Letter Home from Elder North

Date:  December 29, 2014
Area:  Jackson, Tennessee
Companion:  Elder Eatchel

Dear Daring Dos,

I gave a talk in church this Sunday also and eeverythingwent well.  I think I even managed to keep it at about 15 minutes and not run over.  I spoke on "How can I learn to serve more effectively in the church".  I talked about how we can learn from other's good examples, our church leadership, and from the scriptures.  I then spoke about how we can improve our attitudes by making personal connections with those our service influences and through recognizing that the Lord does not ask of us things we cannot do.

We had someone to church on Sunday!  Orlando, a guy who we have been trying to see since I first arrived.  We finally got in contact with him.

Elder Fiso and Elder Wahl got sick over the holiday but are both doing better now.  Luckily Elder Eatchel and I didn't seem to get anything.

Once the new year starts things should finally cool down and people will come back from their Holiday trips!  Here's hoping this next year is a great one for missionary work!

- Elder North

Letter Home from Elder North

Date:  December 22, 2014

Area:  Jackson, Tennessee

Companion:  Elder Eatchel

Dear Snow Angels,

Christmas Week is here! The past week was a very good one, best week in this area so far. We've had a good track record of each week being better than the last though. We had an investigator to church and our meal calender got chocked full Sunday. I got a Scarf from Grandma Pam and another package from Grandma and Grandpa North. Thank you all for the gifts, soon I shall open them all!

We contacted a lot of referrals we got from previous missionaries, a couple of them we'll be revisiting.

One of our primary investigators has interesting ideas he has developed about the Spirit that are somewhat near to what we believe. I know if he reads and sincerely prays about the Book of Mormon he will have a good experience, so I'm praying he does.

Talk to you family types soon!

-Elder North

Letter Home from Elder North

Date:  December 15, 2015

Area:  Jackson, Tennessee

Companion:  Elder Eatchel

Dear Executors,

What a hectic week on the home front! Madness, truly madness! Things have been significantly more mundane on my end, though I've always had a knack for not getting sick or injured often.

My first full week with Elder Eatchel and things are going well. Better than I had anticipated really. Opening an area can be difficult due to lack of traction and that is pretty much what we're doing. We have more connections now and hope to have some member presents going on this coming week.

We met one interesting individual who had interesting ideas about the second coming, he believed we'd all just muck up the world do the point where our meeting of the savior is just when we all die. Not the most invalid idea, but the scriptures say otherwise and even if we tilt the earth off its axis and all burn up, Christ will still return to the Earth and restore it sooner or later.

The package from the Ward arrived, as did the calendar and so have the 2 packages from the family. I could tell what a lot of them were without opening them though. Diabolical to disallow me from having them now, I say!

We welcomed back a return missionary and it appears her mother is extremely ready to join the church. It's always important to remember that the young can still teach the old and show forth an example. Let no man despise thy youth and all that.

So my bike.  My bike was seriously injured a while back. It was sent to Little Rock for repairs. I was riding it and ended up going over a tree branch. It yanked the derailer up against the spokes. A member looked at it and said that the part that broke was actually intended to do so, so that if a crash happens it saves more expensive parts of the bike from bending or breaking.  They have yet to get back to me on that.

I'll be trying to take more pictures this coming week, since I haven't really taken any since I got here. Everybody be sure to continue praying! Prayer is supremely powerful.

-Elder North

Letter Home from Elder North

Date:  December 8, 2014

Area:  Jackson, Tennessee

Companion:  Elder Eatchel

Dear Juicy Juice Hypotenuse,

Wild times in the mission field! I have been placed in the far Right of the Mission and this could be my second to last area! The Sister Missionaries who I came out with are now going to be headed home soon. A sure sign that I'll be next. I keep trying to tell people I've only been out a year, but Elder Eatchel (My new companion) keeps blowing my cover!

My new companion is like serving with one of my brothers. We know the same jokes and can talk for a long time.

Feel free to send foodstuffs. I enjoy those.  (He enjoys meats, all sorts)

Elder Eatchel bought a 20 pound bag of rice the second night here and we've been spicing up rice so many ways! The ward is very nice and had a Christmas breakfast. Guess who got all the leftover sausage?

It goes well with the rice.

Here there is a mortuary owned by some members who let us use it to rest, email and it will be where I call on Christmas.

We replaced two sister missionaries, one of which was Sister Skinner, who I came out with. It might be tough since we are both new to the area, but it'll be great!

-Elder North

If you would like to send Elder North something for Christmas you can send it to this address and it will get there faster than going through the mission home.  Thanks for your love and support.

Letter Home from Elder North

Date:  December 1, 2014
Area:  Bartlett, Tennessee
Companion:  Edler Rushton

Dear Reptile Room,

I am getting transferred! Due to a massive amount of missionaries leaving in December, a number of areas need to be closed down. Lakeland is one of them. So next week I'll be in yet another new place! I started this letter several hours ago, but only now can resume due to many things running late and having to pick up an additional missionary. Time has been horrendously cut short and I cannot gather my thoughts good gravy.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Vanderlinden's and I had 14 toasted sourdough baguette slices with goat cheese provided by Sister Duncan, a visitor from Virginia.

-Elder North