is really solid. On Saturday one of the members got his mission call and is going to California. The sisters had a baptism. It was a 9 and 10 year old. They are cool. I was asked to l play at the baptism and failed epicly. Everyone said I did good but I really didn't. Anyway on Sunday I played the piano in primary and it was really good. I played good and the primary was fun. This week is fairly boring and I'm sorry but this email will probably be short. Church was good and really spiritual. I am excited to see who I get this next transfer.

   Well I really have not much to say. I did get my meds. Thanks! I hope y'all have a great week and I will be praying for y'all. Thanks for all you do.

Elder Talbert

30 Day Challenge

Joseph's letter from Sept 1

Hey Family,

                  So this week has been exciting. On Monday we went to the Donovan's and ate and played some games with them. Then on Tuesday we had district meeting. We talked about Christlike attributes and how to be more Christlike. It was really good and we talked about how we need to improve everyday and when we start to work on another Christlike attribute to not stop the things you were doing for the last one. After district meeting we went on exchanges I went with Elder Bell again and we went to Mountain View. We were on bike week so we walked to see this guy named Doug. On the way we met this cool guy named Francisco. He was open to listen to us and we are going back to see him on tomorrow. We had a great lesson with Doug and he said he was going to come to church. Later that night we met with this guy named Jesse and in the middle of the lesson his friends stooped by and asked him to go somewhere with them. Elder Bell thought they were doing a drug deal or something but it tuns out one of them was going to do the ice bucket challenge. That night we saw this spider in the window and it was building it's web. We just watched it as it built a web and then ate a few bugs that flew into the web. On Wednesday we went outside and the spider was still there so we knocked it down and smashed it because it looked poisonous. We also met with Donovan and had a great lesson with him. He has been reading the Book of Mormon but still won't come to church again. On Friday we had interviews with president and so we got a ride to Batesville and had and interview. It was good and this next week I will be in Little Rock from Sunday night till Thursday because of transfers and my dr appt. Then on Sunday President Wakolo and the AP's and President Birkhimer (stake president) came to church up in Mountain View. We had a full house. Also Doug came like he said he would. He seemed to enjoy it we are seeing him tomorrow. The talks were on enduring to the end. They were really good spiritual. For combined priesthood and relief society. We talked about doing the small things to make our home a more spiritual place. President Woods challenged the branch to have family scripture study for a month and have family prayer for a month and see if they notice a difference in their home. I didn't play in primary this week because the pianist was at church but she will be gone next week so I will play and tell you how it goes.

                 Well that's it for my week I will send you some pics so be looking for them. I hope y'all have a great week and know that I love and pray for y'all.

Love Elder Talbert

Elder Talbert, Noland, Elder Sakurada

What am I eating................Wrong! It's watermelon!

Zone Transfer

Our district - last transfer

Playing Piano in Primary

Joseph's letter from August 25

Hey Family,

                 This week has been great! Monday we went to the Donovan's and hung out with Sean and ate dinner at their house. Then on Tuesday we went to see Doug. He is doing good and we taught him the plan of salvation. It went really well and he understood it and really liked that we believed that you lived with go before this life. That evening we went to the Goners for dinner. On Wednesday we went to Green Brier and met up the other elders there. Then drove with them down to Little Rock for zone conference. It was really good and about I lead, I love and I live like the Savior. It was good and about how if we lead and live like the Savior that people will see it in us and notice a difference about how we live. On Saturday we went and saw Donovan. He is doing good and worked on Sunday so he wasn't able to come to church. Then we went to go see Blake but ended up talking with his wife because he was working. On Sunday I was siting in in the hall waiting to see if we were going to have our meeting when the primary president came up to me and said " I hear you play the piano" I was thinking man word gets around fast. I said" yes" and she asked if I would play for primary occasionally. I said "sure but I need time to practice or it won't sound good". Well church was good and the talks were on repentance. Then priesthood was on loving your neighbor and loving the savior. After church we went the primary president came up came again and handed me a paper and a children's hymn book. She asked me to practice like 5 songs so I could play them in primary. I have practiced a little and I am doing good so far. 

                 Well that is it from me. This week has been fairly boring and i'm sorry this letter is fairly boring. But I hope y'all have a great week and I will send pics next week. I don't have my cord with me today. Thanks for all you do.

Elder Talbert 

Biker Rally

Joseph's letter from August 18

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! On Monday we drove up to this members house named the Jensen's. The go to Ashflat branch but live in our boundaries. Because of the highway they would have to take to get to Mountain View they got permission to go to Ashflat. We played some games with them and their family. It was lots of fun. We are going to go up there again probably next week and they are going to try and get the Ashflat missionaries to come over. Ashflat is not in our mission but the missionaries got permission form their mission president to got to the Jensen's house. So that should be fun. On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was on using the scriptures to answer peoples concerns. We played a game where Elder Bell ( the district leader) read off the some common concerns or questions that people have about the gospel and we had to answer them using scriptures. They were all taken out of Preach My Gospel and he had been asking us to study them for a while now. Well I won the game with 7 of the 10 points. It was fun. After district meeting we had lunch and then went to see Doug. He wasn't there so we went to Walmart to grab a few thing we needed for dinner. We saw Doug and talked with him. We had both wrote down different times for the appointment. We rescheduled for later that day and went over the plan of salvation with him. On Wednesday we went to the church to talk with Sean because him and his mom were supposed to be working the family history center. Well we get there and the Balentines are there instead. We talk with them for a little and talk about home teaching and get a better branch roster. We then went up to Melbourne to Bro Stevens for dinner. We had a great dinner with him and his wife. This weekend there has been a bike rally going on so on Friday and Saturday we walked around a lot and talked with people while we looked at the cool bikes that were there. On Saturday night we went to the Matteson's for dinner. They had invited over the Longs as well. The Longs are a less active family that lives near the Matteson's. It was good to meet them and get to know them. Went to the Donovan's because they live next door. Sunday the talks were on family history work. It was all about how we do family history work and why it is important. Then in gospel principles we taught about the gathering of Isreal we taught young men's and that was on the gospel of Jesus Christ. After church we had potluck and then went out teaching with Sean. 

                  Well that's about from me it sounds like y'all had a good week. When do y'all officially start school? I know here they started today. Have a great week!

Love Elder Talbert

Stake Conference

Joseph's letter from August 11

Hey Family,

                 This week has been great! On Sunday (not yesterday, but the one before) we were in branch council talking about our investigators. We started talking about Doug (he is the one that was going on vacation for a month) and the sisters said they saw him the day before. We were like interesting, he was supposed to be gone. They explained he didn't go for some medical reasons. Well on Tuesday this week we went to go see Doug. He is doing good and ended up not going on vacation. On Wednesday we went up to the Donovan's. We talked with Bro Donovan ( who isn't a member) and then we started cooking dinner with Sean. After dinner was ready we ate and talked about church and we go on the topic of baptism. We talked with Bro Donovan about baptism and getting baptized. He doesn't wasn't to right now but he wasn't opposed to it either. He has made lots of progress. Slow progress but still progress. We went form their to a branch activity. Then on Thursday we had zone meeting. It was a lot different then other zone meetings. We talked about different problems or concerns we or investigators had and talked about them all zone meeting. We split off into groups and my group had being successful, Christlike attributes and accountability. They all tie in together. as we work on being more Christlike and keep ourselves accountable to that we are more successful and feel more successful.  Saturday we met with Doug again and showed him the 20 min restoration video. He seemed to like it and it made him question what church was right. We then explained how reading the Book of Mormon and praying will tell him if our church is right or not. Then we went to Searcy for stake conference. We showed up at 4 but we didn't have a meeting till 7 so we blitzed the area along with like 20 other missionaries. It was cool to see. We then ate some food and went to stake conference. They talked a lot about reactivating members and new members. After the session we went and said hi to all our friends and talk with Pres Wakolo. I stopped and talked with Pres Griffin and he started talking about grandpa and told Pres Birkhimer and he remembered grandpa too. On Sunday we went to Batesville to stake conference and they talked about missionary work and how easy it is to share the gospel with those around you. It was a great stake conference. On the way home me and President Woods talked about how we can increase the baptisms in the branch. I told him about this sweet video called "missionary work and the atonement". I know its on you tube but you can find it though lds.org. Y'all should check it out.  

                 That is about all for my week. Thanks for all you do. I love and pray for y'all every day. Have a great week. 

Elder Talbert 

Fun at the Mission Office

Joseph's letter from August 4

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great!! Monday we just hung out and Elder Eatchel packed. Tuesday we went and saw the people that mow our yard. They are really cool and always give us fresh produce. They have a huge garden. Most of the day was spent wit Elder Eatchel still packing. That night we went walking around (because we gave the car up) and these people stopped us and asked if we wanted ice cream. We said yes and they bought us some big ice cream cones. It was awesome! then on Wednesday the Donovan's picked us up in the morning to go to transfers. We arrived and they announced who was going to Memphis and Elder Eatchel was one of them. Then transfers actually started and they announced who all was getting transferred. Well my name wasn't called which meant that my comp was coming from Memphis. The Donovan's wanted to take me out to eat so I grabbed another missionary that was waiting and we went out to eat. Then we got dropped off at the church again and hung around doing odd jobs for the office for the next 6 hours or so. I also got to see how proselyting online works and it's really cool! Then they came back from Memphis and transfers happened again. My new comp is Elder Taylor. He is a cool missionary and is from Mesa AZ. He goes home at the end of this transfer so that will be fun. We then came home and arrived at 9. It was a long day. On Thursday we went and saw Donovan and he is doing good. We need to see his girlfriend Cindy but she works a lot. On Saturday we went and saw Korrissa. She is Jesse's girlfriend and we set up an appt to go teach them. We also saw our next door neighbors that one is a member. Sunday we went to church and that was really good. It was fast and testimony meeting and lots of the young women got up and talked about girls camp. For the third hour we went into young men's. It was about having the spirit in your home and getting along with your siblings. It was really good and I realized the older we get the more we get along with each other. Or so it seems. 

                    That is all from me. It sound like y'all have had a great week and will have fun this next week. Thanks for all you do.

Love Elder Talbert 

Progressing Investigators

Joseph's letter from July 28 (Yes I am way behind)

Hey Family,

                 This week has been good! First off my mom asked how many progressing investigators we have. Well we have one or two. One is super legit and really wants to learn the gospel. His boss at work is the branch president. His only hold up is his girlfriend doesn't want anything to do with religion. The other legit guy has read though 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately he left for vacation on Friday and won't be back till the middle of August. Tuesday this week we had district meeting. It was all about baptism invites and overcoming the investigators concerns. After district meeting we went on exchanges. I went with Elder Bell in Mountain View. We started by just talking about the area then Nash came over and we did some studies with him then we went and saw Jay. He is a super cool guy that is going though a lot of hardships right now and I know the gospel will really help him. We then went over to Pres Woods to talk with him and help him finish cleaning his old house. On Wednesday we exchanged back and then we went and saw Doug. He is the second guy I talked about that went on vacation. On Friday we drove around to go see some less actives. One said she didn't want any thing to do with us and the other said she just got out of the habit of coming to church but still believes its true. It was a good day but we used a lot of miles. Then on Saturday we had an appointment with Donovan. He is the first guy I mentioned. But he had some things come up. Sunday we had a great church service. In sacrament the speakers talked about their conversion stories. Some of them were really funny but spiritual at the same time. Then in gospel principles we talked about eternal marriage. It was really good. After church we saw this guy named Matthew and Bojan. This morning were transfer calls and my companion is getting transferred. 

                 That is about it for my week. Not too much has happened. Thanks for all you do and I hope you have a great week! 

Elder Talbert 

Unripe Persimmons

Joseph's letter from July  21

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! On Monday we drove to a members to play some games with him and his family. It started pouring and we thought we were going to get stuck out there. Well it stopped raining in time for us to go back to town for our dinner appt. We had dinner with the Branch President and his family. They area from AZ. We had all started eating when he tuned to me and said "I learned something interesting about you today." I asked what and he said" you're like the tin man." I was like "yep." His wife gave both of us a weird look and we told her I had a heart transplant. Then on Tuesday we had specialized training. It was really good. We talked about inviting and overcoming concerns. Something I really liked was a quote that reads "When you make a commitment you raise hope, but when you honor that commitment you build trust." Often we make commitment and we don't follow up for whatever reason. It makes the investigator feel like you just asked them to do something because you were told to not because you want them to change. If we really care for those we teach we will invite and follow up. On Wednesday we tried to see a bunch of people but no one was home. We did meet with a lady named Karrisa. she was nice. We then went and ate some plants at a church activity. It was interesting to be eating what looked like a weed and tasted like a sour patch kid. I also ate an unripe persimmon. DO NOT EVER DO THAT!! They dry up your mouth and taste nasty. Ripe ones taste good though. On Thursday we met with this less active family that live in a moisture farm house. At least it looks like a house for a moisture farm off Star Wars. On Saturday we went and helped President Woods (the branch president) move. He is moving to a house just outside of town. We then went and taught this guy named Donovan. He is legit but his girlfriend doesn't want anything to do with church. We then went and helped the Woods move some more and President Woods kept firing me from helping because he knew about my heart transplant but I helped anyway. It was lots of fun and we got them most of the way moved. On Sunday we had a good lesson on families in gospel principles. Then after church we had a potluck. That night we went to the Mattesons for dinner and Sean came with us because there are no guys in the Matteson's family. We played some games like spoons and I was really good at the game. 

            It has been a good and fun week. Thanks for all the prayers and I hope y'all have a great week. I love and pray for y'all everyday. 

Elder Talbert

Book of Mormon

Joesph's letter from July 14

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was about inviting people. It was really good. after, I went on exchanges with Elder Bell. We stayed in Mountain View. We went out teaching with Nash. He is 17 and preparing to go on his mission. We first saw this guy named Blake. He is cool and believes in a lot of everything. We then went driving around and met these two guys named Ricky and Jay. They were cool and open to the gospel. Later that night we went and talked with Nash's family. They are not members but still like us and are ok with him going on a mission. On Wednesday we exchanged back in the morning and then worked in the Family History Center all day. We had dinner with the Branch President and then went to young mens. We played some B-Ball at young mens and I remembered how much I suck at it. On Friday we went to Shirley to contact some people, then in the evening we met with Jesse and invited him out to church.  Sunday I spoke in sacrament meeting again. I spoke about 3 weeks ago and the Branch president was out of town so he didn't realize I spoke. So I spoke on the Book of Mormon this week. It was really good and I talked about Moroni's challenge. I learned that it doesn't matter if its your first time reading the Book of Mormon or if you have read the Book of Mormon 100 times, you should still pray to know whether it is true after every time you read it. It will get you fired up about missionary work and the gospel. The branch president brought an investigator named Donovan to church and he really liked it. We are going to see him on Wednesday this week. 

         That is about it for my week. It has been good and fairly boring. I hope y'all have a great week. I love hearing for you.

Elder Talbert

4th of July

Joseph's letter from July 7

Hey Family,

                  This week has been lots of fun. On Monday we hung out with Nash and Sean. Then in the evening we went to the Donavans for dinner. On Tuesday we gave our car to the sisters because it was our turn for bike week. We then walked around all day with not much success. We did meet a less active that stopped and talked with us. Then on Wednesday we went walking again and got waved down by these people in a car. We walked over and they asked us what we were doing. We explained we were missionaries and we share a message about Jesus Christ. We talked with them and gave them a Book of Mormon. We are going to try and see them again this week. Their names are Alex, Aaron, and Faith. We also talked with our next door neighbor named Dean. Right after that we met one of the sister's investigators named Judy. It was a great day! On Thursday we had zone meeting. Sean drove us there. It was really good and we got to meet Pres Wakolo. He is super cool and funny. He brought his family with him. He has a 10 year old daughter and a 17 year old son. Then his wife and him. He was teaching about how life was before the fall, after the fall, and after the atonement. Anytime we said different answers he would say "same church....OK". Then we would all answer it correctly. It was funny. He has a cool accent and if you listen closely he kinda sound like an islander version of Pres Uchtdorf. On Friday we had nothing really going on. But we decided to go walking and we got stopped by this car. They said they had been looking for the Elders and that their Dad was in the hospital and would like a blessing. So we jumped in the car and went and gave this guy a blessing. This family was from Texas and was on vacation and the dad got sick. Later we watched a few fireworks that people were shooting off and that was about it. Saturday we talked with lots of people but the people we were wanting to see were busy. Then on Sunday church was very good. After church we went out teaching with Nash. We tried to see a few people then Nash was like there is this place I have never been. Lets go knock doors there. We went and knocked doors and the first like 5 doors no one answered but towards the end people talked with us and we had some really good lessons. One guy named Blake and another named Jeremy said we could come back. We are going to see them tomorrow. 

                 Over all it was a good week. Here is the chart that Pres Wakolo was talking about I mentioned earlier. 

                 before the fall / after the fall after / the atonement

god                       +                     -                   +++++++

life                        +                     -                    +++++++

knowledge             -                     +                   +++++++

progress                -                     +                   +++++++

family                    -                     +                   +++++++

I thought it was cool and so I decided to share it with y'all. I hope y'all have a great week and know I love and pray for y'all every day. 

Elder Talbert

President Wakolo

Joseph's Letter from June 30

Hey Family,

                  This week has been awesome! On Monday we played games all day with Nash and Sean. Then in the evening we went to dinner at a members named the Gonsers. They are really cool and live about 30-40 min away so we drove there, had dinner and on the way back it was raining really bad. On Tuesday we had district meeting. We learned about following up on commitments. After district meeting we went on exchanges. I stayed in Batesville with Elder Wohlgamuth. We had a fun time. We saw a few people but for the most part no one was home. We talked with a less active family and they were really cool. It was lots of fun. on Wednesday we exchanged back and then we went to the church to work in the family history center. After we finished in the Family History Center we went with Sean and Nash and Sis Donovan to Tommy's. It's a really good pizza place. After Tommy's we went back to the church to teach young men's. We did role plays with the young men. It was lots of fun. At first only one or two wanted to participate but by the end they were all having a good time. On Thursday we went to Shirley to have lunch with Sister Hamilton. She took us to the Mona Lisa. We got talking with some of the other people at the restaurant and learned that one of them had family that were members. She was catholic but didn't go to church. She said if she was to join a church it would be the LDS church. After lunch we drove home and Nash came out teaching with us. We met this lady named Jeanette. At first she was standoffish but at the end of the discussion she opened up and took a Book of Mormon. On Saturday we saw this guy named Roger the sisters told us about. He is cool and wants to change his life but doesn't understand how he can. We then saw this guy named Matthew. He was busy but told us to come back on Wednesday and seemed really excited for us to visit. That night it rained really bad so we stayed in. Sunday we went to church and that was really good. 3rd hour was about temples and doing temple work and how important it is. We then went and had dinner with the Mattesons. They are a cool family in the Branch. 

                  That is about it for my week. The new mission President arrived on Friday and President Petersen left on Saturday. I haven't met the new mission President yet but he should be cool. Thanks for all y'all do for me. 

Love Elder Talbert 

Football = Missionary Work

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! Monday was transfer calls and we didn't get a call so both me and Elder Eatchel are staying together. The rest of Monday we went played some games with Nash. We worked in the family history center on Wednesday. Not many people came in so we looked at our family history for a while. It's cool to see how much of it is done. Also because it was transfers we got a new District Leader. I thought it might be me at first but then I learned it is Elder Bell. He has followed me from the West Memphis district to here. On Thursday we went to Shirley for lunch. We went to this restaurant called the Mona Lisa. It was really good and the lady that took us knew the lady that runs the place so that was cool. Friday, the sisters asked us to go teach this guy for them. We drove out to his place and taught him but it was super awkward. He didn't say anything but yes. Even when we asked questions that didn't take yes or no responses he said yes. It was awkward but we are going back tomorrow. Later that evening we were talking with the sisters and they gave us a bunch of referrals. Saturday, we drove around contacting all the referrals the sisters gave us. We saw this guy named Chris. He said he was busy but we could come back. We called this guy named Dennis and he said he was moving more into town and we could see him when he has moved. Then in the evening we saw this guy named Jesse. On Sunday we gave talks in church. Mine was on member missionary work. I compared member missionary work to Football. In Football they run plays to get the ball form one side to the other. There are all kinds of plays. Lots of running plays, lots of passing plays. It's the same in missionary work. There are several different ways we help people progress. We use different "plays" depending on the type of person and what they are going though in their life. But the only way for a play to work in football is for the whole team to work together. It's the same in missionary work. The only way for someone to get baptized and stay active is if the members and the missionaries work together. Later that day we taught young men's. After church we went out teaching with Sean. It has been a good week. This letter is later then usual because we went to lunch with Matt Staib. He was my follow up trainer and has since gone home. He is doing a mission tour and went a little out of his way to come see me. It was lots of fun and cool to meet his family.

                   Well that's about it for this week. It was good and the work here in Mountain View is going great. Thanks for all y'all do for me. I love and pray for y'all. 

Elder Talbert   

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Joseph's letter from June 16

Hey Family,

                 I want to first say HAPPY FATHERS DAY! I hope you had a fun day yesterday dad. Well this week has been fairly boring for me as well. We have settled in and our new place is really nice and in a good location. On Monday we played games with Nash and Sean. They are two young men in the branch. On Tuesday we went with the Donovan's (Sean's family) to Greenbrier to get our car. We then walked around and met some crazy people. Then on Wednesday we walked around and met some more crazy people. Then in the evening we went to Sean's house and read some of the Book of Mormon with his dad who isn't a member. On Thursday we had a meeting in Little Rock so we drove to Brother Carr's, then we rode with him to our meeting. It was a good meeting. It was kinda a farewell for President and Sister Petersen. They focused a lot on living like you believe and always doing good. After our meeting we went to dinner with Brother Carr then we went to Jacksonville because he had high council meeting. After that we came home. Friday we went to Clinton to give up our key to the house down there. We stopped and saw Miss Kitty one more time. We then came back up and went with Nash to the Donovan's to chop and stack some wood for them. It was lots of fun and I got attacked by my first tick. They aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Saturday we did some planning for this next week with Nash and Sean. We then meet up with the sisters in the area and they gave us some people we could go see. We went and saw a few of them. One of them was recovering from surgery so we talked with his wife a little and will go back this week. Then we decided to go to a town called Prim to go see a less active. We were going down this dirt road and then it just dead ended into a river. So we turned around and will go another day. On Sunday, church was good the talks were about fathers. This next week we get to talk on missionary work. Well during priesthood we went in with the young men and talked about missionary work with them and we are going to do it again next week. It is lots of fun up here and the branch really likes us. After church we went  home teaching with Nash and Sean. We then went to the Donovan's and talked with Sean's dad again. 

                 Overall it has been a good and fun week. It sound like everything is going good over there so that is good. I am not getting transferred so I will be here for 6 more weeks and it will be fun. Thanks for all y'all do for me. I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert   

Mountain View

Hey family,

                This week has been great! It has also been lots of fun. The fun all started when we went to Greenbrier on Monday to hang out with Elder Wheatley and Elder Pulsipher. We then met up with this member named Kyle and we all went down to Conway for the day. In Conway we went to this gym and another member from Conway taught us how to box. Yep that's right, I went boxing for about 2 hours on Monday. It was lots of fun and really exhausting. When we finished boxing we did an ab workout so my ab's have been hurting a little this week. We then went shopping and went out to dinner with this member named Sean. He is from Mountain View. Tuesday was a normal day. We went and saw Dan and Miss Kitty. We then then saw Sam in the evening. On Wednesday we went to Zone meeting. We learned a lot about how to teach simply. There are a lot of new missionaries out and we should be getting another big wave soon. After zone meeting we got a call from the office couple saying that they were heading up to Mountain View and were wondering if we needed a ride. We then went to lunch while we waited for the office couple to come get us. We all went up to Mountain View and looked at this 3 bed 2 bath house to rent. After we were done looking, Elder Bowling signed some papers for us to rent the house. We went home and he said he would call in the morning and let us know when we would be moving. The next morning Elder Bowling called and told us to start packing. He said they were coming the next day at 8 in the morning. Well we packed all day and got ready to move. We went and saw Mark and Kim and had some cake with them. Then on Friday we loaded all our stuff in a trailer and moved up to Mountain View. We spent most of the rest of the day unpacking. On Saturday Gene Jones came and picked us up in the morning. we went with him to West Memphis. I got permission from President to go to Noland's Baptism. We drove to West Memphis and then went and saw the Oreys. We had dinner at their house and had a good visit with them. We then went to the church for the baptism. I gave a talk on baptism and it was really good. The baptism was good and I had a fun time seeing people I know. Afterwards Noland took us home. His girlfriend works at PCMC doing stuff with the IV's for surgeries. It was a super fun day! Sunday we went to church and had a good time there. We learned about missionary work and how all members need to help out. After church we went out teaching with Nash and Pres Woods. It was a good week.

                That is about all from me. It sounds like y'all had a fun week and are still having fun. Thanks for all you do for me. I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert 

Arkansas: the Bipolar State

Joseph's letter from June 2

Hey Family,

                 This week has been great! I felt like the subject was appropriate because this whole week it has rained on and off. Not just a little but it would come down super hard and fast for 10-15 min then it would be all sunny and the rain would stop. Then later it would do it again. We decided Arkansas is the bipolar state. Tuesday we had district meeting and we talked about getting the members more involved. It was really good. After we went and saw Sam. He is doing ok. Later we saw Dan and he really needs to get his drivers license so he can get a new job. Then he will be able to come to church. On Wednesday the Greenbrier Elders came up and we all went up to Mountain View to blitz the area. Elder Eatchel and Elder Wheatley went off to see some people and go tracting. Meanwhile me and Elder Pulsipher went off to see less actives and others on the roster. Later that night we went to the church for a social. We played some kickball and ate some watermelon. It was a fun day. After the social we drove home and dropped Elder Eatchel and Elder Pulsipher in Clinton. Me and Elder Wheatley went to Greenbrier on Exchanges. The next day we went to a members BBQ place for lunch and it was really good. We saw this less active family named the Clarks and saw this guy named Jack. We had dinner with the Sommerville's in the Choctaw ward. We had a super fun time. Elder Wheatley is from Provo and he came out the Transfer before me and was in my first district. We then exchanged back. On Friday we went and saw Brooke. She is doing good. We then went and talked with Miss Kitty. On Sunday we went to Mountain View for church and had some meeting in the morning. After church we went with Rene and Phillip Carr to look at a house and see if we could find out who owns it. We hope to move soon. We then went out teaching with Nash and Sean. We went back to the Carr's for dinner.

                    It was a really great week and we hope to move this week or next. It sounds like y'all had a great week. Thanks for all you do for me and know I love and pray for y'all.

Love Elder Talbert

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