"It is hot"

Dear family,

 

             Things are going well here in Ceres CA and it is hot.  We had a baptism this last Saturday of a 9 year old boy and his name is Tonatihu Morales had he is HILARIOUS.  He is the sweetest kid ever and he just says the funniest random stuff.  His mom just came from being semi/less active to activity and he got baptized right after.  This weekend we will have 2 more baptisms that were supposed to happen this last weekend but 2 hospital emergencies.  Ivan, the first one, his wife had her baby 2 weeks early so we are waiting so she can be there and then the other one, Angelina, had her mom go to the hospital so she took her.  We are really trying to get ready for Sept right now.  I am not the Senior companion cause when your a zone leader you are co-seniors but I have been here longer and my companion is a brand new zone leader so I am teaching how to be a zone leader and guiding things but we are co-seniors.  My companion Elder Gygi was in the same MTC district as me so we know each other well.

               We are having about 20-25 lessons per week so we are teaching quite a bit but we are trying to find a little more right now so we can be ready for the months ahead.  Things are going well and the zone is ramping up for a really good September.  We have great district leaders and just a great set of missionaries so it is really easy to be a zone leader haha.

              We are still working out everyday but sunday and I am staying fit so things are good with that.  We are going to play basketball right now when I am done so I am excited for that.  Pictures will be coming through the computer next week so get excited!  I am sorry I have been putting things off but I promise Preparation days have been really busy with different random stuff different weeks and I have not been napping haha.

               I know the Church is true and that Heavenly Father is a real person.  He really is some where right now watching, and caring for us and listening to us.  Jesus really suffered, died and came back to live as a resurrected person.  I know they really are true and my mission has done that for me.  I love my Heavenly Father SO much and I just want to make Him happy and I know that we will live for ever together if we can be obedient.  Not to earn God's permission into heaven but to prepare our hearts to be in His presence because through obedienc our hearts are changed through the Atonement to be able to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  It is not that we are obedient to pay back the debt because even if we did our very best we would still be "unprofittable" (mosiah 2).  I love you all so much and want to live with each of you for ever.  Share this with everyone you can cause whats a family reunion with out all our brothers and sisters.  You all know that 90% of our family for Christmas is just not good enough.  Everyone needs to get home and we need and GET to help them do it.

 

-Love Elder Neeley

Companion sick and a car to be waxed... busy, busy, busy

Dear family,

 

          Today will have to be short (I'm sorry!).  My companion got sick today and we had to wax our car because of a zone conference and I also had to cut my hair which doesn't happen every week and it all happened this week so hurray!  I love you all a ton though and I really can feel your prayers and your love.  I feel your support as I go through out the day and it is wonderful to know that my family is there for me and that you are wonderful examples to me in the Gospel.  Dad to respond to some questions, no shoes or camera,  i am sorry but I already stated the craziness of the day so next week it will be done.  I will be going back home on May the 27th of 2013.  I am pretty sure cause that is what they told me pretty much when I started but I would rather not bring that up.  It is so crazy how fast the time goes and how it feels like I just started my mission.  I think I will be going to school in the summer because that is what I told BYU but I don't know but it is something I will think about as I would like some time home with all of you.

          Angelina, one of our investigators, was supposed to get baptized on this past Sunday yesterday, but was admitted to the hospital on Saturday night so she rescheduled for this next Sunday and we have 2 others on Saturday at 6.  We are very excited and seeing these people tonight.  The work is great and I LOVE being a missionary.  I get very envious of the sons of Mosiah and their 14 year missions as mine winds down more and more.  It drives me nuts.  I really can't and and don't want to imagine not being a missionary.  Well I love you all and am so proud and excited about the missionary work that you are doing and telling me about.  Grandma is a missionary machine!  I love you all!!!

 

-Love Elder Neeley

Thanks for the Letters!

Dear family,

 

           Thanks for your emails and your letters.  I love you all so much and am so happy you are my family cause you are the BEST!!!  We did have a baptism this last week and it was a girl named Vivian who is 11.  We have been working with her cause her mom is a member and she just surprised us.  We have 2 more this weekend and 2 more this month.  We are working hard and I am getting a new companion.  His name is Elder Gygi and I was in the MTC district with him.  I am super excited for this transfer cause I know that the zone is going to be on fire and we are going to be more obedient and more unified than ever.  I love you all SO much I can't even describe.  I love this work and you all mean so much to me.  Thank you JoAnna and Aunt Krsten for your emails they meant a lot to me and hearing from you.  I also enjoyed my emails from Grandma, Dad and Uncle Keith but I thought I would mention those specifically as well.  I am SO happy that you are all working hard to be missionaries!!!!!!!!! that is so awesome and I pray for you all individually and for your problems and stresses and your happiness.  Please keep telling me and updating me on your missionary efforts.  I am going to get a camera this week so don't worry about that.  I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

"Things are Well"

Dear family,

 

             Thank you for all your emails this week and also all the letters from the family down at the beach!  I appreciated them a ton and today I will not be able to write back because of a few other items of business but I hope to write back a few of you next week.  As well don't worry if you can't send letters or you haven't or you are busy or what ever.  I love to hear from you but I understand how life gets and I am always praying for you and do feel your love for me.  So don't feel like you are a bad person if you don't get a chance to write me.  I am so gald that you are all enjoying lots of time together.  It always makes me happy to hear that you all get to see eachother and spend quality time with one another.  One thing I have truly realized on my mission is the importance of family and not just a family but an eternal one and I am greatful for mine.  I love you all so much!

              I will for sure go buy a camera and just keep using my card so I don't need to buy one of those but maybe as well I will buy a piece of equipment to but the pictures right on the computer instead of sending the memory card to Sarah or hard copies to you all.  As well I will be taking care of the shoes as well so no worries.

              Also it is great to hear that all of the kids are doing lots of stuff like EFY and Youth Conference because those are the things that they need to be doing cause they certainly are not getting those wonderful messages everyday with their friends.  Keep praying as a family and reading the scriptures together and going to the temple when you can because when you look at how much bad influence in the world there truly is no time to waste.  There can't be one day where we aren't praying and reading because promise satan isn't resting and especially for the youth, they have those influences around them daily and need that spiritual refuge at home.  Don't miss out on it.  President Packer said that "the spiritual shield is made at home".  Not even in churhc or seminary but at home.  We can't just go to church every week and expect to have a lasting protection and conversion to the gospel.

              We had 3 baptisms this past week as Yobanni Cabrera(12 year old boy), Emmanuel Matadamas (which his last name means kills women, 8 year old boy) and Tania Garcia (25 year old woman) were all baptized.  Tania was baptized by her boyfriend who is a convert of a month and they are getting married next week (they don't live together).  Then in a year I hope and pray I will be able to come back from Utah and visit cause they should be getting sealed in that time!  I love them so much and truly feel a portion of the Saviour's love for them as I get the chance to teach them and guide them to the truth.  We had a lady come up to us in the store today and just tell us that she came to church and then gave us her adress and number and told us to come by so that was really awesome.  Hopefully she will get baptized as well.  We have 3 baptisms right now planned for August but there will be atleast 4 because we have some other people we are working close with who are on the edge.

              We have transfers this week and Elder DeWitt is going to Argentina on Monday and we will see what happens with me and Elder Burnett.  I have a feeling that there will be a change though.

               Things are well and we are working very hard.  I love you all so much and hope that the missionary work is going well in your lives.  I have heard a few stories of missionary work from some members of our family but I would love to hear all of your stories from each of you.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!