Blessing everyone, not just giving the message...

Dear family,

           It is so good to get these updates and learn of how you are doing.  I sometimes just get overwhelmed with emotion in a good way, thinking how my mission has gone and reflecting and realizing that is coming to an end.  I just can't believe that it is happening so fast.  I love my mission with all my heart and I love Jesus Christ so much and it just amazes me that I feel this way.

          We had our baptism and it was a great one, as there was good support and the Spirit was strong.  There were also some delicious brownies which always makes things even better.  The father of that family, James Dunmore, has made a definitive decision that he wants to be baptized and know we just have to wait for the first day that he wants to be baptized.  We are hoping tomorrow and if that is the case I will get some pictures of it to send along with the ones from this last week.  Sorry I am not doing better and sending pictures every week.  I will do better.  Please pray for brother Dunmore's health that he may be able to be baptized here soon.

          We got all done with zone conferences and finally have a good full week to work in our area.  The conferences were great and were just what the mission needed to take our next step.  We have been finding TONS of new investigators because of the different direction we are taking in the mission, which is to bless everyone instead of trying to just give them a message.  So now that we have them and are finding tons more we need to get them progressing and that is what we focused on and how to make time to teach and find and how to teach better so people keep their commitments.  This week we will only have one meeting and that is with the trainers and trainees who have been out for 3 weeks so I will see Elder Goettman there.  He is in the city of Modesto and his area touches my old one when I was working in Ceres.  He has a GREAT trainer and is doing so well.  He is an awesome missionary and exactly obedient.

              I hope all is well and pray for you all constantly that you will be safe and happy and also have desires to share the Gospel even more so than you are now.  You are all so amazing and such good missionaries and I am proud of my family and couldn't ask for a better one.  I love you and am excited to see you even though it will be difficult to leave.  Be a missionary every day!

-Love Elder Neeley

A lot on our plate...

Dear family!

         The work is going very well here as we are having a baptism this Saturday of a young lady named Lauren Fairweather.  She is the one that used to drink lots of tea and is the friend of a recent convert.  We have a few other people that we are working with as well and  hopefully we will get a couple of them committed to baptism for this month but we will see how they progress.  We surely never will push but we invite everyone like crazy.  As you do missionary work is it good to share but invite!  Inviting is the MOST important part.  You would never go through medical school and residency and then never work a single day in your life as a doctor.  The same applies in that sharing info without the invite to act on that knowledge is useless.

               We have zone conferences this week and leadership training and we will be doing 3 separate trainings this week so we got a lot on our plate but it is good.  Elder Goettman is just excelling and has one of the BEST trainers in the whole mission.  He will be and is a leader in the mission.  I have a blast being with him from time to time.  I also heard that Eric Nelson and Sarah LaFond are engaged!  That is awesome and crazy.  Tell them to send me out an announcement, I mean if they want obviously.  Tell Eric I say congratulations and I am glad he won't be a menace to society haha.

             Well I love you and am glad to hear that you are all doing so well and taking trips and stuff.  I love to hear about all of it so thanks for updating me.  I miss you all a ton and love to hear from you.  I love my mission so much too!!!!!!! Oh it is the best!  I love you all and hope all is well.  Also I just have one request when I get home cause it will be summer and that is that we all go as a family to do baptisms in the Temple.  Direct and extended family.  I would love that more than anything, so please set that up cause that is my one wish to you all.  I love you so much and feel the swelling in my heart when I think of you all and being with you forever.  You are the best family I could ask for.  LOVE YOU!  Go out and be a missionary every day.

-Love Elder Neeley

Elder Goettman in the Mission

Dear family,

 

           Things are going really well right now and I love my mission.  I love my new companion Elder Kahuhu and he is probably by far my favorite companion.  We just get along great and we work so hard and well together.  It is a blast.  We have another baptism scheduled for the 16 of March with a 14 year old girl named Lauren who is the friend of a recent convert.  She has a pretty bad habit/addiction of drinking tea so please pray for her as she has committed herself not to drink tea anymore.  I know that the Lord will hear your prayers and bless her for it.  We also met a lady who has used or is using drugs pretty hard and we had a really good talk with her on the street and she wants to change so much.  She set a date for baptism on the 30th of March and we are going to see her tomorrow morning.  She has had such a rough life with her husband and children leaving her and because of lonliness she has resorted to drugs.  Her name is Sherri and she is such a nice lady and we love her so much.  Please pray for her as well as she battles these addictions.  We are finding lots of people and it is the best!

          I loved seeing Elder Goettman and me and him went out together for his first day and we set a baptismal date with a lady and her 2 kids right on the street for the 23rd of March.  She is a very humble lady with 3 kids who has been through a lot but has such strong faith in Christ and wants to follow Him.  We will let you know how it goes with her but neither of us are teaching her so we have to follow up with another companionship.  Elder Goettman is such a good missionary and very powerful. He is just happy and loving his mission so much and I love it. He is amazing and is and will continue to do great things here in the mission.

          My teeth are officially done and look really nice and I am pleased. Because of the dentist though I left my camera at home but I promise pictures of my teeth next week. I love the schedule for when I get home and am happy to do whatever you would like.  I would like to see my friends like Matt Hansen for a bit but I want to do what ever you want.  I love you all so much and am so proud of all of you and all you outstanding achievements.  I think I have one of the most awesome and talented families ever.  Let me know when the baby comes!  I love you all!!!!!!!!!!  Be a missionary every day!

 

-Love Elder Neeley

Blazin' Challenge

February 27th, 2013

Dear family,

            We had a baptism on Sunday and it was a great baptism.  The whole family from the young lady was there and they are not members so it was a great opportunity for them to feel the Holy Spirit in their lives and introduce them to the Gospel.  Kiana is the name of the girl that got baptized and her friend's dad baptized her and the friend sang a song.   It was a great service.  We have a few people that could get baptized in March so we are excited for that.  I got a new companion and his name is Elder Kahuhu he is from Washington state and he is half Hawaiian.

             We are seeing lots of miracles and I am so excited for this week and seeing Elder Goettman and doing all this stuff for transfers.  We are getting 28 new missionaries and this is the biggest group we have ever had in the mission.  We have about 3 trainings this week and we will be seeing lots of different missionaries.

             These pictures are from a farewell that we had and the blazin challenge at buffalo wild wings and my teeth.  They have temporary teeth on right now and next week on Monday I am getting permanent ones so they will be awesome.  I did the blazin challenge and it was VERY spicy and I got a free tee shirt cause I ate 12 of these wings in 3 minutes and 3 seconds.  The bathroom was very rough.  The last one is recent convert family that got baptized last march and came to the farewell to see a missionary and myself.  It was wonderful.  I love you all so much and pray for you and I apologize for emailing late.  I will do better and make sure I am emailing.  I am never too busy for you either so I am sorry.  Tell Matt Hansen that I am going to write him this next monday.  I love you!!!!!!!!!

-Love Elder Neeley