Dear Family,

Yesterday it got up to 80! the Humidity was high too. oh it felt so good, today it's at 70 with about the humidity of California. It's nice to be able to take off the suit Jacket and just go around in short sleeves. it's supposed to go back down to mid 60's this week. it was pretty hot too just because it jumped up so high so fast. it's nice though. I don't think it is going to snow here again until the winter. but who knows. it sure likes to rain a lot.

I got your package this morning! thank you so much. I can't believe you cut Jordyn's hair so short. and I noticed that the tv isn't above the mantle.... I promise it will look way better with it up there. You also will be able to get the Audio and Security stuff set up behind there. haha.

So what temple did they reserve? no one will tell me! I don't know if you will be able to have the yard done by then either, but good luck.

Where was Joel Living? was he still with Brady? That's really cool that he was promised that he would be able to serve a mission. it will really help him grow quite a bit. Even if it's living at that MTC working at the call center and talking to people over Mormon.org, it's a good place to be.

That's so odd. Ammon was so stoked to wrestle and go to all of these other tournaments. But, sometimes you just hit a wall, especially when it's something that takes up so much time and a lot on your body. I never wrestled all year. (football is more fun anyways). He may have a good chance at playing linebacker for Varsity, but going from JV to varsity is a big change, it's a lot faster and a different game. so it will be a big change to go from freshman to starting Varsity. It will be tough too because there is a lot of catching up to do, maybe not with such a young team as they have, but against other teams there is quite a bit to do at a young age. it will take a lot of hard work and determination.

The things in Japan were pretty crazy. You can definitely see the Lords hand in your life every day if you look for it. I heard there was another 7. something off the coast again this last week. I know it sounds bad and all, but I really would think it would be fun and quite an adventure to live through a natural disaster... I know it probably wouldn't be fun at the time, but just to say that you lived through that or even to help clean up afterward. I think that would be a lot of fun. I know, I'm weird, always have been and always will be.

Sounds like you need some more sleep. I actually have been able to sleep surprisingly well since I ran out of my sleeping pills. Begging the Lord for simple things like being able to sleep more at night seems like it may be a bit silly, but it works, no doubt about that.

Nothing is going on here. we were able to finally set one baptismal date this last friday night, but the person it's with only half-way keeps commitments. I don't really understand what the reason for me not being able to find really anyone who wants to learn of the gospel and be baptized.

I was talking to another missionary the other day asking about a family that I was able to teach once or twice while I was on exchanges in Findlay while I was it St. Marys. This man who had a family of 5, his sister and her two daughters and one of their boyfriends, lived with him. he went up to one of the elders at walmart and said hey, my family wants to become members of your church, so they went and taught them and they were eventually baptized. the dad, was an ex-con, and had to be interviewed by president Sorensen, he told me that when He lived in texas he would take missionaries clothes and bikes away from them and then tie them to trees and a bunch of other things like that, the boyfriend of one of the daughters had been in prison too for drug abuse and gang fights and things like that. well, after these people were baptized the boyfriend went back to Indiana, killed someone and ripped their eye out and is now in prison again. the dad and his family took as much welfare money from the church as they could from this ward and started to move down to Florida one night, they stopped at wards along the way and tried to get as much money out of the church as they could. The bishop that was in the ward where they were baptized kept getting phone calls asking about him and he said just don't do anything with him, he is a professional con-artist.

It's so weird to hear things like this happen. you would think that while the person who was interviewing them would have the spirit tell them that they aren't ready. and if they truly are and know that it's true. why would they want to do something like that? The Devil is very crafty and works in many ways. we have to be careful with who we want to help. Helping is a good thing, but if we can see or know what is going to happen with what ever we have helped that person with, we shouldn't do it. The Devil is everywhere and he has been at this for thousands of years. watch your back. be that one man who stands strong when he has many Devils around him trying to pull him down, not the city that goes to hell from the hand of one.

Love ya!


--
Elder Michael Stone.