Christmas Skype!!!

It was wonderful to talk to Silas on Christmas. It didn't seem like almost 5 months since we've heard his voice. His letters and emails keep him close to home while he serves the Lord.

We love Silas!

Merry Christmas!

So this week has been really great. Elder Edward and I are getting along really well. He's from Billings, Montana and he's been on a mission for just over a year. I've been getting to know my area a little better so that's good. East Long Beach is really nice compared to North Long Beach. In fact, most people I talk to about where I just came from gasp is disbelief, haha. One lady said that her job doesn't let her go there without Police escort. She's a social worker. Another asked me semi- jokingly if I had to do drugs while I was there. But it wasn't really that bad, in fact I liked it a lot.

It has been really amazing to feel the guidance of the Spirit as a missionary. On Saturday we had a lesson with a guy who hasn't gone to church in awhile. His name is Chris and I didn't really know much about him so I just opened up my scriptures and shared what I saw. It was in Alma 59 I think and I just talked about how the Nephite army was facing an innumerable enemy and the first thing they did was pray. I told him that even though they were already afraid and thinking about what they needed they had to pray to God to receive strength and comfort which they did. It was just really great because afterwards Elder Edward said that Chris wasn't really sure why he had to pray formally because he thinks about what he needs all of the time. So the Spirit definitely leads missionaries to do certain things sometimes. It's really important to try and listen to what God wants us to do all of the time.

My apartment address is 5551 E 23rd St., Long Beach, CA 90815 so you can send things there now. I like my apartment. It's a lot smaller than my first one but it's nice enough. I'm excited to talk to you tomorrow! I can't wait to hear how old Ella sounds and just how everyone is doing.

It kind of stunk to move right before Christmas but the stress is leaving so that's good. I just wish I would've had time to write everyone a Christmas letter. Hopefully my voice will be a good enough present, haha.

Love you!

First Baptism!!!

Well this week has been very good! Yesterday was Tammy's baptism and it was pretty stressful but amazing as well. We had a huge turnout and everything ended up going according to plan and it was really spiritual. There was another 18 year old girl and her 17 yr old brother who the other Elders baptized and they were really nice.

 

As the program was going on and the talks were coming to a close I started to get really nervous. I was worried that I wouldn't say everything right or maybe I wouldn't be able to pick her up that great but I said a prayer that I would be comforted. I definitely felt peace come over me as I got up and walked into the font. My voice was a little trembling a little but I did it and Tammy started crying afterwards becasue she was so happy. I don't really know how to explain the simplicity and importance of baptism. As I was getting changed I just knew that that baptism counts forever. There aren't many things we can do on earth that are eternal but I know that baptism is one of them. I'm really grateful to have been a part of Tammy's decision to change her life and have a fresh start.

 

One thing that is sad is that I won't be able to teach her daughter that wants to get baptized too now. I am being transferred! I leave tomorrow to East Long Beach. I am going to be with Elder Edward in the Woodruff ward. It has been really weird packing up all of my stuff and getting ready to leave my first "home" but I'm excited for it. Usually transfers are 6 weeks but this one was 5 because of Christmas and just all the new missionaries that are coming in soon. We're getting 100 new missionaries in the next year. 36 in march.

 

So send everything to 6500 E Atherton St Long Beach 90815 aka the mission office.

 

Elder Gallagher

Hello from Long Beach!

Hey Everyone,

This week has been really great! I thought of some more things I could use for Christmas! Maybe a little photo book of family pictures. That would be really nice!

So on Sunday those same two people came to church and they really liked it again! Sovandy is the Cambodian man who already knows a lot about everything and will probably get baptized after he gets home from his trip in Feb. And Tammy is getting baptized on the 16th!!! I'm so happy for her and she actually went with a family from the ward to the L.A temple to see the lights. Her daughter wants to go to church now too so we're excited to go and teach them together.

Right now I'm kind of sick but I went to the temple so that was nice. As time went on I started feeling better ha but now I don't feel that great. Just a cold so don't worry. I'm going to try and post pictures up of the temple for everyone. I bought a card reader!

So I can't think very straight so I don't remember much of this past week but I'm just really excited for my first baptism! Tammy is really nice and I know that this will bless her life forever.

It's really weird having such warm days in December! It makes it feel like I haven't been here long at all. It maybe feels like fall some days but other than that it is t-shirt weather. 

We got to meet with one of the brothers from the temple presidency and I'm pretty sure it was Matt Capone's mission president. President Larkin? That would be fun to ask the Capones. He was a pretty nice man.

Transfers are next week on Tuesday so there's a chance I'll be moving right before Christmas. That would stink but I'll be okay. I'll know next week when I email you.

I'm trying to think of one funny story for this week...

So Elder Jacobson and I were riding our bikes in the bike lane and this black guy was wearing a suit and standing on the side so we stopped next to his car and started talking to him. His shoes were more polished than anything I've ever seen. We asked him his name and he said Harvey. I remembered Elder Sudbury talking about a crazy church guy they found while I was in Compton one day and this was him. He was moving his hands all weird while he talked about our churches. I think Dad would really like him because he was probably the most animated person I've ever seen. He had like 20 Bibles in his car. Just one of many very interesting people we meet on the streets. 

Love you all! I have to get off soon! Sorry I didn't write more. Next week I'll be able to talk about the baptism and transfers. Have a great week!

Love

 Elder Gallagher

 

Monday!

Hey!

 

So this week has been really great. I can't really remember what happened in the beginning so I might start yesterday and go backwards. Sunday was probably the best Sunday I've had here because two of the people I'm teaching came to church! We've only had one lesson with them and they both came!

 

First I'll talk about Tammy. We met Tammy because we looked at a list of people that missionaries had already talked to a little bit. We knocked on her door and she said that she hadn't really had a conversation with the missionaries but she had said they could come back. So we set an appointment and she said that she could do it a week and a half later which is pretty lame so we didn't think too much of it. Jump to a week and a half later. We have a lesson with her and we mainly just talked about how God loved her and that Jesus Christ was so important. She told us that the night before we came by the first time she was praying so hard for someone to help her. She just needed someone to help and make her happy. When we met her we asked her if she needed any help. We do that to almost everyone but I was really asking her if she needed her garbage taken out or her plants watered or anything. She called us angels at church because I really was an answer to her prayer. She wants to get baptized this upcoming Sunday but it might be next Sunday. I would be so grateful to be the instrument that God used to change this woman's life. The Ward was awesome at making her feel at home too which I was so nervous about. Having people at church is so stressful because you want it to go perfectly even though no one is perfect ha.

 

The other person who went to church is a Cambodian man named Sovandy. He just got married and he actually went on Mormon.org and asked for missionaries to come and teach him. He said that he was researching the church because the way he respected his professor who graduated from BYU. He went to Georgia Tech so I guess that professor really stood out. He knew a lot and really wanted to learn about the way we live our lives. He came to church and people thought he was a member ha ha.

 

So we get to meet with them on Wednesday so wish us luck! Yesterday we also had a baptism! Well it was in our ward but I never taught the guy. Elder Jacobson baptized him because he started teaching him on the other side of the ward. It was a good baptism. Harvey Adams is the guy who was baptized and man is he big. He is a huge black guy and it was pretty funny to watch him get baptized. I bore my testimony of how grateful I am now for the sacrament. Being able to start a new week fresh and clean is something I'm taking a lot more seriously.

 

I'm going to go and buy a thing to connect to the computer so I can post pictures again. Sorry I haven't been very good about that. Well the woman who I helped quit smoking is still doing great which is just so awesome. Prayer and scripture study was a huge difference with every other time she has tried to quit. That built my testimony a lot because she really didn't think she could do it.

 

Anyways, I have had a good week and I hope you all did too. I'm sure I'm going to miss you all a lot more as we get closer to Christmas. It was pretty nice because Elder Jacobson's family sent him two advent calendars so I get one too :)

 

 

Elder Gallagher

Thanksgiving!

Hey Everyone,

This week was a pretty good week! It was nice to have Thanksgiving but kind of weird to be a missionary during the holidays. I'm emailing everyone a lot individually today so I think this might be a short email this week. Elder Jacobson and I are doing pretty well. We're both really new missionaries so it's been fun. I can now see that Elder Sudbury trained me really well. I'm pretty comfortable contacting people now and I think I'm getting better and better at teaching.

We actually found people this week! One was a referral and two we found from the area book. They were on a list of potential investigators from earlier this year. We commited that couple to be baptized on the 8th so we're hoping that'll work out! They didn't come to church so we might have to push it back. You know church is at 8am? I'm thankful that we only had church at 9, hah. Our other investigator is pretty hard to get a hold of. It is really nice to have people to go by though. We have been contacting a ton of people on the street trying to reach our goal of talking to 125 random people a week. We've done pretty well!

On Thanksgiving we went to two dinners so I was very full. The two families we ate with are very great families. One of them, the Adduru's are Phillipino so we had a pig too. They're really nice people and I'm glad they invited us over.

This transfer is only 5 weeks instead of 6 because of where Christmas falls on the calender with everything. We also get to go to the temple this transfer which will be really nice. So one of these weeks I'll email Wednesday instead of Monday. As soon as I find out I'll let you know. Hopefully I'll find out a week in advance but if I don't email that's why. Don't worry!

I'm still really liking studying my scriptures. That is something that I wish I had done regularly. Reading brings peace and happiness. I love learning about the scriptures too. I wish we could read any church book but missionaries are only supposed to read the canon and a few other books. I want to read One Eternal Round pretty bad. There is so much to learn and I'm just excited to learn as much as I can about God and everything basically.

I am thankful for everyone's support and the love that I feel everyday from and for you. I'm sorry it took me leaving on a mission to really think about how my relationships with you are the most important part of my life. I love my family! I hope everyone gets better if they are sick and stay better. Does that make sense?

Love you,

Silas

New Companion

Hey everyone,

How is everyone doing? Did Dad end up going to LA in the beginning of Nov? Is it pretty cold? I had a pretty good week even though we don't have any real investigators. Elder Porter, a member of the 70 came to our mission and spoke on the Atonement. It was a very powerful talk and I really enjoyed it. He talked about the Savior suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross for us. Without the Atonement there would be no way for us to progress and be saved. It is so important to try and understand what Christ really did for each of us personally.

This week was my first week with Elder Jacobson. We're both getting along pretty well and working hard. It was kind of sad saying goodbye to Elder Sudbury. I probably didn't appreciate how much we got along and became friends. He was really good at teaching me how to teach people and he's already back in the area so I might see him today.

One thing that I have learned on my mission that I will bring home is the ability to control my attitude. Doing this much work is not exactly "hard" but if you are discouraged or mad the days seem double in length. I'm appreciating the outlook I have on each day as I see some missionaries having a rough day. Each day really is a gift and an opportunity we have to serve the people around us. In Elder Ballard's talk from general conference he talked about serving others. He said that we should pray everyday for the chance to help someone. It is really powerful to recognize the spirit guiding my efforts as I pray to find people who are ready to follow Jesus.

The other night, Elder Jacobson and I were riding around (still always on bike) and we see a lot of people and a lot of the times we pass them. We passed a bus stop and I could kind of see from the back that there was a person in there. I really felt like we should go talk to him so I made Elder Jacobson turn around and we went back. The person was actually a man named Jeff who I had already talked to and we had called last week to see how he was doing. He told us that he decided that God wasn't real because of all of the trials that he went through in the past ten years. He thought that God turned his back on Jeff. It was sad to see him at that point in his life but I knew that the spirit prompted me to go and talk to him. I was able to tell Jeff that God really was there and that He was putting us in his path to bring him closer. Ultimately he still didn't want to hear about the message but it was still powerful for me. Sometimes it is really hard to feel the spirit but I know that as we live worthily and pray for that guidance we can experience it. Of course, after you are baptized you have that gift of being able to have the presence of the Holy Ghost always. He has really brought me peace when I'm stressed or sad. I just know that everything is going to turn out alright.

I hope everyone at home is doing well! Did Noah get my card?

Love you! I have to go...

Silas

Hi!

Everyone,

This week has been really really great. Elder Sudbury is going home tomorrow and it has been interesting having a comp who's going home. We've become really good friends and I'm sad to see him go. There are also times when I start thinking about what it's going to be like when I go home. Then I try and stop thinking about it because I've got a long ways to go! He gave a talk yesterday and it was really powerful. He's sad to go home and probably pretty nervous too. He has a girl waiting for him so I bet he's excited and nervous about that too :). I definitely learned a lot from him and I think we both grew over these three months.

This week we didn't find any investigators but it was really good because Elder Sudbury had members he baptized or knew take us out to lunch. I've been so full for a week straight but it was so worth it. Of course I didn't gain any weight... What was really fulfilling was seeing all of the lives that he had the chance to change while he was here. I hope people love me as much as they love him when I get ready to come home. I really love the people we get to know. There's a woman who has been cigarette free for two weeks now and she says it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for us :) That has been the biggest success I've seen so far. She really relied on God to strengthen her and He did. 

Tomorrow I get a new companion! I actually know him already so I'm really excited. His name is Elder Jacobson. He served in the other area of my ward! So now he's moving over to the other side but same ward. A lot of Elders where surprised because he has only been on his mission 6 weeks longer than me. Usually we would both be paired up with more experienced companions. I think we are really going to learn from each other and work hard. President has enough faith in us to work hard and that's what we're going to do. I don't know if Dad or Mom had this in their missions but we call our trainer our Dad and the followup trainer our Mom. Elder Sudbury is my Dad and Elder Jacobson is my mom. It's funny though because Jacobson was with his trainer for an extra transfer so I guess I'm his mom too. I thought that was funny. 

The Virginia Ward is a very interesting ward still. We had a pretty nice lady come to church who had never been to church before and luckily I picked up on that and we found out that she wasn't a member and she lived in another ward. She seemed to be interested after church and gospel principles. We gave her a Book of Mormon and I hope she really reads it. I like that there are people out there who will go to another church to see what it's like.

Our mission has a fireside for the departing missionaries. They get to go up and bear their testimonies and there are musical numbers too. Going to that was a really great experience. I actually got to give the prayer and that was nice. Right now I'm reading in first couple of chapters of Mosiah. This week everyone should read King Benjamin's sermon to his people. I think it starts on chapter 2. Reading it will help you have a better week! I'm also working my way through the Old Testament. A lot of missionaries get by somehow by not even reading the Bible at all and I'm making sure I read all of it. I'm in Numbers right now and it is really apparent in the Old Testament so far that the theme is following God for blessings. It really is as simple as that. The temple is also so important in the Bible. I'm so thankful for the opportunity we have to go to temples today. I can't wait to start my family in the sacred house of the Lord.

Well I hope you read those chapters in the Book of Mormon and maybe you can talk to me about your favorite part next week. I really love you all and I hope you have a great, productive week! 

Love,

Elder Silas Gallagher 

Day 97 (Mom thinks)

Hey Everyone!

This week is my last week with Elder Sudbury because he's going home! I'm really happy for him and I'm glad that I got a really great and fun trainer. Last week was mostly full of dropping all of the investigators we found the week before which was kind of sad. BUT! This week was probably the best in the sense that I really helped someone change their life. Nicole is a less active lady who lives in Carmelitos and she really needed/wanted to quit smoking and we helped her quit. I gave her a blessing and we even fasted with her. She had tried to quit many times before but because of the power of faith and fasting and prayer, she has been doing amazing. She smoked 12 a day and for the past week she has only smoked around 4. The past two days she hasnt smoked at all. I love helping people who really want to change because it happens. If you really want something, you can have it. She's even seen the blessings already and she hasnt even stopped that long. She has a daughter(5)and theyre getting along a lot better.

I actually had a pretty strange experience at church yesterday. I had to tell someone that they couldnt be at church because he had something wrong with him. I won't go into too much detail but it helped me feel grateful to have the gift on the Holy Ghost. I felt the spirit comfort me and I ended up having a pretty good day.

It's kind of really hard to get some members to help people out. It made me realize that Dad is always going out and helping people through elders quorum and I realized how great Dad is. Thanks for being great Dad! Also Mom! You've always been going to activities and helping people too. I still remember when you were relief society president and we got all of those toys for the 9/11 kids.

I'm excited and nervous to change missionary companions. I will almost certainly stay in the same area because Elder Sudbury is leaving. I hope that we can find some people who want to follow Jesus Christ this week! What else should I talk about? This week was a little stressful because I worried a lot about everyone at home. I knew you were okay but I was still thinkning about everyone a lot more than usual.

What does Noah want me to send him? I'll send him a card! If he wants a shirt let me know please! How is Eden's play going? How does Chloe like going to school and being 6!? How's Ella? I miss and love you all!

Love you!

Silas

Hey!

Hey everyone!

This week has been pretty good! We have found a lot of new investigators which has been really great since we have lessons. So are you ready for the big storm that's coming in? From the sounds of Dad's email it's coming in right now. Good luck! I'm praying for you all a lot and I really miss you. This week went by a lot faster than last week because I had more going on. In one of the training's an AP gave he said that if you're feeling down you should invite people to be baptized! I guess that means that if we're down we need to really focus on what matters and work hard. I'm thinking a lot about Rach's friend passing away in a car accident. I'm really sorry that life is full of sorrow and sometimes heartache. I know that whatever we go through in life, if we do the things that God has commanded us to do, we will have joy in the end. When we go through tough times in life we need to stick together. I love you all so much. How's Sandy doing? I bet she's barking a lot at the storm! How's six year old Chloe! I miss my siblings a whole lot. Noah I miss playing games with you and talking about life with you. I hope that I can still give you advice from here. I wish I had longer to write than I do. 

Dad asked if people talk about Mitt Romney: SOO many people talk about Mitt Romney! Oh and I got my absentee ballot by the way! It feels like I'm voting for a high school class president again haha except the names on the ballot are Obama and Romney. Anyways, when we knock on people's doors a lot of them just say, "oh don't worry I'm already voting for your guy Mitt!" I think it's really funny and kind of scary that people may think that I'm walking around trying to get people to vote for Mitt haha. We have to tell at least one person a day that we don't have a stand on politics. A lot of people I've talked to have actually really been excited to vote for Mitt. I think that's pretty interesting since I'm in a pretty liberal state. I'm excited to see what happens.

A man that Elder Sudbury and I found got baptized yesterday in the Spanish ward woo! It stinks that I couldn't teach him and baptize him but it really is amazing to see make such great decisions in life!

I'm still on bike and I actually really like it. Has it gotten a lot colder yet? It's been "cold" in the morning and the evening but right now it's really warm. I wonder if it's going to slow down time because I think it's summer all of the time. I really like my apartment that I'm staying in. I'm almost certain that I'll be in the same area for my third transfer. Elder Sudbury is going home on the 13th and President probably won't make two other elders go into an area that we're in. So ill get a new companion on the 13th! Speaking of the 13th! The 12th is close to that and that's Noah's birthday! Noah what do you want for your birthday!? I can get you a Long beach shirt! Let me know in an email next week so I can get it and send it. Rach's is on the 25th of november! So get something for her! Haha shout out.

The picture is kind of stupid but It's of me and Elder Sudbury is in the back! To get a good idea of the people we find and teach look up "Carry me home" by Gloworm on youtube. Talked to that guy last week. It's a 90's hit song apparently. Another interesting characteristic of the area I'm in is the constant smell of weed. It's really interesting because I guess it's kind of legal here. There are stores but sometimes the cops are there and it just seems strange.

I still have time to write so I'll keep writing but here is most of my letter

Love you all,

Elder Silas Gallagher... I still haven't figured out how to sign my family emails.

(he had more time to write):

How is Eden doing? Does she like her play? How is the Ward? Thanks for the great emails about life. I know sometimes it seems like we're all really busy. What's most important is our personal relationship with God. He really can help us with anything that we need in life and I've found that out in my life. Everyone needs to go through their own conversion and spiritual experiences. Don't feel bad if you're not sure if something isn't true. Just go out and find out for yourself and ask God. My prayers have become a lot more meaningful since my mission. I was never very great at creating habits that had to do with praying or reading my scriptures but now those might be the two most uplifting things I do. I don't really know whether it's because I'm a missionary or what but studying and learning has gotten so much more great. I'm really excited to keep that a part of my life.

This is what my letter to president Bubert looks like:

"This week we have found a lot of investigators. The favorite times of my mission are always in the middle of very powerful lessons. I can't deny the presence of the Spirit touching the hearts of the investigators we teach. I am just looking for a way that may influence people to keep their commitments. We have powerful lessons and the investigators commit to doing something but then I feel like their lives get in the way. I may try and emphasize the power of commitment with them. I am excited to experience the process of a person's full conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "

That seems to be the theme of my mission so far in this area. I'm looking for ways to get people to do things that will help them haha. Thank you all so much for your support. It feels like I really can't do it without all of your thoughts, emails, letters and prayers. I feel like I always sound beat up or depressed but I really am having such a great time. I'm being safe and I'm working hard!

Love you!

Hi

Hey everyone!

I'm doing really well, everyone. I'm learning so much every week. I finished the New Testament minus Revelation and it was really great. I just started reading the Old Testament and I'm in the middle of the story of Joseph. That's my favorite story in the Old Testament so far. There are some really interesting stories in that book haha. Joseph is my favorite because the people around him were blessed because of how great he was. I want to be able to bless the people around me by being obedient and hard-working. Dad and Mom have really been good examples to us. Thanks!

We have around 20 potentials that we've been trying to meet with. Most of our appointments fall through honestly. The other day we had an appointment, a church tour and another appointment and everyone bailed haha. It stinks that people aren't honest with us all of the time. I'm not down about it because I can't control that. I've been working very very hard to know the scriptures better and knowing the doctrine in the lessons.

So please tell Grandma that I just got her letter this week. It got lost in another elders papers so please tell her that I'm writing her back as soon as possible! There are three weeks left for this transfer! Time is an interesting thing because sometimes it feels so quick and then so slow. 

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY CHLOE! I hope she's loving being six! Not much happened this week. We had "tune up" on tuesday. It's a meeting for the missionaries at their first two transfers. He's a really nice guy and I like him. The meeting itself was really great too. We had trainings from the AP's and the president about asking people to be baptized.

Me and Elder Sudbury at the Los Angeles Temple

 

The view from my apartment

My faith in Jesus Christ has grown so much. I've always believed in Christ and known that He is important but studying and pondering about what he did personally for me has been life changing. I think a lot of what held me back from studying this hard and thinking about God was my mind set. I thought that I was a pretty busy person before my mission but now I really see that what I was doing didn't really matter. I want you to really look at what fills your day and take the things that don't matter out. The purpose of life is to become a better person and to do that by loving God and keeping his commandments. Make sure that where you live is where you are closest with God. We dedicated someone's home the other day and if you haven't done that you should. Pray and ask that the spirit can reside where you live. I really miss all of you!

I'm so thankful for all of your support. I love letters! If there are any questions you have about the gospel ask me and I'll look!

Love you all!

Elder Gallagher

Hey!

Hello there,

This week has been pretty good. We've been knocking a lot of doors which is not the most fun of finding ideas but it tends to work out. It doesn't work in the sense that the people we knock into want to learn but it works because it puts us in the right place at the right time to meet someone on the street.

I finished the Book of Mormon for the 90 day challenge President Bubert gave us. It's been about 50 something days so I read it a little fast. Each time I read it I get more and more out of it! Thank you Mom and Dad for getting me such nice scriptures. One of my favorite parts of the end of the Book of Mormon is Moroni 7. There's a lot of meat in there. If I remember right it talks so much about faith, hope and charity. I hope that everyone who reads this spends some time today to read from the Book of Mormon. I'm also still reading in The New Testament. I'm in Peter right now so I just finished James. I likes James because it talks about good works. Yesterday we were talking to a guy and some random person came walking up to us telling us that it's not about works guys! I find it funny that people think that we think that we're trying to work our way into heaven. There's nothing we could do to live again. Only by Jesus Christ's selfless act will we live again. They don't understand that we show our faith by our works and that by following God's commandments we can receive a greater glory. Anyways, I'm just rambling. But I've been really loving my hour of personal study each day. I'll be done with the Bible in no time! haha.

I got your letters the other day and they were great! Everyone drew me something which was nice and I have them up on my desk. Noah how did your contest go? I'm not supposed to read anything other than a few church books but maybe you could send me the first chapter in pieces if you want.

I'm happy to hear from Eden! I'm sad that I can't see her in her play though!

Dad being in LA will be pretty funny. My companion is going home in a month and he's starting to get really excited. You know that I'll be freaking out! I'm so thankful to be here and serving people and God everyday while I can. That's pretty funny that you guys called Sister Bubert the other day. I'll try and put one or two with this email. If not don't worry I'll send them home or to Rach or something. I'm not fat yet! I think it's all of the biking and running I do. Okay so I just looked for a usb to plug into this computer and it doesn't have one. I'm at a library in Cerritos. It's because the family history center is closed today and that's where we always go. I PROMISE you will have pictures next week. I do know how to do it I just tried to put too many last time. I'm doing really well and you all have nothing to worry about. I'm having a hardworking/ great time. I'd say that time has gone by relatively quickly and I've only had one companion. They say each transfer goes by faster and faster.

We're finding a lot of people when we go out but we're having a difficult time getting people to commit to anything, even another lesson. The people I meet and talk to have been fairly nice even if they are crazy. I really feel God's love for each person.

Everyone keep trying to be the best they can be!

Love,

Elder Gallagher

Just for fun

Where Silas lives!

Thank you, Google street view!

General Conference Week

Hey Family!

How is everyone doing? Did Eden audition for the play? How is Chloe's first year of school going? How is Noah? Mom? Dad? 

General Conference was really good! I obviously watched all the sessions and they were all really good. It's pretty cool that the missionary age is now 18 for guys and 19 for girls. People are saying that there will be a lot more missionaries now. My favorite talks were by Uchdorf and Holland. Uchdorf talked about living with no regrets and choosing happiness. That talk reminded me of Mom always saying that. Mom always told me that we were choosing to be annoyed at our siblings too. Holland's was really, really good. He basically talked about Jesus asking Peter if he loved Him. Go watch it! I think any Christian would love that talk. I was thinking that Mrs. Zurheide would really like it. Maybe Rach can tell her that or even show her the talk.

I thought it was pretty interesting because I thought that most talks were about either loving God and loving our neighbors. We listened to a talk called "They Saw Our Day" by Lance Richardson yesterday after conference and it was really interesting. You should look it up online. There's an audio file that you can listen to. Anyways, it's about ancient culture's way of life and their prophesies for the end of the world. Dad, can you listen to it and tell me what you think? It's an hour and 15ish minutes. Each of these tribes and cultures talk about the way we can live the best lives. They all talk about loving God and Charity and love for the people around us. Hearing those same things from our leaders was really interesting. If everyone really did that the world would be a much better place. 

Besides General Conference we really didn't teach that many people sadly. Diana actually moved to LA so we don't get to teach her and help her anymore. Snake is that crazy guy that we've been talking to but he really is a character. He's an old version of Jason Bourne. He's contracted by the government to go wherever and pretty much do whatever they ask him to do. He's been to Iraq, Mexico (to take out Cartel), Georgia, Pakistan. Haha he is a really nice man though. 

I'm proud to have made the decision to come on a mission. I know for an absolute fact that I am already changed for the better. I feel the spirit everyday as I read the scriptures looking for answers to my questions. I really like the people that I'm serving and meeting. The members like me so that's good! We're doing service for Scott and Kimi Neilson who are a cool couple in the ward. They think I'm really funny so it's always fun going over there and making them laugh. We're hanging drywall so my previous experience is coming in handy! Elder Sudbury was a construction worker so he knows what he's doing but I can help too which is great. 

This week we're really going to try and find people to teach! I'm still trying to figure out how to convey the importance of the message of the Restoration. I've talked to a lot of people who love the Bible and really do read it everyday but they won't even touch the Book Of Mormon. 

Okay I have to get off!

Love you,

Silas

Two Months Down?

Hey Family!

It certainly seems that I've been here all of my life and that I just got out here. It's really weird but what can i say. My first transfer is over and it has been a really good learning experience. I learned that this is hard! Right now we don't have any really solid investigators. It's hard not to think that it's your fault when you don't have success. It really is almost funny that everything that a missionary hopes for depends on other people. So Elder Sudbury and I stepped back and looked at what we could improve and we're really going to try and find a lot of people to teach. Another really interesting thing is experiencing people's apathy when it comes to learning and happiness. I've grown to really respect Jesus in a different way. He offered people the answer for literally everything and very little people followed him and the people he gave everything for crucified him. I can't believe the world we live in haha. I don't want to sound dismal but being a missionary certainly helps you feel what Christ felt a little more.

On the other hand I've also felt a lot of love for the people we talk to! It's really sad hearing some people's stories and them not accepting the Gospel. Yesterday we went to the departing fireside for the missionaries who go home tomorrow. It was really nice to see other missionaries achieve what I'll eventually achieve! They had really good testimonies and the people that were baptized because of them went and It was really cool. It was hard not going by Diana  every other day to see how she's doing. She asked us to give her some space so she could figure things out with her boyfriend. It's really scary how much I care for that family even when I barely know them. I hope they get baptized! Before I was a missionary I really didn't understand the big deal about getting baptized. But now, getting baptized is really the beginning of following God and changing your life for the better. It's the window to the celestial kingdom and it washes away any guilt you've every had. Even Jesus was baptized and he was perfect. I love 2 Nephi 31 because it talks about the importance of baptism and why a perfect person had to be baptized.

I love you all and I really love getting updates from everyone. The pumpkin pictures look great! I love seeing pictures!!! Well I have to go write my mission president a letter so I should go do that. Mom I think you asked me where I do laundry. There's a laundry mat right next to our apartments and we do that at 6:10 before we run. I really loved Chloe and Ella's pictures! I have them in my letter binder tell them thank you! If I don't answer a question anyone has asked me just remind me and forgive me! I'm sorry if I miss something important. I feel bad for not telling mom that I got her package last week! It was a great and needed surprise. Thanks Mom. I'll buy athletic socks out here Dad. 

Love you all!

Elder Silas Gallagher

ps I tried to attach pics last week and that's why you didn't get anything so I won't do that!

Last week's letter

This is last weeks letter it didnt send for some stupid reason! Maybe it was the photos i tried to attach

Hey everyone!

This week was kind of weird. I don't really remember everything that happened but for Sunday and Monday Elder Sudbury was sick so we didn't even leave the apartment. I spent a lot of time reading Jesus the Christ and reading old letters. I always update you on my reading so I hope someone enjoys knowing where I am haha. I finished Alma! Woo! It was really good. I like Alma 34 because it talks about the meaning of life which everyone wonders. Since Elder Sudbury was sick we watched a lot of lame seminary videos haha and Legacy and Mountain of the Lord. Mountain of the Lord was my favorite one. It was about how the Salt Lake Temple was built. Speaking of temples... I went to the LA temple today and it was really nice. I think I attached a photo! That's cool because I took that like 3 hours ago. We went with a member who is really cool and he taught us a lot of pretty cool stuff in the celestial room. 

The work was slow this week partly because our main investigator Diana is MIA and we meet the strangest people! Diana and her boyfriend got into a fight as we were sitting on the other couch. It was really crazy because they were yelling at each other because she wants to live the law of chastity and he's pretty apathetic about the whole thing. We haven't heard from her since because we got a hold of her through his phone. It'll work out though.

The craziest/most interesting person I've probably ever met is Snake. He is a Roman Catholic who loves Eucharistic miracles. He is a Vietnam Marine vet who was born in Russia. He is a black belt jujitsu and taught us some moves! He survived a 3000 ft fall out of a plane with a broken parachute and he is just the most interesting/crazy person ever. 

How is everyone? How is grandma doing? I miss her and Grammie a lot so make sure they know that. I actually went to a funeral for someone I knew here (long story) and I was thinking about how Grandpa's funeral probably was and I got sad for a minute. I hope Mom is doing alright. 

Anyways, hopefully the work will go better this week! Whoa I almost totally forgot! I gave a talk on Sunday on the restoration! It went pretty well! Elder Sudbury said he felt the spirit while I was talking and I spoke for a perfect ten minutes. I'm getting better at talking because I'm understanding things more and more.

Love you all and I'll be on Monday next week!

Suprise!

Hey everyone!

Man we didn't go to the temple this week because the member that is taking us couldn't get off of work. So I guess I'll have a lot to read next WEDNESDAY. Ha well I hope everyone is doing okay. I miss everyone a lot but I am doing pretty well. This week we didn't have the baptism that was supposed to happen so that kind of stunk. A lot of the people that were investigators have been dodging us this week. I think my favorite part about this week has been giving blessings. We gave a blessing to a really cool guy who is a somewhat recent convert. He actually had a family member get shot which is a totally different story but anyways... giving him a blessing was a really uplifting moment and the spirit was there. 

We actually gave a blessing to a guy a couple weeks ago and he didn't have to get surgery! He was going to have to get 1 to 3 ribs taken out to see if he had cancer but after the blessing they went away which is actually really great. I'm still reading the Book of Mormon and New Testament which has really strengthened my testimony. I'm in chapter 10 of The Acts and like 32 of Alma. It helps when you have an hour to read everyday! As I read I understand the gospel better and better. It's interesting because God loves us so much that he made what we have to do simple even though it would be difficult. Jesus taught that we have to have Faith, repent, be baptized by the proper authority and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost/or renew your covenants by taking the sacrament and endure to the end. It's really hard for everyone to change sometimes even if it is for the better. But it really is for the better. I've already seen people change for the better and they're obviously happier. They haven't even been baptized yet so they'll be even happier after that. Thank you Mom and Dad for being really great examples to me. I'm starting to better understand why you tried to make us read the scriptures so much ahah. I'm not sure why or what has changed but I really love reading and learning more. 

There are so many people that tell us that we're deceived and wrong or they have really strong opinions about something. All of these people haven't even read the Bible or the Book of Mormon which I think is really silly. It's pointless to say that something isn't for you if you haven't tried it. And I believe that everyone feels the spirit in their lives no matter what. To feel the spirit we have to follow God's commandments and do what Christ did. It's hard sometimes when we teach people that really don't get it even after we teach it okay. There was this crazy big black lady that we taught haha and she started speaking in "the gift of tongues" and it was just creepy... Lots of fun stuff going on in North Long Beach. Life is good though. Members here are really nice. There are a lot of islanders. They feed us so much! somehow I'm not fat yet... It's probably because of the biking everyday and the 100+ weather that we've had lately

People here in the ward really love Hugh Nibley and my companion does too. I've been having fun getting into pretty deep conversations about God and Adam and Eve and the temple and pretty much everything. 

Well I have to go so I'll talk to you all next week on Wednesday!

Love,

Elder Gallagher

Week 3 in Cali? 40 Days total I think

Hey Everyone!

I'm really happy and grateful to be here emailing you guys because I actually wasn't going to be able to send any mail or check my email until Wednesday and I was worried that you would be worried. That's because we were going to the temple but luckily we're going next week so I can warn you all about this. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EMAIL UNTIL WEDNESDAY NEXT WEEK. Or at least not Monday. We go to the Temple every other transfer or 6 weeks. Okay this week was pretty hard at first. I actually crashed my bike haha because I'm stupid and anyways it hurt... I just have a gross thing on my knee but I'm fine. I was just kind of discouraged because I've gotten hurt once a week now and I'd rather be not hurt. The end of the week was a lot better though. I got mail from Abbey who's in New Paltz and is having a good time and RACH! I really love letters and it just really helped me out when I was discouraged this week.

So I guess Dad is old now. How is it being a high priest? Boring? haha. Whoa I can't believe Chloe is going to school now that's really awesome. It sounds like everyone is doing really great and that makes me really happy! I had to buy pants today because when I crashed I ripped my only non-suit pants. 

Elder Sudbury and I are still getting along well which is good and we actually had one of the best lessons of his mission apparently which means that it's good because he goes home soon. We met with a girl that we contacted on the street literally the first day I got here. Our lesson went really well! We had good trade offs with teaching and using the scriptures and she almost cried because she felt the spirit. She committed to be baptized on the 30th of this month which was really cool. The only sad part is that she's 22 or something so we have to hand her off to the singles ward missionaries. She'd probably like that ward better so that's okay. 

I'm getting more and more used to the schedule of being a missionary which is good because the first week I had no idea what was going on when it came to what we should be doing at what time. We almost get fed by members everyday which is really nice. I'm enjoying the really good Mexican food and I think that I haven't even had the best stuff yet so I'm looking forward to that. Despite crashing, I'm having a really good time riding bikes. It's a good time to just think. It's been really hot here so that's been kind of annoying. If you want to send me anything I could use some more socks! One really awesome thing that happened this week is this less active lady Sis. Adams gave us a bunch of really nice ties. I have 7 "new" ties that I really like and it was just really great being given something like that. 

I'm still reading through the Book of Mormon in 90 days but I'm actually way ahead of schedule. I'm in Alma 7 which is pretty good. I really like Alma 5 so go and read that. I'm also reading the New Testament still and I just finished Luke this morning. I'm excited for John and all the other books because I've never read them before. 

How's Eden doing? I miss her! And everyone else of course! 

Love you guys!

Elder Gallagher

Week 2 in Cali (I didn't tell him we never called it Cali in Northern CA where I grew up)

Hey!

I have less time today because everyone in my zone has to come to the family history center so I'll try and hurry. This week went a lot quicker and it was good. BUT I actually rolled my ankle last week while playing basketball which really hurt. It popped but like three days after it was better. Would it be okay if I bought basketball shoes? They have a lot of ankle support. I think that I might go and buy some after this. My companion is saying that it'll be worth it. so thanks Mom and Dad haha I hope its okay.

Elder Sudbury and I are still getting along well. This week we kept teaching our main investigator Diana. She's really awesome and she's been coming to church. She's actually supposed to get baptized on the 15th! At first her boyfriend didnt want to have anything to do with us and he didn't like us but now he's taking the lessons too which is so great. He didn't make it to church but I think he will next week. I love teaching them and bearing my testimony that the gospel will change their lives. It's kind of silly but I didn't really get that much out of reading the scriptures before I came here but now its actually not enough to study for an hour. Right now I'm trying to read the Book of Mormon in 90 days from the 21st of August. I just started Jacob and at the end of 2 Nephi it's so awesome because Nephi saw a vision of everything and he knew about Christ and he knew that the only way we can be saved is through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. 

I'm also reading Jesus the Christ and the New Testament. I'm in Mark right now and around page 200 on Jesus the Christ. I just read when Jesus is talking about considering the ravens and the lilies. It's a really interesting thing that he' talking about. God will provide the necessities if we trust in him. Another thing that I liked is before you seek for riches, seek for the word of God which is what I'm doing haha so it made me feel good.

North Long Beach is good. The weather has been really nice...kind of hot but I really can't complain. Diana isn't the only person that we're teaching. We've found three other families that we're trying to meet with more. A lot of them were busy or gone because of labor day. Happy Labor Day! 

Surprisingly, I don't miss my phone at all or nearly as much as I thought I would which is really great. I miss everyone of course a lot though. Thanks for the emails, Mom and Dad. I hope everyone is doing alright and it's crazy how fast the summer went by! Hope everyone will have a great year at school.

Ummm, I think that's it? I'm still on bike 24/7 which is fun and my ward is super small and the people are pretty crazy but really great haha. 

Love you all,

Elder Silas Gallagher

Week 1 in Cali

Sorry for the delay in posting, something was wrong with my blogger account and I couldn't post the last three letters (Sage)

 

Hey Family!

 

This week I flew to Long Beach and got settled in. I'm in North Long Beach which is pretty ghetto haha  but yeah I'm pretty close to Compton. It's not in my area though. And don't be worried either way because people here don't really hassle missionaries because most of them believe in God and everything. The first couple days were pretty hard but my companion is a really nice guy. The plane ride was good and then we got picked up and took a driving test thing and went to dinner and then went out and got to work. I was awake for 19 hours so by 10:30 I passed out.

 

This week has honestly been a blur and I'm guessing that it's not going to slow down. We had an investigator come to church yesterday which was really great. Ha my first lesson that I taught with her was the Law of Chastity which was fun. She's really nice though. She has a little girl who wont go to nursery because she loves her mom so much. Elder Sudbury and I found five new investigators the other day which is really good so woo. Oh and we are in an only bike area which I actually really like because my bike is awesome and I've always really liked riding bikes. I've met some pretty nice people and some pretty crazy people. This one member was baptized in his bathtub into a born again church hahaha then he found our church. We had dinner at his house yesterday. He had Cutco knifes! We eat at someones house almost every night which is really awesome. I've already had some really good mexican food! There's some Tongan food i've had too. I like my apartment. There are 4 other elders who live in another apartment really close to ours and theirs is not the best ha. But i like ours

 

The ward that I'm in is soo small ha and its such a mixture of different people. The Elders president is a Giants Fan! Rach would like that ha. After I got off the phone with you guys I was kind of bummed that I wasnt going to talk to you for a long time. All your voices were so nice to hear! 

 

Hey make sure to tell everyone that they can email me. I like emailss.

 

I miss you all a lot but I'm glad that I have you all to lean on.

 

I'll email you all next week!

 

Elder Silas Gallagher

 

Tomorrow to California!

Hey I have time to email tonight because we leave tomorrow. Heres the letter I wrote to my branch president:

 

This week I focused on the Christlike attribue of knowledge. I'm striving to achieve more knowledge about the gospel of Jesus Christ by reading the New Testament and Jesus the Christ. This has helped me add to the knowledge I already have from the Book of Mormon. As I learn more, I see the lessons I have with investigators becoming more focused.

This week in class we had to facilitate a quick lesson. Doing this helped me learn more about hungering for the scriptures. In Enos 1:4 it says that,"my soul hungered". The connection of a bodily need to a spiritual need is very interesting and clairifying. It shows that we need to hunger for the word of God just as we do for food. In 2 Nephi 9:51 it talks about feasting on the word and delighting in our spiritual fatness.
Elder Hileman and I have worked on teaching with more unity. This has led to both of our progressing investigators commiting to a baptism date. In the next week, we are making sure that before we go to bed we say one thing we like about the other person.

Like last week, I have prayed to invite the spirit. I have also tried to be diligent with my scripture study.

 

Things have been really great at the MTC! I can't say that i'm not nervous for tomorrow morning. I miss everyone a lot but my teachers were really great at they seem to believe that I'll be great. Dad I definitely want to hear more about the Egypt thing. Tell Eden I loved her card! and I got Chloes thing too! Also, I got Moms letter and Grandpas funeral program which was nice. My teachers have been really amazing. I think it's great and somewhat strange that they call 19 guys to go preach the gospel when we dont really know anything. Not only that, our teachers (Sister Hoopes and Brother Austin) are only like 24 and 22. Somehow it works out I guess. Today they told stories about their missions which made me really want to experience what they did.

 

Sister Hoopes went to Texas and she told us about her first 3 weeks. They were pretty crazy. First of all she gave away 9 Books of Mormon while in the airports she was in and like 3 of those people ended up getting baptized. They got off the plane in Dallas and her president ran by them telling her and her compainion to run! He threw their stuff in the car and started driving like 150mph on the highway. He knew that they had to go to a acertian area and they had to make it on a bus that was really far away and leaving soon. They made it and everyone on the bus was a missionary. They told her that the area she as going to was a terrible area. there hadnt been a baptism in 8 and a half years. From her apartment she could see 32 different church steeples. Long story short it was a really hard area. THe first door she knocked on, a big latino answered the door drunk and kissed her. Then they went to a baptist priest's house and the wife said to leave or her husband would kill them. They ended up getting baptized after like several crazy events. It was just inspiring I guess. I hope that I can be that in tune with the spirit to say all of the right things and be in the right places. She did bring up a good point though. That God loves his children enough to not bet their salvation on one time. does that make sense? Just because I miss a prompting doesnt mean that the person who wouldve heard the word and maybe changed their life doesnt have a chance.

 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how my mission goes. My mission has Compton in it which will be interesting! I just got an email with this month's key indicators(baptisms and lessons taught) so I might forward that to you too.

 

I'll write again soon! talk to you tomorrow! I'll call for a minute before I get on the plane!

 

Noah, how are your Youtube ventures going? ive been thinking about assisted living and your batman thing. Hope youre doing great.

 

Love you  all,

 

Silas

Two Weeks Down

Hey everyone,

Everyone meaning everyone I just forget everyone's emails...Anyways I have had a great week this week. The firesides and devotionals on Tuesday and Sunday were good. One of the 70, Elder Evans spoke. He talked about that painting. I think it's called the rescue? It was really great though. Let's see. Oh! I have my travel info. I leave the 21st at like 840 on a Delta flight. I am the all powerful travel leader, ha ha. So I have to make sure we don't lose anyone and we get there. I've been joking around with Elder Wetsker, my District Leader, that I have more power than him. Don't worry, I know that it doesn't matter!

So I get a lot of mail and I'm really grateful for that. Let's just take some time and realize how awesome Mom is. She made me a Seven layer cake and delivered it to me! My district was also really happy haha of course I had to share. Oh and Noah and Ella I got your letter/Drawing and thanks I like to hear from you.

Is there anything new going on? I've only been gone for a week but it feels like much longer. Everything is going well with my companion, Elder Hileman. He's a really smart guy when it comes to the scripture so we work pretty well. My district has 5 sisters and 4 elders which is pretty strange but they're all pretty nice. I'm excited to actually go to Long Beach now. I cant imagine being here for 12 weeks. Luckily God knows I can't do that, ha ha.

I hope the girls are doing well. I really missed Chloe the other day when someone was singing the "when the bee stings, when the dog bites, when I'm feeling sad" song. I love when she sings that song. Eden, what book are you reading? How is getting ready for school? Make sure to tell Ella I miss her too.

Noah I'm sending you a response to your letter shortly. Hows the book? Send me some and I'll read it. That's okay right?

Mom and Dad I'm also sending you letters. DAD. Happy Belated Birthday I hope it was great.

Make sure you tell Grammie and Grandma that im doing alright and I miss them.  Hmm I guess I find it interesting that I enjoy the MTC because I thought it would be terrible. It's not bad and mostly enjoyable. I just work 16 hours a day... ha which is really tiring.

I'll say goodbye by copy and pasting the letter to my branch president: 

President Oswald:
This week I worked towards becoming a more loving missionary. I wanted to do this because Jesus would not have been able to atone for our sins without the love that he had for each of us personally. To me, love is closely connected with charity and when I help others I feel love for them. Over the past week I worked on developing a deeper love for my companion and the rest of the Elders and Sisters in my district. I strive to shine my companion's shoes and hold the door open whenever I can. Doing these acts of service have helped me feel and show my love for the people around me.

As I have read through Preach my Gospel, the Doctrine of Christ has stuck out to me. This is probably because everything that we teach as missionaries has to do with faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. The scriptures show incredible examples of faith and enduring to the end. This week, Abinadi's ultimate sacrifice to teach the word of God to king Noah stood out to me. He had faith that no matter what happened, God's message was even more important than his own life. In Preach my Gospel, we learn to connect whatever we teach about to the Doctrine of Christ. It also shows how important it is to have people learning about the church develop their own faith.

I have tried to strengthen my companionship with Elder Hileman by serving him lovingly and trusting him more during our lessons. I am the type of person who sometimes thinks that I would be the best person for the job but I'm realizing that every companion that I will have has skills and abilities that I lack. I enjoy the time that I have with Elder Hileman. He knows more about the Scriptures than I do and has a good skill of connecting with investigators.

As a companionship and person goal, Elder Hileman and I have invited the spirit through prayer as often as we can. Before we go into a lesson, before we eat, before we get ready for the day, before we go to bed, after a lesson, during a lesson. I have never prayed this much in my life but I have also never felt the spirit this constantly before.

Thank you,

Elder Gallagher

Hope I get to hear from you all again next week!
Love you!

One Week Down

Okay, so the first day was really great which I think I really needed since the MTC is a pretty overwhelming experience. It was pretty hard to leave dad standing there and walk into the MTC but I did! My companion Elder Hileman is a really kind hearted guy from Idaho. We've been getting better at teaching together and making progress with teaching is one of the only ways you can be happy here so I'm really thankful for that!

 

I really miss you guys but I can honestly say that I definitely made the right choice by coming here. Everyday I read a ton of mail from Rach which makes it so doable, thank you. Family and whoever! Write me on dearelder.com It's so great to hear from people. I feel the spirit really strong after I pray and read the scriptures here. I finished the Book of Mormon this week which was really nice and faith building. I'm working on the New Testament and the Jesus the Christ book that mom gave me.

 

It has been really hard being stuck in here while Mom and whoever else is down the road at Grandpa's wake. It really stinks. They called me into a counseler's room and I pretty much figured it out before I got there. I am sad but I know that when I told Grandpa that I was going on a mission I made him really proud. He wants me to be here. I'm sorry that Noah and Eden couldn't see him before he died and I hope everyone is doing okay. You can always email me about anything.

 

I am having a good time with great teachers! Dad, my teacher Brother Austin is an animation student at BYU and he's really nice and good at teaching. Would it be alright if I first got your email and gave it to him? And I thought it was funny that I got a call and the lady was like, "hey I have your dad on the line" and I thought I was going to talk to you, but of course she just got the computer password from me. That was a bummer.

 

I'm running out of time. Ah I wish I had a ton more. Let's see...I went to the temple this morning which was really great. Everyone was right when they said the more you go the more you'll understand things. So I'm really glad I felt the spirit there. What do you want to know? We're teaching three "investigators" right now which is hard and a great learning experience. Its the easiest to teach someone when you get to really know them first.

 

Mom, I hope you're doing okay and just know that I'm doing fine and thank you for being friendly with Rach.

 

Noah, I miss you bud and I'm excited to talk to you soon. I think you wrote me a letter. So I'm excited to get that.

 

Eden! I hope you're getting ready for school and having a good summer

 

Chloe, I miss you and I love you and I cant wait to hear about gymnastics and see the pictures you drew me.

 

Ella, you can't read but I miss you too!

 

I'm out of time. The moral of the story is that I'm adjusting much better than I bet we all thought I would and that I really want to write you all letters and more emails. Also, I hope everyone is doing okay because it's really hard losing our last grandpa. I miss him a lot. See you guys next week!

 

Love you all,

 

Silas

Tonight!

Tonight we drive to JFK airport to take Silas to his mission. He will fly with Dave, who is going to a conference and a convention in the next 11 days in Utah and Los Angeles.

It is unreal and I do feel my heart will be on hold for two years. I will try to pray whole-heartedly and not worry.

He is a great boy who will come back a man.