General Conference

Elder Talbert's letter from April 7

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! On Tuesday we went and got haircuts. One of the ladies in the branch cuts our hair and her husband is not home very often because he fly's life-flight helicopters. We then went and tried to see a few people. Elder Sakurada started getting sick so we didn't do too much. On Wednesday we went to Bartlett to Zone meeting. We were supposed to go on exchanges but because Elder Sakurada was sick we decided not to. I only got a runny nose that lasted about 2 days but was really annoying for those 2 days. After zone meeting we went to lunch, then went and saw Delores. She was busy but we set up a time on Thursday to meet with her. Thursday we went to see Delores and had a good lesson with her we talked about general conference and how prophets and apostle are important in Heavenly Father's church. She also has a hard time reading so I have been burning the Book of Mormon on CD's for her. We then went to have lunch with the other Elders and with Sister Teeter. After lunch we went and saw Sister Orey's mom (we call her Nanna). She was busy so we only talked for a couple of minutes. On Saturday we went to the church to watch the first session of General Conference. Then we went to the Orey's to watch the second session. They were both awesome and talked a lot about the sins of the world and how we need to not get caught up in them. We then went to the church for dinner and the priesthood session. On Sunday we went to the Teeter's in the morning for breakfast and the morning session, then we went to the Anderson's for the afternoon session. I really liked the talks about family history work and the talk I think by President Uchtdorf about using the full name of the church. As missionaries we use the nicknames like the Mormons so people know who we are but I feel it is important for people to know we are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I heard this talk not to long ago about how when Christ organized his church He called it The Church of Jesus Christ because it was His church. If we made a church we would call it after ourself to signify who's church it was. We need to remember we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that everything we do in the church is because Jesus Christ has asked us too. 

                  It sounds like y'all had a good week and enjoyed conference. I hope y'all have a fun spring break and don't play too hard. Know that I love and pray for y'all. 

Elder Talbert

Elder Talbert's letter from March 31

Hey Family,

                 This week has been good. On Monday we hung out and played games most of the day. In the morning we went to Midtown because Elder Jacobson needed a bike rack.Iit was good to see him one more time before he went home.Ttuesday we went around and saw a few people but for the most part no one was home. Wednesday we went to transfers because we needed to get the car and some media. Transfers was good but fairly boring. After transfers we came home and set up some appointments for the next day. Thursday we went to Wynne to see some people. We first tried to contact a referral. She wasn't there and by the time we got there I was lost but luckily we had a gps. We then went to go see Sister Justice. She is a recent convert and is super cool. We hung out and talked with her for a while then she took us out for dinner. After dinner we had to run cuz we had another appointment. We then went to the Hansens. They are a part member family. Brother Hansen just passed away and his wife is not a member so we went and taught the plan of salvation to them. It was a good lesson and they invited us back so we are planning another trip to Wynne. We then went to see Noland. He is doing good and graduated from the police acadamy on Friday. Friday was fairly boring but on Saturday Elder Bell came down and interviewed Noland for baptism. He can get baptized whenever he wants so we will be talking alot about that with him in the next little while. On sunday Elder Cassler was feeling sick and so was Elder Sakurada, so Elder Fredette and I went to church and they stayed home. Church was really good and the 3rd hour we had combined and taked about the missionary work in the area. 

That's about it for my week. Hope y'all have a great week and a good start to the 3rd term. 

Elder Talbert  

Still in West Memphis!

Elder Talbert's letter from March 24

Hey Family,

                  This week has been great! Monday we just hung out and played games all day. Then on Tuesday we drove the other Elders to Midtown so they could go on exchanges. We then came back and saw a few people. We talked with Sister Orey's mom who's not a member. She is really cool. On Wednesday we had specialized training. It was all about doing whatever it takes to serve the Lord. I think that's what a mission is all about because if you do your part and do all you can, the Lord will help you find the elect and get baptisms. It was really good and I learned a lot. After Specialized we went on exchanges. I stayed in Lakeland with Elder Bell while Elder Sakurada and Elder Schut went back to West Memphis. It was a fun exchange, most of the people we tried were not home but we did get to talk to this one guy about the church and how it blesses families. They should be teaching him soon. Well on Thursday we went to Midtown and exchanged back. We then went to go see Delores. She is doing good but has been really busy all week. We tried to see a bunch of others but had no luck. Friday came and we went and saw this referral we got from the zone leaders named Desteny. (yes I did spell her name right she just spells it weird.) On Saturday we were able to meet with Noland. He has one more week of the Police Academy left then he is done. We talked about prophets and how they are important to lead and guide the church. It got me excited for general conference. It is nice to hear what the prophet and apostles have to say and what kinda things they warn us about. We also got talking about his girlfriend that lives in Utah. I discovered that she works at PCMC. (Primary Children's Medical Center.) I probably have met her some time. He is planning on moving to Utah in November. We also went and saw sister Misskelly. She is doing good and always says she will come to church but she never does. On Sunday we went to church and Noland came but Delores didn't. It was good, the talks were on the Atonement. Then in gospel principles we learned more about the Atonement. That evening we went to the Anderson's for dinner. They are a super cool family. I love going to their house because it makes me feel like I am at home with all the dinner drama and discussions. Today we drove to Midtown to give the Midtown elders our bike rack because Elder Jacobson ( my first companion) is going home. And just a warning, I gave him our address and he said he would come visit you guys because he lives in Orem as well.

           Well that's about it for my week. It sounds like y'all had a great week! I am not getting transferred and neither is my companion so I will be in West Memphis for at least 6 more weeks. I am excited to stay! Thanks for all y'all do for me.

Love Elder Talbert

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hey Family,

                  This week has been good. On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was good and we talked about using the Book of Mormon more in our teaching. I don't know how much you know but we recently got the 2013 Book of Mormon to give out so I have been comparing the old and the new. It's really cool to see the little changes they made to the introduction and the footnotes. Wednesday we walked around and talked with a few people on the street. We saw the Orey's while we were walking around and talked with them. We then went and saw the Orey's parents. That evening we had a meeting for the branch mission work. On Thursday we went with Gene Jones to deliver some couches out in Colt, AR. He is an investigator that has been investigating for about 2 years now. He comes to church and has read the Book of Mormon but I don't know why he is not baptized. He picked us up around 12 and we went to lunch. Then went to his house and got his truck and went and got the couches. We then went and drove to Colt. It is about 30 min away and still in our area. We then helped his aunt rearrange her whole house for the couches to fit. Then we drove home and had dinner with Gene and the other Elders. It was a fun day. On Saturday we woke up and went to the church for a service project of cleaning up the branches on the ground. We then went home and cooked some tacos and fried Oreos for a social we had at lunch. We then went to the social and it was lots of fun. we had good southern food and played some Mormon Family Feud. Later that day we saw Noland. On Sunday we went to church. Noland got called in to work so he couldn't come but we did have Delores there. She loved church and said she felt the spirit and wanted to come back. It was good to see that she really loved church. After church we went to the Russells. We ate at the Anderson's for dinner and had a good time talking about faith with them. 

                      That's about it for my week. Sounds like y'all had a great week. I hope that y'all have another good week and know I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert

Letter from March 10

Hey Family,

                  This week has been good. On Monday I mentioned that it had iced and everything was covered in ice. Well we didn't do too much of anything on Monday. Tuesday was about the same. We drove around a little which was scary because people here don't know how to drive in the snow. It took us an hour to drive about 5 miles because everyone was going 5 mph and getting stuck in the snow. It was fun to play in the snow and see snow again. Well on Wednesday we had zone meeting in Bartlett. The roads weren't too bad but it took us 2 hours to get there. Memphis didn't get hit as hard as we did. They had nothing on the ground just a little snow here and there. Zone meeting we talked about faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost, and enduring to the end and how there is an order to the principles of the gospel. President came and did interviews it was lots of fun. After zone meeting I went on exchanges with Elder Schut. We had a good time in West Memphis trying too see lots of people. We talked with Delores (a lady me and Elder Sakurada found the week before) and she seemed excited to learn the gospel. After seeing Delores we had dinner and then went to the Teeters. They are doing good and we had a good visit with them. On Thursday we exchanged back and went around and saw a few people and talked to some people on the street. On Saturday we went to Sherry and David. We talked with them about Mormon.org and the gospel library app. We then went to the Barnums and taught Noland at their house. It was a good lesson and this next week he should get interviewed for baptism. After Noland we went to go see Delores but she wasn't home. We then went to the Teeters for dinner and had a good time over there and shared some Mormon messages with them. on Sunday Noland came to church. We tried to get Delores to come but she had a family emergency when we got there. Well church was good and we learned a lot about being humble. Also cool thing the 2nd councilor in the temple presidency came with his wife. They are brother and sister Moline. We had a good talk about how cool everyone is and especially G&G Talbert. After church we went to the Russell's for a little then we had dinner at the Andersons. That was lots of fun because their house is always so crazy- it reminds me of home with all the drama going on. 

                           Well that's it for my week. I hope y'all have a great week and have a good day off of school. Thanks for all y'all do for me. I will be praying for y'all.

Love Elder Talbert

Bipolar Week

Hey Family,

                  This week has been bipolar. The weather has been crazy. It was really nice and I was excited for the warmer weather but this weekend has been terrible. On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was good and we focused on the Book of Mormon. After district meeting we went and contacted some referral's. One was named Freddie. She is really cool and wants to learn more about the church. That evening we went and saw the Teeters. They are doing good and we had fun talking with them and having dinner with them. On Wednesday we had lunch and then tried to see a bunch of people but like no one was home. That evening we went to mutual and had a good time there. Then on Thursday we went and saw Keith. He is doing good and says he wants to come to church but they never do. On Friday we were walking to our mailbox in the morning and we waved at this lady. She asked us what we were doing and who we were. We told her we were missionaries and we teach people about Jesus. She got excited and told us to walk with her and talk about Jesus with her. Her name is Delors and she said we could come by this week and teach her some more. She seems really cool. On Saturday it had started raining but nothing too bad. Well we went with Brother Barnum to Forrest City to go see Noland. We taught the WOW (Word of Wisdom) and the Law of Chastity. The lesson went very well and he said that he would be willing to live them. He had a slight problem with drinking tea but other wise he was following the WOW. Saturday evening we went and we taught Sherry and David. They have problems with the WOW and don't quite understand why we can't drink coffee or tea. Then we went to the Teeters again for dinner. On Sunday we went to church and it was really good. In gospel principles we learned about prayer. We talked about because we are literally talking to our Heavenly Father so we should make our prayers personal things. All day on Sunday it was raining and freeze raining. After church we didn't do too much because of the weather. This morning we woke up and there was about an inch or two of ice on the ground. After lots of scarping and lots to fun playing in the ice and lots of heat we got our car where we could see out of it. After we scraped our car off we came to email. It will be interesting to see how long this weather lasts. 

 

               That is about it for my week. It has been fun and eventful. Hope y'all have as great week and have fun in the rain. I love and pray for y'all!

                                       Elder Talbert

Letter from February 24

Hey Family

                 This week has been great. On Tuesday we went and saw Sharron and Keith. Keith didn't really understand the first lesson so we taught it to him again. We then went over and saw Nanna (Sister Oreys mom). That night we had dinner and then went and saw the Oreys. Wednesday we went to the Lotts to get haircuts. That evening we went to mutual and had a meeting. It was a good meeting where we talked about the branch mission plan. On Thursday we went to Bartlett to zone conference. It was a good meeting about how to use the Book of Mormon in your teaching and how to get investigators to really understand the importance of the Book of Mormon. It started to storm so President made sure everything went fast so we could beat the storm home. It was a cool storm and their were rumors about tornados but I didn't see any. On Friday we saw a few people but not much exciting happened. Then on Saturday we went out with Brother White to go see Noland in Forrest City. It was a good visit and it really helped having a member along. I have realized how important members are in missionary work. That night we went to the Teeters for dinner. Then on Sunday church was really good. The talks were about member missionary work and the atonement. Sunday night we went to the Anderson's for dinner and then taught their oldest daughter about the stop smoking program we have. It was really good and we are having dinner at the Anderson's this next week so we will see if she has stopped smoking by then. 

                       That is about it for my week. Sorry this email is short but not much has gone on this week. Thanks for all you do. I love and pray for y'all.

Elder Talbert