Elder Trey Nelson
Returned with Honor from the California Roseville Mission!
Elder Nelson arrived home on January 19 to greet two very excited parents and gave his homecoming talk the following Sunday January 24. We were pleased to have Trey's three uncles, one aunt and six cousins in attendance. His talk included three principles reinforced on his mission with some great lessons for us all. One--It’s not your time (it's the Lord's). Two--Get over it (fears, weaknesses). Three--Endure to the end (run through the finish line tape). We were especially thrilled to receive a letter from a family in his last area which read, in part, "Thank you for raising such a terrific missionary. We appreciate you loaning him out for two years so he could serve the people in our area." Welcome home Trey.
Elder Skyler Thiot
New York New York South Mission 5-10
Elder Thiot was transferred to Jamaica, New York the week before Christmas. After serving in Brooklyn for nearly a year, it was a difficult transfer. It didn’t take long before Elder Thiot was feeling at home and happy to be serving in a new area. Jamaica, as the name may tell you, is filled with immigrants from the Caribbean. Even though it’s not that far from Brooklyn, it’s very different. Christmas Day brought a Christmas Miracle to Elder Thiot. In the afternoon, he received a text message from the elders in the ward next to his that they had received a referral for a family who was actually in Sky’s ward not there’s. The really interesting thing was, they were Russian. You can only guess how delighted Elder Thiot was to make contact and arrange a visit with them. He said it felt like he was going home to walk into their Russian Speaking apartment complex and see all those Russian names on the mail boxes. He LOVED it and is enjoying teaching them.. Three weeks ago, when the earthquake hit Haiti, things really changed. Elder Sky has taught and loved many of the Haitian people who now live in NYC. He spent much time comforting and teaching them about our Heavenly Fathers plan of Salvation. One wonderful man was brought to the waters of baptism. There are miracles after devastation too.
Elder McKay Crandall
Puerto Rico San Juan East 6-10
Elder Crandall will stay in Dominica for another transfer. They have found a couple new investigators with whom they are working very hard. We were able to skype McKay on Christmas and met his companion, the couple missionaries and another friend as they were all having dinner together. He is working hard and enjoying the work and responsibilities he has. Missionary work is the BEST!
Elder Jacob Reading
California Carlsbad Mission 7-10
Elder Reading had a great Christmas, the last one in the mission field. He says that for his Christmas present he decided to pray really hard for some Christmas miracles to happen where they could bring the gospel into someone’s life. Then one night when they were eating dinner they got a call from a random number. It was a woman that said she saw the Elders riding their bikes that day and wanted them to go over and preach to her. Jacob asked when would you like us to come? She said right now! So dessert was skipped, and they went over and talked to her for a bit. It turns out that this woman was someone another Elder had contacted 3 months earlier. They had given her a BOM with the Elders phone number inside. Seeing the Elders on the street that day, she made a decision to make a change, and wants to learn more. It really was a miracle because these things just don't happen to often for missionaries. So his prayers were truly answered and they were able to help someone out at Christmas. He is still serving in Encinitas and is district leader. They had 3 baptisms in January and another scheduled for Feb 13. So as you can see, things are going great for Elder Reading. He sure finds it hard to believe that he is down to his last 5 months. He is loving every minute of his mission.
Elder Christopher L. Martin
Santo Domingo West Dominican Republic 1-11
Elder Martin is now serving in Los Caobas. His new companion, Elder Saint-Hilaire is from Haiti. He is trying to teach Christopher a little French. Spanish is a second language for both Chris and his companion, but that is what they communicate with each other in. The other two missionaries they live with are English speaking so Elder Saint-Hilaire is likely to pick up English quicker than Elder Martin will pick up French. As you know, an earthquake hit the Haitian side of the island. Christopher said, “ I felt the earthquake pass by here in Santo Domingo, the first tremble I’ve ever felt. I thought it was just me ready to faint in the middle of a lesson but we found out quick that it was . . . a quake that came from Haiti. , I just cant believe that something so small here was so devastating over there. Of the missionary work Chris writes, “. . . here in Las Caobas the work is slow but progressing with us. We have 6 fechas and [we are] working hard with them. The ward rocks. The best ward I’ve seen here. And there’s fortunately lots of Haitians here so we’ve taught a couple of them. Many of them don’t know. . . much Spanish so my comp teaches them in Creole. Christopher is looking forward to a visit from Elder Bednar. Elder Martin shares his testimony that “The Gospel . . . [is] true. . . Its the answer to everything. In the devastation we had, we can take the opportunity to teach the Gospel with ever greater strength. I know Christ lives and is the giver of everlasting life.” We are proud of Elder Martin and the fine work he is doing in the Dominican Republic.
President and Sister Martin & Adam
California San Fernando Mission 7-12
President and Sister Martin We are doing great out here in California. It is the rainy season and the past few days we have had some rain. It does feel lovely to have the moisture, but we feel for our Elders and Sisters who are on bicycles. We recently went with our entire mission to the Los Angeles Temple. Our son Jerry was visiting and went with us. It was a very special experience. Getting them all to the back of the Temple to take pictures was a bit like herding cats, but we did it! We are very pleased to report that we had a 35% increase in baptisms for the year 2009. We had 448 baptisms. This is the first time in over a decade that our mission has had over 400 baptisms. We know the field is ripe. We know that the Lord has prepared people who are just waiting for that knock on the door or that special friend to invite them to come unto Christ. We have some of the most awesome missionaries! It was fun to welcome Elder Benjamin Tovar (who used to be a member of the 8th Ward and was in Cub Scouts with us) to our mission. He comes to us from Mexico where his family now resides. He was in the group of 19 that came in this last transfer. We sent only one missionary home. This has left us scrambling for apartments, beds, desks, etc. for the increase in our numbers. Next transfer we will receive only one, but say good-by to seven.
Elder Adrian Etherton
Idaho Boise Mission 8-11
Elder Etherton is approaching his 6 month mark! The time has really gone by fast. He has been blessed to still be teaching in the Kuna, Idaho area. The work has been going so well there. He even had a baptism on Christmas Day. He is enjoying the 7 wards and 1 spanish group that he serves in. As you can guess, he is kept quite busy. The chance he has had to attend the Boise Temple on his p-days , has strengthen him as a missionary. He writes of the wonderful people he meets and the work he is doing. He is looking forward to next 18 months. He loves God and the Lord Jesus Christ and wants to serve them with all that he has.
Elder Joseph Calcote
Georgia Atlanta Mission 10-11
Elder Calcote was not available for comment this month. We will catch up with him next month.
Elder Andrew Santiago
Utah Ogden Mission 1-12
Elder Santiago entered the MTC on January 13th and has had a phenomenal experience there. He is winding up his stay in Provo and will head to Ogden on Tuesday Feb. 2. He and his district are anxious to head north to Ogden and get to work. One of the districts in his MTC zone is made up of all the ASL missionaries. He expressed how excited he was to have focused on his ASL while in school. He is the only missionary outside their district that can communicate with them. Andrew’s companion at the MTC is Elder Gruenewald from Syracuse, New York. He loves his district, saying that they have tons of fun and joke around all the time. More Next Time…..
