"I Can't Think of a good Subject Title"

Mom!

I'm glad you liked the pictures! I worked hard on those, haha! But I haven't gotten any packages yet, so is there one that I got from Autumn that I should be getting soon? And could you send me the addresses of Austin Sork, and Jordan? And Autumn if you can, cause I don't know what her college address is. That would be great if you could! And also could you send me my leather Hymn Book? It's in my old scripture case in my room. 

I'm glad to hear that everything is going great! I can't believe you already found Elder Calkins! He emailed me so I'm gonna see what he said soon, and Sister Finn, the one who met the Jacksons, also emailed me so I can see what she has to say as well! It's so cool that I know those missionaries serving over there.

I can't believe Sammy got his license... But hey, I got the best score out of all the brothers! Haha! Is he still gonna drive the van? Tell him to keep Pete (the dragon) in there for me! 

Monday. It was P-day, and it was kinda nice to relax a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. We went and got my bike, (I'll send a picture of it) and we went shopping and got some games. We got Monopoly and are gonna play it today. And every Monday morning all the elders in the Newport News stake get together at the stake center to play this game called Oompa at like 6 in the morning. It is pretty much, ultimate frisbee, on a basketball court, with a football. We played it in PE and stuff back home, and we called it Flickerball, so I fit right in when we were playing. It's pretty fun. Then that night we tried to stop by some of our investigators, but none of them are very reliable, because they never want to set up a for sure return appointment. They always just say, "stop by whenever!" but that doesn't help us. 

Jonny and his bike

The new Bike!

Tuesday. It was a little difficult this day, but I was able to get over it as we started to go out and proselyte. I said a prayer and asked for strength, and I know it was given to me. Our neighbor hasn't wanted to meet with us since we talked with him last... He says he was out of town this past weekend, but people are always over there, cause he parties a lot. So we don't know if they just use his apartment or what, but he never seems to answer the door. But we were able to meet with Nathan, who is 17 and has a really good friend that is a member. His friend isn't in our ward, he's in the Newport News 1st ward, but he still comes up with us to talk with him. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, and he said he would read it, and he said he would be baptized on October 24th! So we were pretty excited about that. Then we met with one of our investigator's, Gary. He is a very southern guy, and has some Word of Wisdom problems. But we taught him about the Book of Mormon as well, and he said he would prepare to be baptized November 7th! So we hope that both of them will start to progress and keep their commitments soon. 

Wednesday. We had Zone Conference on Wednesday and that was super cool. We learned a lot about following the Spirit in our planning, studies, and just every day activities. And President Baker at the very end talked about how he felt that some of us may be struggling a little bit, but he gave us a lot of encouragement, and that was just what I needed. It really strengthened my testimony to know that He can really receive revelation for myself has a missionary. We also got these weird black boxes in our cars called TIWIs (pronounced teewee). They monitor our driving, and we have to sign in by swiping a card, and it says things like "Check your seatbelt," or "Check your speed." It's actually quite terrifying... haha. Apparently every mission vehicle in North America is going to get them. Oh and I thought I should mention this, our mission hymn is Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy, which I think is really cool because I love that song. We sang it at the very end of Zone Conference. 

Thursday was a rough day. I felt like we didn't get a lot done. We did service at this guy's house named Anthony, and we helped him rake leaves in his backyard (which was HUGE). It took us about 2 and a half hours... And at one point, I raked over a hornets nest... I got stung 7 times. That kinda sucked. My fingers and elbows were swelling up and also this one spot in the middle of my forehead. I should've gotten a picture now that I think about it! haha!  And we rode our bikes there, so I had to ride back with the stings.. But we stopped and got some benadryl, so I took that and fell asleep so fast that night.

Friday was a lot better. During companion study we were practicing the "How to begin teaching" points in Preach my Gospel during Companion study. While we were doing that I said during our role play, "We may not be perfect teachers, but we know that our message is true." And I just this overwhelming feeling of peace. And I know for a fact that the Restoration is real, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. And I know that if we read the Book of Mormon, we will really be able to have that knowledge for ourselves if we Read, Ponder, and Pray with a sincere heart. Later that day I went on an exchange to Williamsburg because my companion is the District Leader. So I spent the night up there. We did some service for this guy named Henry, and he had this massive pile of garbage in his backyard that we were just shoveling into garbage cans. Apparently missionaries have been there once a week working on that since MAY. Hopefully they can get it done soon. But we got to talk about faith with him afterward and he really seemed like he enjoyed it. 

Saturday. I had a crazy experience Saturday. So after the exchange, we were low on miles, so I said, "Hey we should ride bikes today!" It's also easier to talk to people on the street with bikes, so we decided to go. So we decided to go see an investigator named Stephen, who never seems to be able to set up a for sure time to meet with us. So we talked to a few people on the way, and he couldn't talk with us that night. So we talked to a lot of the people walking around the apartment complex and then we stopped this guy who was walking his dog. We starting talking to him and he said that he had just moved in, so we asked where from, and he said Washington! So I was like, oh I'm from there! And he says, "What part are you from?" And I said Vancouver, and he said "No way, that's where I'm from too." So he started to describe where he lived, and he described that big stone catholic church on 172nd, and I was like "Yep I know where that is. Do you know my friend Emma? She goes there!" And he said, "That's my sister!" So I met Emma's older brother just randomly while street contacting. I knew there was a reason why we should ride our bikes. It was just a cool little miracle. And we set up a time to meet with him next Sunday. So Emma better write me or something cause I found her brother! haha. 

Sunday is just always awesome. We didn't have any investigators at Sacrament Meeting which was very disappointing, but I just love that we get to go to Sacrament Meeting. It's kind of like a break where we can just sit and feel the spirit. Then afterward we went to the Branch on Fort Eustice again, and I played the piano again. I like when we are able to go there cause it is super cool to meet with the soldiers and to have Sacrament Meeting like that. 

So overall this week ended up being pretty good, and I hope that I can continue to learn and grow while I'm out here. The church is true everyone! I know it with all my heart. And I know that, "no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care." (D&C 12:8) and that the Lord will "be on [my] right and and on [my] left, and [His] Spirit shall be in [my] heart, and [His] angels round about [me], to bear [me] up." (D&C 84:88) He will protect me if I devote all  my time and efforts to His service. 

Hope everything continues to go well for you! I love you so much!

Elder Collier