It's Dave, Isn't It?

So, I'm shocked that Devin wasn't able to figure out who the band director is. I'm 99% positive that's Dave Faires. If I'm right, he's looking good. He had a lot of weight to pack around at one time. Good for him slimming down. Let me know for sure if that really is him?

Well, good news and bad news. The good news: We picked up two new investigators this past week, John and Tiffany Condon. They are the son and daughter in law of a less active member in the ward. Jason Condon (the less active dad) has been wanting to come back to church for a while and he wants his family to come too. John, who is 18, and Tiffany, who is 19, have been living with their parents for a while and are interested in coming to church. So, having a couple new investigators is pretty cool...

The bad news: We called Jason on Sunday to make sure he was going to be able to make it to church. He said he was going to make it and that the whole family was supposed to be coming as well. About two hours later, during our Ward Council meeting, we received a message from Jason where all we could make out was, "Once again, can't come to church... Had to kick my son out of the house... Family drama..." Noooooo! I called Jason back after the meetings and asked him if we could do anything for him. He mumbled a bunch of stuff that was totally incomprehensible. We have a meeting scheduled with them tonight, so we'll see what's going on and what we can do to help. Hopefully, our two new investigators haven't gone too far away and we can still teach them somehow. Geez...we're having to fight for people to teach right now that's for sure.

Conference is almost here! I am so excited for it! We have been mentioning it to as many people as we can lately. How amazing is it that we have the opportunity to hear from a living prophet, living apostles, and other leaders that have been called by God to direct His church on the earth at this time? It's great and definitely something that I shouldn't have taken for granted in the past. Serving a mission has really opened my eyes a lot more to the blessings that are available to us because of the Restoration of the Gospel. We of all people as members of the church have no reason to be unhappy. We have been given an understanding of the purpose of life which provides an eternal perspective for our time on earth. We have the Gospel!! I love it! Smile and let the world know that God has a plan, He is there for us, He loves us, and it's all good!! : D

That's about it for this week. You are all in my prayers and I am grateful for the prayers that you offer for me. They are needed and they are helping. Thank you so much. Be mighty!!

"Onward, ever onward..."
Elder J. Hammer