September 15, 2009: Letter to Family

Hey everyone! This last week was a great week. We picked up 5 new investigators, had one baptism, and I get to baptize Carlis this Saturday!!! Ahh I'm really excited. One of our new investigators is named Trena. We've been trying to teach her for forever and she finally agreed. It's going well so far. Another one we picked up is named Ashley. She is a single mom in her 20's that lives in Stonehedge. We've taught her once and hope to meet with her again soon. She has a baptismal date for October 3rd. On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Quanstrom. We were at a doctors appointment for him all morning it seemed like. He's having some hard core headaches, etc. He goes home in a few weeks. He's so trunky it's rediculous. It's really annoying cause he always tells us how much time he has left. It's just going to make time go by slower for him. Whatever. Another one of the investigators we picked up is a 16 yr. old guy that is friends with a member in the Oak Hills ward. He seems pretty cool and open to the Gospel. On Friday we went to lunch with Bro. Child to Cafe Rio. That place is sooo good. We go there with him every week it seems like. After lunch we taught a lady named Sandy and when we asked if we could have a prayer with her, she said yes, but that when she prays she kneels in a circle and holds hands. Haha it was funny. I don't know if anything will happen with her though cause she's 7th day advenist. Right before that lesson with Sandy we saw someone get arrested in Stonehedge lol. It was funny. This is random but my companion and I say that we are the baptism crashers. Kinda like wedding crashers that go for the single women, but instead, we go for the non-members haha. Anyway, on Saturday Bro. & Sis Mathis took us out to lunch at Olive Garden. We had a hot artichoke spinach dip for the appetizer, I had Chicken Alfredo for the main dish, and then I had italian Chocolate Gelato for dessert. It was so good. I had been craving Olive Garden ever since we had it the day I went into the MTC. It was very nice of them to take us out. After that we did some work in the area, but at 4pm, we went to the church to start getting ready for Kaitlyn Hamblin's baptism. We had started filling the font earlier, but the fam needed help with other things. It was a great service, and about 40 people came. They even had a dinner for everyone at the church afterwards. On Sunday we gave a talk in the Oak Hills ward, taugh Young Mens in the Aspen Cove Ward, and taugh Relief Society for about 15 minutes in the YSA ward. We also got to participate in Kaitlyn's confirmation. Later that night we picked up more investigators. We have been having a lot of success from the members and from working with them. It's worth it to invest time in them. On monday I went on exchanges again with Elder Smith. It was a good day and we had another movie night with refreshements at a members home. We showed The Testaments and invited investigators to come. The Spirit was so strong there. Oh and Elder Smith and I got soaked in the rain earlier that day. It was fun though. We went to the Ogden Temple this morning and did an endowment session. It was nice. Then we went and got something to eat and went to Wal-Mart. We are going to the Tidwells for dinner tonight. Things here are going well. Our area is doing a lot better and we have baptisms set up for the next 4 weeks! My testimony is strong and I am doing well. I put all yalls name in the Temple every week and keep you in my thoughts and prayers daily. I love you and miss you guys. I hope to hear from you soon. The church is true!~Elder Watts

New Photos

Elder Smith and Elder Watts caught in a rainstorm.
Baptism of Kaitlyn

September 15, 2009: Letter to Alicia

Hey!It sounds like you guys are really busy with everything. That's so good that the missionaries challenged you to give a BofM to someone. Something that you and James should study is Preach My Gospel. It's something that can really help you be a great missionary, and it's not just for us out on missions, it's for members too. If you don't have one, get one. Transfers are in 2 weeks. I don't know what is going to happen. I could stay or I could go. We'll see what happens. I'm putting my faith in the Lord that he will inspire the leaders to make the right decisions. Alicia, it sounds like you are crazy busy. That's good, but make sure you have time to relax and not only recharge physically, but spiritually as well. It's so important that we keep our foundations strong. It's rained in Chico already? Is it still hot? It's started to rain here and the leaves are changing colors. Well I better go but I'll write more in a letter in get it in the mail soon. I get to baptize Carlis this Saturday! I'm so excited. Things are going well and my testimony is strong. I love you and hope to hear from you soon. ~Elder Watts

September 8, 2009

Hey yall!So I've decided to try something different this week. Instead of trying to email everyone while I'm here in the Family History Center, I'm going to write one mass email for everyone. I'll print out everyone's emails and then write hand written letters back to everyone's individual emails they send me. So a lot has happened since I last emailed. Last Wednesday we took one of our investigators, Carlis, to a baptism so that she could see what it is going to be like for her. After the baptism we took her to a members home and watched Finding Faith in Christ. She really enjoyed the evening and could feel the Spirit. She is excited for her baptismal date on Sept. 19th. She might have be baptize her too! :) On Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Greep from the Stake next door to us. He came to our area while my companion went in their area. It was fun and we had a good time. Elder Greep waves to everyone though lol....like every single person that drives by, even if they don't wave first. It seemed like he was always waving. It was funny. I wouldn't ever do it though haha. We didn't have a dinner appointment that night so Brother Killpack brought us Olive Garden at our apartment for dinner. It was soooo good. I haven't had Olive Garden since the day I went into the MTC. We picked up a new investigator this week too. His name is Evan Jones and is about 9 or 10 years old. He has a date for later this month, can't remember exactly though. On Friday our zone had interviews with President Olson. My interview went really well and we had a nice visit for about 20 minutes. This last Saturday was sooo long. It was the holiday weekend so we weren't able to set up any appointments for the day. We ended up going to auxilaries homes and visiting the youth to try and find more people to teach. It was a long day but I think we used our time effectively. On Sunday we taught the young men in the Oak Hills ward. We of course talked about missionary work and taught them how to invite their friends to meet with us. Carlis was at church as always, and loved fast & testimony meeting. I was going to bear my testimony but one of the counselors of the bishop gave a short talk on what a testimony really is, and then they has selected people to bear their testimonies...I think to set an example for all of the members. On Labor day (yesterday), we had to push a baptism for one of our 9 year old investigators back 1 month. Kyana's baptism was supposed to be this Saturday, but there is a bunch of family problems going on so it's not going to happen until October. It sucks cause Kyana is ready but there isn't anything we can do about it. We set up another appointment to start teaching another little 9 or 10 year old. It seems like a lot of our work is with kids and part members families. Haha k so me and Elder Williams were walking down the street yesterday and this guy on a bike rode up to this house and got off the bike across the street and when he was looking our way Elder Williams waved at him and the guy shook his head at us and then went inside. It was funny lol. We've been teaching this guy named Brunell Marshall, and his wife has been baptised, but he hasn't. He's been taught everything but needs to quit smoking. We have a Stop Smoking Workshop that we are going to start with him this Saturday that I hope will work. I've noticed that in this area, we teach a lot of African Americans and a lot of little kids. I forgot to tell you when I was writing about Carlis, but she calls me Crazy Elda Watts hahaha. Idk why exactly but it's funny and I love it. She's been my favorite investigator so far. We went to the Bountiful Temple this morning. I love going to the Temple every week. I want to keep going each week after my mission too if I can pull it off. I actually wouldn't mind working/volunteering in the Temple. I think it would be great. Doesn't Aaron Watts do that? Anyway, Stake conference is coming up on the 19th & 20th. The Stake Presidency might have us talk for a few minutes or share our testimony so we'll see what happens. I think it'd be cool. I guess the theme is going to concentrate a lot on missionary work. My companion and I are giving a talk in the Oak Hills ward this sunday. I enjoy speaking in Sacrament Meetings. We do have one baptism scheduled for this Saturday for Katlyn Hamblin. She is 9 years old and her mom Natalie is already a member. They are really hard to get a hold of but we finally set it all up so I'm excited. Missionaries before us did a lot of the teaching but it will still be cool to be a part of it. I haven't gotten the package you sent yet. Hopefully it will come later today. I got Amy Johnson's thank you note. I sent her a letter back. Hey it's so weird cause we are trying to teach this 13 year old kid named Alex Johnson. We've set up a few appointments with him and it's been so weird to see that name in my planner because it makes me think of Alex everytime I see it lol. Is Jenni and Alicia keeping my Facebook and Blog updated? Yall should post these letters on there. I still need Heidi Aponte's address. Can Jenni get that for me? She sent me a letter but I need an address to send back to. I hope everyone is doing well. I put everyone's names in the Temple this morning. :) Things are going well here. I am having a fun time with my companion and am enjoying the work. We have been focusing on member involvement in missionary work and it is starting to pay off. I love you guys and miss you so much. I keep you in my prayers daily. The church is true!!! I can't wait to hear from you guys. Let me know what you think about this whole mass email thing. I'll still write letters home to everyone's emails but I thought that maybe one big letter would be better. Ler me know what you think. Oh and I'm still trying to find someone that can make cd's of all my pics and videos so I can send them to you. Love ya! -Elder Watts

August 25, 2009: Letter

Hey!So last wednesday was transfer day. We went to the Classic Fun Center which is kinda like a Cal Skate. It was fun. I tried to roller blade for the first time and I think I lasted for about 3 minutes. It was so embarassing lol. You don't even know. I had to hold on to everyone and I almost fell and everything haha. Definetly something I'm not good at. My new companion Elder Williams is pretty cool, he kinda looks like Eminem a little bit. A car drove by the other day blaring Eminem and it reminded me of Seth and all those late nights picking him up downtown. :) He has been out for 14 months so he's my greenie buster. We get along pretty well. He pops his fingers all the time though which is pretty annoying. The Temple dedication was great! We went to the 9am session at the Stake Center. All the church meetings were cancelled just for the dedication. We were walking there and it was raining and I told my companion, "wouldn't it be nice if someone stopped and gave us a ride?" and then right after I said that, someone did! It was cool. Have yall ever heard of Temple Riders? They are a bunch of people that ride around on motorcycles with chuch clothes underneath their leathers and go and see all the temples. Just an fyi for ya haha. We've been trying to teach this lady Andrea lately. She wants to be a cop but seems like she's on Speed so idk what's gonna happen. She's really funny and cool so I'd like to start meeting with her. She lives in the Stonehedge apartments...pretty ghetto and kinda weird sometimes but a lot of our work is in them. We were trackting the other day and we rang the door bell at this house and the kid came to the door, looked through the window, opened the door about 2 inches, said "no thanks", shut the door and locked it lol. It was funny. It's interesting how Heavenly Fathers makes us laugh and cheers us up. We are giving 2 talks in two different wards this coming sunday. One on the 9th article of faith and the other on missionary work. Wish us luck! A few days ago we chased down a guy to talk to him. He was walking in front of us so he didn't see us running but it was fun. Nothing ended up happening but it was funny to think about ppl that may have been watching us chase a guy down to do a contact. Okay I've got something cool to tell you. Sister Phillips is a lady we contacted in the Skyline apartments which are similar to Stonehedge, but not as ghetto. Anyway, we contacted her when I first got here, and we've been visiting with her and talking to her about the gospel ever since. She was already a member, but inactive. After we met her and kinda taught her she started coming back to church and has been doing great ever since. She is getting ready to get her Temple Recommend too I think. She told us the other day that because of us she has been going back to church, and that we have really helped her in the Gospel and with her testimony. She goes to church every week now. She told us that she will never be able to repay us for what we have done for her. I can't explain how amazing it felt to hear that. It feels so good to know that I've helped someone get back into church and come unto Christ. :) Things are going well here in Lay-town. We went to the Temple this morning and that was really nice. That's exciting to hear about the property that dad has been trying to buy from Doug Snarr. I hope he can get it! That would be so cool, as well as the door shop! I'm gonna send you more pictures in the mail today. I'll try to get a cd to yall as well...I need a member to help me out with that. In answer to some of the questions, we have 9 wards that we attend, and we usually go to 3 per week. We have 2 little girls with baptismal dates coming up. One of Sept. 5th and the other on the 12th. Jack is potty training?! Aww haha. I got a hair cut today at a salon that does it for free for missionaries. It looks great. K well I better write everyone else before I have to go. I'll write more in a letter later and send it to you with pictures. I love you and miss you sooo much. I'm keeping you in my prayers daily. The church is true!Love,Micheal