Playing Re-Po Men

Dear family,

          I am glad that you have all been doing well and enjoying the pictures.  I will send more next week for sure.  We have 2 baptisms scheduled for the 10th of November of two young ladies of 13 and 9 years of age.  We found them through that recent convert I told you about last week.  This past week we taught 26 lessons and 14 were to investigators.  It was a pretty good week.  We have transfers this Wednesday and I will be here with Elder Gygi for another 6 weeks so I am excited for that.  The next transfer will be mid December before I call home so I may be some where else before the call but that is still a little ways off and you will know before the call anyway.

          We had a really crazy day as we moved a lady named Dian from a super ghetto part of town and we found out after we got there that she was moving out cause her old roommate (Jannette) would get drunk and beat her.  So they were fighting and screaming at each other and swearing lots and the roommate hit Dian in the head with a door so she came out screaming and was like "she hit me, y'all saw it.  Call the cops!"  So we were a little worried as she told us to go in the house and get her bed that her roommate did not want to give away.  We played re-po for the day and then we went to do apartment checks and a large Tongan Elder tackled my companion and abused him.  They were just palying but it was really funny.

         I love being a missionary and I miss you all and pray for you.  I don't want my mission to end cause this is the greatest thing I have done so far in my life and I love being here.  I hope you all continue  to read and pray daily and share you testimonies with others every single day.  I love you all!!!!

-Love Elder Neeley

Recovering from food poisoning

Dear family,

             So right now things are going well in California as the weather continues to cool down.  The work is going really well as we are continuing to find new people and strengthen those we are working with.  We should be having some baptisms come up this month.  We have preparation today, wednesday, because yesterday and monday we were in fresno for a leadership training.  I got to work in my old area for the night and saw some recent converts that we baptized and it was great.  Then I got food poisoning and threw up at like 1:30 in the morning on tuesday morning.  That was not so fun.  So now I am finally feeling better but it was a rough day yesterday.  A guy named Greg Mckewoen (I think that is roughly how you spell it) came and did training on tuesday called the "The Essentialist" he is the co-author of the book "Multipliers" and lot of others.  He is a friend of President Gelwix and travels the world giving leadership trainings to companies and stuff for LOTS of money.  Dad are you still going to go do training in President Jordan's mission in London one of these days.  That would be great!  If you wait til I get home I will go with you.  It would be a burden and all to travel around London and all and see missionaries but I love you so much Dad that I would sacrifice for you - haha.

            We are working with a lady who wants to be baptized but her husband is super catholic and doesn't let her come to church so we went by this morning and she was like, "I don't know how but I am getting to church this sunday!"  So please pray for Maria Gonzalez and that her husbands heart may be softened that she may be baptized.  We are working with another sister of a member and we had a very spiritual lesson this morning where she felt the Spirit and began to cry as we testified of God's love for her and how she is never too far from Him and His light.  We taught her of the Book of Mormon and she will be baptized here soon.  Her name is Maria, as well, and if you could keep her in your prayers that she may recieve a confirmation of these things to be true that would be great.  I love you all so much and pray for you always.  Keep being a missoinary every single day.  I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

-Love Elder Neeley

"I love being on the Lord's errand"

Oct. 8th, 2012

Dear family,

             Things are going well here in California and things are finally starting to cool down a little.  We are working with a lot of people right now but because we had a strecht a month ago of very little finding it will be tough to get these people ready for this month to get baptized but the end of this month and november should hold lots of success.  We are working with a lot of wonderful families and people to have a desire to be baptized but just need some more preparation.  There is one 12 year old boy who wants to get baptized and he is so smart.  He just gets the Gospel and as we explain it he is like "duh, of course we need a restoration" or "of course we need to be obedient to follow Jesus Christ".  He is awesome and should be baptized at the end of this month.

               General Conference was awesome and we had 7 people come watch and they really enjoyed it.  I love all the talks and really don't know which was my favorite cause they were all so good.  I think Elder Oaks though may have been my very favorite about kids and the importance of treating and teaching them well.  I love Priesthood session too and President Monson's talk.  He follows the Spirit so well it amazes me and I try to emulate that in my mission and life.

                As far as transfers I don't think I should be transfered but I don't know really.  I will have been here for 5 and a half months at the end of this one so I don't know how it will go but I hope to stay.  I love it here and the work is going well and the members are wonderful and so missionary minded.  My companion and I get along well and we will see if we stay together.  The transfer is on halloween day the 31st but we will find out the Saturday before.

               My spelling is awful but I have been catching most of it I think but I keep spelling stuff really badly and then catch it after.  My spanish is getting better though and I just contribute it to that.  Sorry about the pictures they just didn't send so I will upload them next week and send them again.

                We see miracles every day here in the field and it is so amazing.  It is just like President Monson says about just following the Spirit and being the answer to people's prayers.  So many times we stop by and people are just at the breaking point and are about to drink or smoke or are really feeling low and need the Spirit in their lives.  It is amazing and I love being on the Lord's errand.  Doing what He wants through His Spirit is one of the best feelings cause you know you literally are doing what He would do if He were here.  I know that you can do the same in your lives and be the  blessing to those you don't even know are praying for your help.  God knows though and if we listen He will send us to answer their unspoken prayer.  I love missionary work cause all it is, is sharing my happiness with others and I pray you will all do the same.  I love you all so much and keep you all in my prayers.

-Love Elder Neeley

Break-dancing and Clip-on ties

Oct. 1st, 2012

Dear family,

               I know that you love pictures so I will start by describing them.  The little mexican boy is named Johnny Ochoa and he break dances for us when we come over and dresses like a "little brother" on sundays with his clip on tie.  He wants to be a missionary but his family still has not decided to get baptized.  The other two mexican boy are Victor (the chubbier one) and Luis, they are Johnny's brothers.  Then there is the picture in front of the river with me and the whole family.  Then there is our "sandlot" picture of me and a ton of Tongan boys.  We played rugby and football and it was a ton of fun being with all them.  The baptism picture is the Piza family and the little boy is Agustin who got baptized 3 weeks earlier and the girl is his older sister, Yaniri, and the man is there recently reactivated father who should be getting the Melchezidek Priesthood this Stake Conference.  The picture with all the missionaries is our zone right before transfers and then there is the one with me and one of my very favorite missionaries in the mission, Elder Grange from Bountiful Utah and he sweats a lot as you can see haha.

              I teach about 20-25 lesson per week and I would say that 70% are spanish.  It is about the same as Fresno but probably more hispanic here.  Everyone here is from the Mexican state of Michoacan.  This last week we taught 24 lessons and we had our baptism.  Things in our zone are going great and me and my companion are getting along well.  We get most of our work from referals and recent convert family.

             I hope all is well and I want you to know that I am praying for you each every single night.  I love my mission and I love the Gospel and I have changed because of it.  I know it is true.  I hope that you all will find that joy and knowledge and grow in it and SHARE it.  I challenge each of you to bring someone to the waters of baptism before I get home.  I KNOW that you can and that there are people ready to hear it if you are willing to take the Lord's challenge and find them and invite them to church and introduce them to the missionaries and baptize them.  I love you all so much and pray you will accept and do all you can to find these brothers and sisters of ours.  LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

ps Grandma thanks for the family history stuff.  It is SUPER interesting!! I can't wait to read it all when I am home.  LOVE YOU!

-Love Elder Neeley