Hello!

Alright, So first off, I went out and bought a small cheap Garmin. It's really handy, and I really didn't need $150. So, I took what was left (I spent $103, including a one-year protection plan) and bought myself a nice (REALLY NICE) pair of slip on shoes. It's annoying, on the mission, to bend up and down, all the time, to tie and un-tie the shoes. Especially since you can't just slip them off without damaging them. They were 30 bucks, but I don't care, I think it was almost as good of a purchase as the GPS! Also, I did get my package. I was so happy. I saw the beef jerky and it just made my day. Thank you so much.

So, Yolanda's last name is Wilson. Yolanda Wilson. By the way, she, Tianna and Jessie came to a baptism on Friday. Afterwards, Jessie turned to Yolanda and asked: "When can I get baptized?" Yolanda is getting even closer to baptism and Tianna has been less sick. When we asked Yolanda how her prayers have been going, she told us she hasn't gotten an answer yet. We asked her what she prayed about and she said the was asking God if she could continue learning. Well, of course the answer was yes, but we told her that her prayers need to be more focused on the Book of Mormon. We said that she needs to open the Book of Mormon, just let it fall open, and read that chapter. That night she opened to Alma 14, which is about Alma and Amulek and persecution they received, when the saints of God were burned alive and when the missionaries broke out of prison. She told me that it was funny that the chapter was about believing. "What a coincidence," she said.

We gave our first and only church tour on Saturday with a really cool dude named Shawn. We softly committed him for baptism on the 3rd of July and will be teaching him this week. Also, we contacted a former. She is dating a less active member, and was being taught. She was put in the former list after she broke up with him. Her name is Stacy Schmidt and her boyfriends name is Andrew Knudson. We went over there and talked about her lessons with the elders, and discovered that the missionaries screwed it over by making their house a 'hang-out house' rather than a place of spirituality. We taught her and Andrew about prophets, the Apostasy, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. I bore my testimony stronger than I ever have. Ever! She even started to cry herself.

Okay, so the new elder is Elder Kerr. He's been out for six weeks, and was trained by my follow-up trainer. So, in a strange sense: I am his step-dad, and his dad is my step-dad. Confusing...huh. Did I tell you that my trainer went AP? Yeah, Berger is now an AP. My daddy. Anyways, he's a great kid, and much further along than I was at that time. I feel in-adequate sometimes because he has such solid testimonies about things I haven't even tried. Like member inspires and such. He was a huge gamer, which means we'll get along just fine. And we do, which rocks. Even without a teaching plan, when we taught Stacy and Andrew, we switched off perfectly. It was a fantastic lesson. I think I'm going to love this transfer. And hey! No Elder Brown! I know that's rude of me, but he did drive me insane. He was so negative and condescending. I really am grateful President stuck him with the AP's so he can learn that the world isn't so bad and doesn't hate him, and he doesn't have to hate it. YAY!

Well, Until next time. I love you all so much. Your support and packages are the best! Hugs, loves and handshakes to you all.

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Elder Courtney Casselman