Halloween

Oct. 31, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
How's it going? Just got off the phone with Sean. He sounds good, but he's one I'd rather see in person because I can't really read him through the phone conversation. He's a man of few words but many thoughts. He's trying to get into the journalism school at BYU but there's a number of hoops he has to jump through first. He's thinking of majoring in journalism but also taking the full course of pre-med classes so he can get into the medical field somewhere.

We had a full week here with trunk or treat, concerts, Material Girls meetings, game nights, etc. It was fun having Jared and Kendra here for dinner(deadman meatloaf of course) and also having a game night. I've missed those. Jared asked if they could have their wedding reception at our house. We'll have to talk more and discuss it more, but we'll see.

Have you gotten any more packages or mail? Let me know when you get things. It's just nice to know.

Our ward trunk or treat was actually a 3 ward event and it went pretty smoothly. Lot's of chili, cornbread, games, Thriller dance lessons, and trunk or treating. Dad made some cool brain, heart and hand molds and then made a stump for his hand so it looked like he lost his hand while making some food. He called himself Chef Stumpy. I'll put a few pictures here and then send more in another email so it doesn't take up too much room.

Thursday night was Ehs's fall concert. It was soooo crowded. They've got to do something. Every group sounded great. Kristina's in the freshman girl's choir and they did a good job. She really enjoys Mr. McMullen. He says she has a little bit of each of her brothers in her. The man choir is getting large and they sound good. Spencer Myler and Coleman Madsen were part of a barbershop quartet and they did a great job. Also Tanner Myler played the bongos in a few numbers and it was so fun. Sonous sang the William Tell Overture, Sitivit Anima Mea, Jenny Kissed Me, Lady in the Water and Jai Ho and all choirs sang O My Luve's LIke a Red, Red Rose at the end.

Today at church we had a quartet with Spencer, Coleman, Derek Redmond and Shawn Pinder sing I need Thee Every Hour and it sounded awesome. It was Brian Redmond's homecoming today.

I loved your last letter. I was so happy to hear you've had several opportunities to teach and to see people actually feel the spirit and want to change their lives because of it. Sounds like you and Elder Jolley are really working well together. You haven't been out very long but I'm amazed at how you learn lessons and have gained such wisdom about situations. You have a great discerning spirit and it will be such a blessing in your life. It's so true about working hard and how great it feels especially when you are doing the Lord's work. You'll notice that you'll always seem to have such strength to accomplish everything you need to, then you'll just collapse at the end of the day and wonder how you were able to accomplish all that you did. That's when you realize where your gratitude should be and who gave you the very words to speak when you needed them.

Have you been able to meet up with the chef's girlfriend yet? How's Eddy Rodgers doing? I hope Jessica is still progressing too. The fellowship of church members becomes so key at this point.

Nikki gave a talk in Primary today. She actually volunteers for that all the time and loves giving talks. She spoke about missionary work today. You'd be proud of her. The sister missionaries were in Primary too and did a special music time for them.

Kirk called and has had a fun weekend. He went out a couple times with the same girl this weekend. I'm glad he's back into the dating world. He's always happy when he's dating.

My finger is still in a lot of pain. Dad says it's going to take a long time to heal and now I'm starting to miss playing the piano. It hurts so bad if it even just touches something. The tip of your fingers have so many nerves!!

Leah and Nikki and Kristina were all so excited that you directed some remarks to them in your last letter. It means a lot. I have parent teacher conferences this week for the little girls-wish me luck...

Maria just wrote me and sent this picture of Hudson--

We think of you all the time and of course we always pray for you. Tell Elder Jolley we pray for him too. If there's anyone you want us to pray for here, let us know. Thank you, Alex, for being such a wonderful son.
love you always,
Mom
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxo

Primary Program Sunday

Oct. 24, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
How are you doing today? You've had a new companion this week, so how did things go? You're with Elder Jolley, right? Dad has some cousins named Jolley, remember the guy(he was a twin) who visited us in Hilton Head and made us go out to dinner on Sunday. I remember we were all traumatized when he did that. I hope you've been having success this week. I hope Elder Mix is doing well in his new area.

I was so sad to hear you didn't get to go to Gladys Knight's concert, but you sure did have some amazing things happen that weekend. How was your culinary school chef lunch? Is he interested in learning more?

So today was the Primary Program and it was entertaining as usual. Carter Myler stole the show with the little kids. He was so funny. His mom bribed him to be good during the program and after it was over he came running down to her and said, "I was good, wasn't I mom?" How could she resist that. Leah and Nikki both had parts and did great. Leah even sang in a small group with the 11 yr old girls.

This past week I had my Stake RS training mtg where all the ward RS presidencies come to be trained. We fed them dinner, I spoke and Pres. Stafford spoke, then we broke into smaller groups where I just met with the presidents and secretaries. My counselors took their counterparts into other rooms. I feel like it went really well. It's a great group of women and I thoroughly enjoyed talking with them all. My presidency and I decided that we really need to get someone called as food chairman full time though. Just trying to plan the menu, shop, cook and serve was a little overwhelming. I had Kristina, Claire Cameron and Tracey Braithwaite help out in the kitchen on the serving end or we wouldn't have even been able to enjoy being with the sisters. I guess we learn lessons with each event we put on. That's pretty true in life, isn't it?

Saw Julie Rasmussen at the mtg and she said Dana got a letter from you that was sooo funny. She said that Dana and Dani were reading it and laughing so hard. Sis. Rasmussen always asks about you.

Here's what Kirk found at DI this week. He's got a ward Halloween party this weekend. This is so Kirk, isn't it.


Sean went to Nate's wedding reception over the weekend. They had a cardboard cutout of Spencer in the line.

We celebrated Kristina's birthday Monday night by going to the Great Wall. The girls thought it was the fanciest restaurant ever because of this big chandelier in the middle of the room. They were so funny. It was just a big chinese buffet very similar to many that we've been in before, but the food was better than most places. So it was fun. She got a new camera(her old one broke), some candy, some lime green clothing items.





Other than that, I only had one other story that stands out in the week. Friday night I was doing some quilting and had a little quilting accident which involved my cutting table and and a rotary blade and my finger. Dad was at work, Kristina was at a football game and the little girls were too grossed out to help me. It was not a pretty site for quite a while. Dad tried to get a picture in his mind of what had happened, what had been cut off, etc. and was trying to help me over the phone. No doctor was home in our neighborhood. I just needed someone to help me wrap it up. So when Kristina finally got home, after Leah had to take her in the quilt room to show her the piece of my finger on the board(so happy I could be the source of such entertainment), I turned off all the lights in the kitchen and managed to take off the pressure I was holding on it, put clean gauze back on and Kristina wrapped it. I just had such a hard time even looking at it. It gave me the eebies. I had to leave the room and go say a prayer for strength because it was hurting so bad and I knew I had to be able to wrap it and get it under control. I have a big hole on the pad of my finger now. Don't ask me how it's going to heal, but it sure hurts every so often. Dad said it will take quite a while to heal. I'm not always good with being patient, but I guess I'll have to be. Here's the turkey wallhanging I was working on when it happened. Now I get to have a lovely memory with this quilt. :( I'm going to call this quilt "Turkey Carving"



So I'm typing with 9 fingers now, but I can't complain since dad does it with just 2.

I'm glad you got our package. We have so much fun putting things together for you. The Gines boy, sorry don't know his name, got home this week from the Ukraine and spoke in the Beacon Light ward. I can't believe that it's almost a year since Devin went out. Kiley is busy getting ready for the Miss America pageant and does appearances all over Idaho with her title now.

Football: BSU plays this Tuesday, EHS won Caldwell and BYU won.

Here's a quote for the week on courage:
"It takes a lot of courage to be a missionary--to not fight(debate) when you want to fight; to live rules; to stand up sometimes to a companion who wants to do wrong; to knock on doors; to speak in Church; to bear your testimony; to find a way to keep busy; to continue with members who don't seem interested in sharing the gospel; to say no to temptations; to eat your companion's cooking; to make one or two more calls after a frustrating day that should have ended an hour ago; to continue working with a bishop or ward mission leader who is so busy that you feel like you're intruding on his time; to be persistent and consistent in the face of challenges that seem almost too heavy to bear; to keep going after being turned down time after time.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, if they reject my words, and this part of my gospel and ministry, blessed are ye, for they can do nor more unto you than unto me. Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap, therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward." (D&C 6:29-33)
"Your calling is to teach, to testify and to warn. It is easy to do it among friends. Courage requires that you do it in the face of adversity, discouragement and rejection."
Raymond E. Beckham

I hope you are feeling the strength of the Lord in the work you are doing. There is nothing we can do on our own. My prayers are always that you will have strength and courage to do the right thing, the hard thing, and to be in the right place at the right time, where the Lord wants you. Remember to use your smile in all you do. You can light up a room with the way you smile and it speaks volumes to people. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

Send us some pictures of anything when you get a chance. It would be great to even see where you live and who your companions are.

We are all well here and always look forward to your letters.
Love you,
mom
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoox

Ovt. 17, 2010

Oct. 17, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
Well, you don't know how badly I felt last week when I finally figured out that you hadn't received my email. I was kind of sick inside and I was even running a little late for a presidency meeting, but I hurried and forwarded my letter to you and then took off for my meeting. In the middle of my meeting dad texted me and told me that you had received my letter. Thank you so much for checking again. I was even having a hard time concentrating in my meeting, then when I heard you got it, I felt a huge weight lift from me.

If that ever happens again where you don't see a letter, let me know as soon as you can, because I always!!! write you, it just may be sent to some other Alex Thompson. So never think we've forgotten you in any way. Nothing could be further from the truth.

ps could you put some paragraphs in your letters for me...a little request. It just makes it easier to read. Actually, grandpa Trumbo was asking too. :) We're old school.

I'm home again early because today I went to 3 different wards. First I attended the Eagle 2nd ward. In their ward they have the missionary who has received a call come up and announce his call. So Jamie announced his call. Also it was the farewell for Bro. and Sis. Hansen (the ones who used to be in our ward). They are going to the Kirtland Ohio mission next week. After the meeting the Goodwins spotted me and we talked for a while. You don't know how much that means to them that you are there. I talked with Jamie too. He's anxious to get there and doesn't want to have to wait until January. You remember that feeling. So he won't get to Nashville until the first part of February. They want to read your letters too, so I will put them on the forwarding list.

Speaking of the forwarding list-Sis. Smack wrote me today and said Jay was asking about you in his last letter, so she wants to receive your letters too so she can update him. I get Jay's letters and forward them to Sean so I can tell you Jay sounds great. His letters are a little short, but he is starting to understand the language much better now and he's working hard.

Cameron is finally in Mexico although they haven't heard from him or the mission home yet. I sent off the first newsletter to you so you should be receiving that this coming week.

Jared got engaged and is getting married in December sometime, probably Dec. 23rd. The temple in Boise is going to close for almost a year for renovations, so Jared may have to move his date up. We'll let you know. His marriage will make his parents instant grandparents!

I also went to the Beacon Light ward for their RS mtg and then to the Park Lane RS mtg. Mario Wade's mom was there. I don't think she's a member, she came in jeans, but she spoke of her son on his mission and how proud she was of him. The Park Lane ward is actually getting a bit bigger now even though it's fall, so that's really good for them. They're going to the big corn maze tomorrow night for FHE, but you probably already know that since you probably planned it. :) Chase Wagstaff came home last week and Cameron Ray got his call to the Philippines. Also Chrissy Irwin got engaged. I get all kinds of news when I go to the singles ward.

So now I'm home making chicken alfredo, wild rice, rolls and fruit salad. I thought I'd change things up a bit tonight and make something different. Hopefully everyone likes it.

Tomorrow is Kristina's 15th birthday. She's doing a great job driving now. I can tell she's really starting to get the hang of it. She's not having a party this year, because she wants to have a big Sweet 16 party next year, so she's decided she wants to go to The Great Wall of China for dinner (no, we're not flying there, it's the restaurant on Eagle Rd that has taken 9 years to open). It's always packed, so we're hoping that means it's pretty good food. I'm sure it won't compare to Panda!

Dad took the 11 yr olds camping Friday night. He had quite a few drop out at the last minute, but in the end he had 3 scouts and one father. He also had Aaron Dittman stay through dinner. They camped on Bill Frost's land which is on the river just down from the McCauley's place. Sounds like they had a good time. I'm sure dad will write you more details about it. Are you getting his letters?

For dad's birthday, we gave him tickets to Cirque du Soleil which is coming here in November and we went to the temple and then the family went to a roadside bbq and got some ribs.

Football news:EHS and BSU won. BYU lost (they need to get a new quarterback dad says).

Yesterday I went to the temple again to be with the Dildine's as they had their little girls sealed to them. Boy did that bring back memories and it was so sweet. Their oldest little girl is very serious and right after the sealing she went over to her sisters and just broke down crying. She was just so overcome with all the feelings and couldn't stop hugging her family. Jeff and Audra Davis go to Ethiopia to pick up their new son, Sam, in November. Sam doesn't speak any English, so Audra says she's going to need my help with this. I'll know exactly what she's going through and I'll be happy to help her in any way.

How is the work going for you? How was the splits with the ZL's? Do you go to a different city when you do that?

So how was the fireside in Nashville? Did they hold it at a stake center or where? Can't wait to hear. Who ended up going with you? Did Sister Knight bear her testimony?

Kirk and Sean both just called. They are doing well. Sean is taking mid-terms and going to music concerts. Nate got married over the weekend. Kirk said his date was fun but she wasn't very outgoing, so he has a couple other girls he's going to ask out.

Fall is definitely in the air now. The leaves are beautiful. It's my favorite time of year. I'm re-listening to conference every day as my scripture study since I Tivo'ed all of it. I get feelings and impressions all the time when I study and listen. You'll learn that your scriptures will do the same thing for you. Today in Sacrament mtg I opened my scriptures and they opened right to 3 Nephi 18 where Christ institutes the sacrament among the Nephites. One part stuck out to me today so I'll share it with you. Look up 3 Nephi 18:7 when you get a chance where it says about the bread, "And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me" So when we come and take the bread each week, we are actually testifying to the Father that we will always remember Him and of course the promise from Him if we do that is that we will have His spirit to be with us. I want His spirit with me every day at all times and in all places. Then in verse 10 Jesus says about drinking the wine, "Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you."

I was happy to feel that today I was testifying to Heavenly Father that I would always remember Him and that He knows I am willing to keep the commandments that Jesus Christ has given us.

I hope you are feeling the strength of the spirit with you each day. It's hard to be in the world and not of it, but if you prepare well each morning and evening, you will have that gift. Be strong, obedient and trust the promptings you receive. So often I think of you as one of Helaman's army out there fighting the battle with Christ on your side, so remember who you are and who's side you are on and remember all those who have gone before you and prepared the way. There are even those now who read your letters home who may be able to feel the spirit through your words.

I love you and am grateful for the knowledge I have, for the experiences that strengthen my testimony. I have had many in my life. You are an example to me and it means a lot.

Have a fantastic week.
love you,
mom
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxoxoxXooXXOO

10-10-10

Oct. 10, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
How are you doing? So you've made it through one transfer now, huh? How exciting if you can find a family who's out there in Illinois just waiting for you and they can be the first baptism in the area in 10 months. It's probably a neighbor of one of the members there.

I was so happy to hear how you were touched by Elder Bednar's talk. Conference talks will always answer prayers and that's why it's important to prepare for conference beforehand. As a kid, I put up with conference. As an adult, I love preparing for it and then listening for answers I need. They always come. It was good to hear that you and Elder Mix had a talk about things. Acting on inspiration like that is showing Heavenly Father that you are willing and want to be an instrument in His hands, not just the instrument that sits in its case in the closet.

I'm writing you while the family is at church. I've been at church since this morning going to different wards. This is the best part of my calling, visiting the different wards. I love hearing the different teachers in RS and meeting new sisters. Today in the Star 2nd ward, Sis. Tanner taught the lesson on Repentance. Then she asked Lacey to sing a song for the closing called "Godly Sorrow." It was beautiful and of course, Lacey looked stunning. She's at home and will be starting cosmetology school in January. I also went to the Star 1st ward. The sisters were all so outgoing in that ward and so fun. That would be a fun ward to be a part of. I went to the Beacon Light Sacrament Mtg too.

The wards are really starting to grow here. The new building in Star is supposed to be finished by the end of the year and it looks like it might actually be done before that.

It's very funny that you like catfish. I actually watched them doing "hogging" on one of the Extreme shows on TV. It looked crazy.

Did you get our package yet? Also be sure to let dad know if you are getting his snail mail letters. He's loving writing to you and would love to know if you are actually getting them. FYI-his birthday is this Wednesday.

Here's some big news-Jamie Goodwin (Nigel's brother) just got his mission call and he's going to...Tennessee Nashville mission!!! His mom called me because they kept hearing about this Alex Thompson who was in Nashville and she didn't know who you were. Then it dawned on her that you were my son, so she called me. She didn't even know Sean had a younger brother and I told her I didn't know Nigel had a younger brother. So I shared with her some of the things you have said, etc. I guess Jamie is a really funny guy, so I told her that your mission president has a great sense of humor too. Do you know Jamie? He graduated a year after you and was really big into the video program at school. He likes making movies. Hmmmm. Sounds familiar. He's also musical, but doesn't like country music. Hmmmm. Sounds familiar. Anyway, the Goodwin's are very excited and especially knowing that you are there. Jamie goes into the MTC in January, so be sure to look for him. Also, if you have any hints or advice for him, let me know. They would really appreciate it.

Some other news this week-Uncle Scott called me and he was bored one night and went onto Ancestry.com and while he was there he saw an ad for someone who helped adopted people find their birth families, so he clicked on it. Long story short-he and David went to breakfast yesterday with their birth sister who is only 1 year older than them. The birth mom and aunt have both passed away, so they are going to take a sibling DNA test just to verify everything, but she has a pretty strong resemblance to Scott. Scott posted pictures on facebook so I could see. So in about 14 days, they'll know for sure, but it looks like you may have a new aunt. I figure we're all just one big family anyway. I'll keep you posted.

Football news-everyone won this week. BYU, BSU (#3 in the polls) and EHS.

Sean and his buddies went to Tucanos yesterday. He said it was kind of a Bachelor Party for Nate who is getting married this Saturday. They ran into the Yorgason's there celebrating Dawn's birthday. They all said to say hi.

I had an RS dinner at our house this past Wednesday. Our presidency invited the Stake YW presidency and the Stake Primary presidency. Here are some pics (notice the lovely fall theme):








We all had a great time and are going to keep up this tradition each fall. It was fun getting to know these other ladies. I had them put down on a paper 3 statements about themselves-one true and two false. Then we read them and had to guess who they were and which one was true. Then of course there were stories to tell about the true statements. We learned a lot about each other and it was very funny. My statements were:1-I drove a school bus to school every day when I was 16 years old. 2-I was a barrel racer 3-I can play the accordion extremely well. They all thought that my true statement was that I was a barrel racer. Really...do I look like I ride horses! I don't know, maybe I do. Anyway, their next guess was the accordion, so I told them that was my dad. So I told them the story of our bus and now they all want me to send them a picture and we were all laughing so hard about it. It was a great evening-wonderful company and delicious food. Poor dad had the job of taking the girls and the dogs out to dinner for the evening. He's a good sport.

How do the members treat you there? Are the ward mission leaders helpful to you? Are the youth programs strong there? Sometimes the youth are some of the best and boldest missionaries out there. Remember the story of my birth mom. She only agreed to having a California couple adopt me (she didn't want me to be raised in California because it would be too close to her). When my birth mom found out the couple was Mormon, she remembered about going to YW(different name back then)with a friend who invited her to the weekly activities. She thought highly of this friend and decided it would be good for me to be in a family with those same beliefs and the rest is history. So remind the youth how powerful their examples can be.

You would be extremely proud of Kristina and Nikki who have been sticking with a daily scripture reading schedule. I'm going to try to help Leah and let her know that she only needs to read one verse a night if she wants. Maybe you can give her a little challenge and I'll provide the reward.

Kirk has been slowly putting himself out there meeting new girls. He and his roommate went around to different apartments just meeting girls. One of the groups he met called and wanted to come to their apartment Friday night, so I'll hear about that later on when he calls. He's enjoying school especially now that he's in the upper division classes. Much more interesting.

Thank you for being strong and willing to serve. I know it's not always easy, but you're never alone. Remember that the Lord wants people in His church just as much as you do, but patience and timing are key. I've had to re-learn that lesson several times in my life.

Have a great week. Send us some pictures.
Love you,
mom
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxo

Conference Sunday

Oct. 3, 2010
Dear Elder Alex,
How was your conference weekend? I thought about you throughout the meetings knowing that you were probably watching at the same time. Did you get to watch all the sessions? Where did you end up watching from? Who were some of your favorite talks?

I really enjoyed the very first talk of conference by Elder Holland. I also enjoyed the talk on parenting this afternoon and the talk by Elder Bednar about receiving the Holy Ghost in your life. Dad had to work, so the girls and I watched every session together.

I also managed to get some handwork done while watching tv and then finished my book I'm making with all my letters to Sean while he was on his mission. I'm being better with yours as I'm keeping them in order and saving them. I had to search high and low for all of Sean's and then to put 2 years' worth in order was quite the task. But it's finished and I'm going to order a hard copy book.

Nikki had her big birthday party Friday afternoon. Here are some pix. We played a bunch of minute-to-win-it games. Nikki said it was the best party ever!








Looks like they might be finished with the movie making in the neighborhood, I'll have to look down there tomorrow morning and see if all the cars are still there. Turns out it's going to be an "R" rated movie about drug cartels, murders, etc. They were filming some high speed car scenes from our house down to the drug lord's house. They used a red corvette. They were also doing some kind of explosions. The neighbors, the MacDonald's, were irritated with it all, but if it was next door to us, I have the feeling we would have thought it was cool.

It's been very hot here lately, like in the 90's and here it is October. It's actually supposed to get a bit cooler this week though.

I had a presidency meeting this week where we took all the donated coats from our women's conference and sorted through them. We ended up with about 200 coats and they were all in pretty good shape. We picked 4 charities to deliver them to. I took some coats yesterday to a place right here in Eagle off of Linder called Christian Children's Ranch, a place where they take in homeless children and school them and have 3 homes where they live. Each home has a set of parents who have volunteered to live there and take care of the children as if they were their own. I never even knew that place was there and they had quite a few ongoing needs. I think we'll try to gather some items for them as a family.

How has your work been going? Have you been back to see Quinton? What a rough life. I also hope Elder Mix isn't leading you astray. I know you knew already that not all the missionaries follow the rules, but exact obedience is richly rewarded by Heavenly Father. Elder Bednar spoke of receiving the Holy Ghost and that's one of the most important ways we can receive the Holy Ghost, through our obedience. I need the help of the spirit every day and need to constantly be aware of how I can keep the spirit with me. That's why I really appreciated his talk.

In between sessions we watched a special on the new Kiev Ukraine temple. It has made a huge impact on the people there and they interviewed several people who went through the tours. They literally were coming out of the temple crying saying how strong the feeling was inside there and how they wanted to know how they could feel that feeling more often. One lady said she came on the last day and wished she had come sooner so that she could have gone through more often. That's something I've learned in life that non-members who feel the spirit for the first time often feel it so powerfully, something we sometimes take for granted because we feel it so often. Needless to say, the missionaries have been inundated with requests for visits and books, etc. Maybe we should have more open houses in the temples around the world and then rededicate them. So remember that when you're teaching. If you take the spirit into each home, the people you teach who are looking for something in their life, will be able to feel the spirit so strongly that you may even be amazed sometimes. I hope you find opportunities to bear your testimony as often as you can.

Speaking of temples, looks like ours is going to be closed for almost a year for renovations. Not sure if that means they have to rededicate it or not. But for a while we'll be going to the Twin Falls temple. I really like the Twin Falls temple and remember our trip to the open house there, so I look forward to going there.

Sean just called and told me about his mission reunion on Friday night. He said about 60 missionaries showed up and he knew all of them, so it was a lot of fun for him. He then went to Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's and also went to priesthood session with grandpa. I remember going to the priesthood session with grandpa last April...Kirk said the MTC choir sang and he thought he saw Cameron. But we'll have to see if he was there or not when we read his letter tomorrow. As of last week, he and 4 others were still in the MTC. The rest of the Mexico missionaries had been reassigned to state missions somewhere until their visas came in. We ran into Tim at WalMart and he told us Austin only has to be in the MTC in Peru for 2 weeks because he and a few others were learning the language so well. So even Austin may be out in the field before Cameron.

Over the weekend, BYU lost again and BSU won 56-0 and EHS won at their homecoming game. Homecoming dance was the night of conference so I don't know what most of the young men ended up doing.

I'm glad you mentioned you were doing service there. Remember the best way to start to really care about and love the people you are living amongst is to serve them. You were sent to Illinois for a reason and it's up to you to find that reason and make the most of it.

We're putting together a package that we're mailing out to you tomorrow. Be sure to let us know when you finally get it. I know letters aren't taking too long, but wondering about packages. Is there anything you need or want? There's a little room left in the box in case you think of something.

Alex, I'm proud of you being a full-time missionary and how you are willing to serve the Lord and know that He loves all His children. Be an instrument in His hands and work hard to truly receive the Holy Ghost in your life so that you can know the truth of all things and be guided each day. Make notes of things you learn. I have a feeling you will be teaching others how to be good missionaries sooner than you think and the experiences you are having now are all for your good.

You're always in my prayers. I know you already know that, but I truly believe in the power of prayer. Be true.

Love you always,

mom
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxooOOOXXX