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