Pictures of Ashy's Prom

April 14, 2007

Hey family!
How is everything going? Things have been pretty good here. Yesterday we had the confirmation of Junior and Rumaldo. They were both really happy to be members of the church. They both are amazing people and they have changed a lot since I have met them. This upcoming week we have Luis and Belem planned to get baptized. But he had to work yesterday so he didn’t come. He knows the book of Mormon is true and he prefers to read it than finish his other book that he only has three more chapters left. He understands a lot and he will probably get baptized this week and we will help his wife get baptized after. We can always teach him but it’s hard to teach her because she works from 11 to 9.
We passed by Jose Delgado the kid that elder Imlay and I baptized last transfer and he has already ready 400 pages in the book of Mormon. He reads on the train ride to work, at work and he is doing amazingly he will get the priesthood soon and is such a stud!
I called Kelvin Vargas last night and he is doing amazingly as well he goes to early morning seminary in Jamaica and loves it. He is such a strong convert. He amazes me!
Last week Aureliano came up and visited Elder Valdez and I and he talked to junior and it really helped him. He seemed so happy and the gospel really has helped him so much.
Kerin Freire from Dyker sent me a pillow case that says I love my missionary. It made me laugh, but it was good because I needed another pillow case. Being a missionary is worth it when you can see the changes in the people that you teach and how they love you. Serving a mission has been such a blessing! It’s been one of the best choices of my life.
Thank you all for the support that you give me and I consider myself one of the most blessed kids around.
It has been warming up and we are out of suits now. It’s nice to be able to walk around in slacks and a white shirt. I’m not too excited for the humid summer though. Mom can you send me some mesh garments at least 4-5 tops, and some Frito bean dip I would appreciate that.
It’s always exciting to hear how the family is doing. It sounds like everyone is busy in doing their own little things. Tell Kendall to get married! Ha-ha I’m sure everyone is saying that.
I know this last six months are going to go by way fast. And I’m excited because I feel like they are going to be the most effective of my mission. I’m glad dad taught me how to work, because hard work really does pay off! It’s good that Preston can do wood and learn how to work like his dad.!
How are Grandma Walston and Grandpa Jessup? Tell them hi for me! And that I love them. Tell the whole family hi and I love them. I hope everything is going great and that everyone is safe!
Love, Russ

April 6, 2008

Hey Family!
How is everything going? Things are great here! Conference was great I watched a majority of it in Spanish but it’s the same in both languages. We had a good amount of investigators show up and Junior or should I say Jose Francisco Zavala Loyola got baptized yesterday!
This week was a week that was very hard for junior. He had a lot of temptation and got in a small fight with his cousin, and he left the house and went and hung out with his friends who are just terrible people. He told us the next day that he hated it. In the month that we have been working with him he noticed a change in himself and he did not want to continue being friends with them so Friday he called us and at this point we didn’t think that the baptism was going to go through. So we were bummed, so we passed by and he had a huge change of heart and attitude and he didn’t want to continue his way and he told us that he wanted to cut his hair and I told him I knew someone that could cut his hair. So we passed by later that night and I cut his hair. His hair was so long I took lots of pictures and I’m going to send that home soon. It was fun just cutting and cutting away.
The baptism service was really good and he was really happy the only bad thing is the warm water ran out and the water was freezing…or at least I’m told, Elder Cosojay baptized him. Ha-ha!
Last night we past by Luis and Belem and we moved their baptism date back one week for the 20th of this month and they have a lot of good desires to change their lives. I’m really excited to work with them.
Conference was amazing and I’m still laughing about what Thomas S. Monson did in the priesthood session! I felt weird telling people that he was a prophet, but since the conference happen I know that he is a true prophet of God and that he will lead us in the path that we need to go. I know that the blessings that come from being a member of this church are huge and the knowledge and guidance that he can offer us is priceless.
I love you all and hope to hear from you soon. How many Hummer tours does dad do a week? How is everyone else? I love you all.

Love, Russ

March 31, 2008

Hey Family!
How is everything going? This week has passed by really fast. We have doing amazing lately yesterday we had 6 investigators in church and we are going to be having Junior Zavala’s baptism this Sunday in-between the morning and afternoon session.
I’m really excited for him because I have already seen a change in him. He has crazy long hair so it will make for some good pictures. He has been reading a lot and has the best questions. He is nineteen and used to have so many problems its amazing if someone really wants to change they really can.
We had a new investigator come yesterday with her son and she is from Colombia and I think she liked the church, but her kid Michael loved the church and wants to come back for scouts on Tuesday. The ward did a really good job in fellowshipping them.
This week we have a temple trip on Thursday and I’m and it is going to awesome. Its always fun going to Manhattan, and I’m really happy to go to conference. This one is going to be amazing. I’m going to miss the cinnamon rolls, but there is a member here that works at Cinnabon and she always hooks us up with the cinnabons that are almost as good as yours mom!
You said that my cd matured? Is there a way to put it back in to another cd? And also I’ll be looking out for the other memory card. And I’m going to hand write a letter to the Winklers. Dad is now a professional hummer tour guide! That’s great for him.
We have a lot of great people to work with and I’m really excited for this up coming month. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!
Love Russ

March 24, 2008

Hey family
Wow the death of Rick Wrinkler has hit me really hard. I can remember a lot of scout trips with him and including the time he took Josh and me to Brighton to go skiing. I would really like to have their address so I can write Geri and their family a letter. Death is hard but the atonement and the plan of salvation really make it a lot easier to understand and deal with it. That’s crazy.
So this last week has been pretty normal we hit goals again and we have bumped Junior’s Baptism for the 6th of April that is a very good day to do it. There have been so many great things that have happened on the 6th of April, the birth, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the restoration of the church as well. So I think that it would be a good day to get baptized! I’m really excited for him and he is such a stud, his prayers and attitude of life have really changed.
Also we got a date with Luis Rojas and his wife Belem for the 13th of April. And we found this part family that the wife wants to join the church and raise her kids in it. They have to get married but they won’t have any problems with that because both of them have never been married before. I’m really excited for that!
I did get the package and thank you so much I appreciate it and I got it yesterday so it came on time! That’s funny what that guy didn’t say about Jamaica; we actually are going to go down there today to buy some hats. It’s quite the place, if I ever take you all there maybe we could just drive through it!
Bummer about the damage on the truck, built ford tough I guess, one puny little deer isn’t a match for a F250 Ford! The suburban is pretty tough as well! I saw a guy riding a bike get hit by a car and he rolled of the car and laid on the ground for a second got up and picked up his hat and continued on his way. I could imagine how it feels to be hit by a Ford truck!
I’m glad to hear that Kendall is dating someone that’s great for him. He has to watch out for those Parawon girls I hear they are like them Beaver girls :)
That’s too bad about Stephen Harmison, my roommate Eric Panicke use to have huge panic attacks (the last name does go with that) and it was really bad but they got him on some kind of medicine and he is doing fine he is serving in Minnesota. I have faith that Stephen will be able to return on the mission. He is a good kid.
I’m glad to hear that Grandma is doing good. It sounds like you all keep having fun with out me snowboarding and all that fun stuff! You only have about seven more months to be crazy and then you can be normal and boring when I get back!
I love you all and hope that everything is going great. Please give my consolations to the Winkler family.
Love Russ

March 17, 2008

Hey family!
How is everything going? How has your week been? Ours has past rather quickly! We had the baptism of Rumaldo Sanchez yesterday and he was really calm but happy about it. He is a stud and completely changed his schedule to be able to come to church. We have some good pictures of that so I’ll have to get them to you soon. I’m going to be sending a memory card home and my other one is almost full.
Also the lord keeps blessing us here. Last week we got juked by an investigator and then some kid named Junior called us and wanted us to pass by right then so we said of course. So this kid Junior Zavala is a cousin of a member and he is amazing, he has so many great questions. When we passed by the first time he told us he was down on faith, so we talked about faith and faith in Jesus Christ and in the first lesson we told him that the way he can have more faith is through baptism so we have a date for the 13th of April but we are going to move it up.
Also the blessings continue... Luis our commit for the 30th we couldn't find him for a couple of days so we decided to pass by at night so we passed by at 8:30 and it turns out that he had a wife and she is way interested in the church they are both from Mexico and she use to go to a melodist church and he is catholic, but they love us passing by and they are amazing, we passed by and went with them to church and they really liked it and the services were really good. The members really fellowshipped them so well. I get really nervous bringing people to church in anyplace in New York because the church is still really young here. When we had fast and testimony meeting our Relief Society President got up and shared her testimony and she start talking about how she use to wear immodest clothing and how she gave away all her "sexy clothes" after her baptism. She went off about some other things that we just don't talk about in sacrament meeting. And then another person got up and said that the bishop is the murder of injustice and the hero of standards. Oh and in priesthood there is a guy named Hermano Moron, in Spanish Mooron and he always gets up and starts yelling at who ever is teaching and he threaten to shoot everyone because that’s the way they handle things in his country. Ha-ha the ward is really strong here though they definitely need the missionaries and they still rely on us a lot. The bishop is from Peru and he is amazing and really works hard.
But it is always a fun experience bringing people to church. We had 3 new investigators in church so I was really happy. We have hit goals 4 out of the six weeks here. We will be having more baptisms soon, and it’s a really exciting time to be a missionary.
Transfers are tomorrow and Elder Imlay is going to Patchog and I’m going to be here with Elder Cosajay, he is from Guatemala but grow up in the United States, but I’m excited to really improve my Spanish.
I’m glad that you all are staying so busy. It sounds like real estate will keep dad busy. Ryan Stubbs isn't married? Tell him hi, he is a really good guy. How is the rest of the family? Missionaries from Moab? Tell Grandma Walston and Grandpa Jessup hi! I love you all and have to go!
Love Russ

March 3, 2008

Hey familia!
How is everything going in good ole Utah? It sounds like things are going great! There was a lot of good news, which makes me happy to hear. Ollie Knutson will be missed he was a good man. I remember going to the Knutson’s shop and he was always there cracking a joke and really made everyone laugh. Yesterday we had two baptisms, and it seems to me that we did it in one the hardest ways possible. We had Pamela Gualdo's baptism in the morning at twelve a clock and then we baptized Jose Delgado after church. We had a big day at church we got there at 10 and left about at six! The services were amazing and our new commit Rumaldo surprised us and came and went to 3 hours of church and then he to the baptism and had a really spiritual time, during one of the songs he started to cry a little bit. And this last week we found this new investigator knocking that is amazing. We have about 10 progressing investigators and we are having a lot of success. Being transferred here was a blessing in disguise and things are really going great.
This past week we had to move from Jackson heights and now we are living one street away from the church in Woodside. So we are living out of our area by two train stops and it’s actually really not as inconvenient as I thought it would be. Our new apartment is smaller but a lot nicer too. And plus we can play basketball in the church since we are so close. Where is Carson Dalton serving? Daniel Johnson? And anyone else? It seems like everyone is going everywhere. That’s amazing that Caitlin is baptized. It’s amazing how much the gospel will help them. It’s what they need.
I’m really happy here and it’s starting to warm up a bit, I love you all sooo much and good luck with everything!
Love, Russ

March 10, 2008

Hey Family,
I apologize that my last week email didn't get to you. I re-sent it so hopefully you get it. And I wrote it before Ashlyn’s and Preston's, mom!
So this week has been really good like the last week, we had the confirmations of Pamela and Jose yesterday and they were both extremely happy. It took some work to get them baptized but it was worth all the effort we put in. Rumaldo Sanchez is going to get baptized this Sunday and on the the 30th we have Luis Rojas who will get baptized as well. Rumaldo (Guatamalteco) ordered a video from the church and use to work on Sundays. We asked him to ask his boss for Sundays off and he said no! And so we told him that he needed to ask once more or quit. After that we lost contact with him for a week and he finally got Sundays off and it's his only day off during the whole week. And to teach him we have been passing by his house in the mornings and riding the train with him to work. He came yesterday and really likes the church and he always has the biggest smile when he sees us. He told me yesterday that he want us to send the book of Mormon to his old pastor and congregation in Guatemala. We told him we can. So he is going try to get the addresses of everyone down there.
Luis Rojas, we found him knocking and he is a 26year old (Mexican) he is amazing and really loves us passing by, he use to drive buses in Mexico in a lot of different places and he told us that he would be in the furtherest weirdest places and he would always see missionaries walking or riding bikes and he saw them everywhere in Mexico. He always thought they were students and always wanted to ask them who they were. So we came to his door he wanted to know who we were and let us in and we had a very powerful first lesson and he has been reading the book of Mormon and he told me that it has a power that keeps his attention. He will make an amazing priesthood holder. I’m really excited for him and Rumaldo.
Last night we went to look up a lady that I contacted on the street, so we passed by her house and we found Florida’s number one investigator. When we knocked on the door a Dominican lady answered holding a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish with her finger marking the spot where she was reading. And we were shocked at first and then we got really excited because, who anwsers the door reading the book of Mormon? We started to ask her how she likes the book and if she lives here. We found out that she is from Florida and she is planning on getting baptized and she said she really likes our church and she keep saying "it's cool", it was funny to us so anyways we are going back to teach the friend that I contacted and she is going to have to join the church because her friend is getting baptized in Florida and she has a sister that is already a member. So she is getting attacked by every direction. It’s exciting to know that the gospel is being taught in every place and that the Lord is preparing people in every place to hear us.
This next Tuesday is transfers and I think Elder Imlay will be leaving but it would be cool to leave him here for one more. I really hope I don't get transferred so quick like last time. I still get to see a lot of the members here because we live so close to the church, I saw a less active on the train the other day. It’s a small world even in New York. I have even seen some investigators from Jamaica two weeks ago.
I got the letter with the announcement, thanks for sending it. Tell them congratulations and good luck with everything. This week I’ll hit 7 months left! Time is flying!
I love you all!
Love Russ

February 25, 2008

Hey!
This week went by really quick, every week it seems like it just goes faster and faster! This last week we hit president’s goals again. (Not too many missionaries hit them) so we have two baptisms for this next Sunday, Jose Vargas and Pamela Cruz. Next week we have Humberto Cruz that could be baptized and the week after we have Rumaldo Sanchez that wants to get baptized. Humberto and Rumaldo need a lot of work but I have the faith that they will make great members.
The story with Rumaldo is that he works like crazy and has his free day on Wednesday and he could only meet with us on Wednesday. So the week before we taught him and tried committing him for baptism he said no because he had to work Sundays and couldn't make it to church. So we had a great lesson on keeping the Sabbath day holy and having faith to ask his boss for Sundays off and he said he would try and he did! He has a lot of faith and is very willing. For an immigrant to ask for work off when work for them is very scarce takes a lot of faith! He is going to need to be taught a lot but I’m sure that he can take the right steps to get baptized.
Last night I called Giovanni Luna and he is now 10 and I talked to him for a long time and told me that I’m his favorite missionary and when I called he was reading his scriptures. Which made me super happy, also I talked to his mom and she and her husband since the baptism have completely reactivated and they are planning to be sealed in the temple soon. If they go I could go to that as well. It made me really happy to talk to them and I know that I had an affect in their lives. I've been seeing the blessings from my labors. The church can change the lives of so many people. It’s such an exciting time to be a missionary. Thank you for all the support you gave me to go on a mission.
The Lord has been blessing us so much here. We have so many great people to work with we started to teach a huge Mexican family and they are so excited to hear us.
It sounds like you all have been having fun. Ashy with her basketball game and all the grandbabies make it worth it! I’m excited to see all them in 8 months! I bought some Jordan basketball sures so I’m going to be practicing so I can beat Ashlyn when I get home.!!
That’s so crazy that Mike is home already! I can't believe it some people from my grade will be coming home!
I'm glad I'm not getting married for a while! I’m going to have to live in the garage for at least 10 years and now that you have that big screen I'm sure I’ll feel right at home! :)
That is awesome that Kendall is Elder Quorum President! He will do a great job! That should help him to know his ward and I’m sure all the relief society girls will want to date him! I love you all ! I appreciate all the letters and everything.
Love, Russ