Riding Bikes

Hello Willard family! 

I have been doing really well here in Belleview. I feel like every day is just a little too similar to the last couple days though. The time is really flying by and hitting the two-year mark was kind of strange. The members here are still helping us as much as they can and for the last two weeks we've had more nonmembers brought by the members then we've been able to bring to sacrament meeting which is a good problem to have. We should be participating in a YSA FHE activity tonight at the church which will involve some volleyball and nonmembers/recent converts/less actives which will be awesome! Recently we've been kind of short on miles with the car so we been forced to bike for the last two or three days and I didn't realize how out of the habit I've got. My seat is really starting to hurt me but it shouldn't be too much longer, we'll start driving again. I did manage to pop a bike tire already. I think I'll have to wait until next transfer to decide what to do with my bike. I might end up going to an area where I'll need it so we'll have to play that one by ear.

On Sunday afternoon we went to go help the priests deliver the sacrament to a few people since there was only one priest there and I didn't realize how much I missed blessing the sacrament until I had a chance. One of our investigators went to New York early this morning and we are able to have a lesson with her yesterday over Skype and she was really impressed. She always thought the technology was kind of used lesson you know like old people do but she said that using Skype to talk about religion and reading the Book of Mormon helped her to realize that this is a gift from God. It reminds me of a quote I heard from Philo T Farnsworth who apparently invented television he was a member of the church in Idaho he said television is a gift from God and those who use it will be accountable to him. I thought that was a pretty intimidating statement but I like it a lot. It seems like most of my knowledge is coming from that John by the way CD collection I got at the beginning of my mission. On the gospel library under the Mormon messages section in the videos there's just more iMessage called the refiners fire. It's been out for a while but they didn't put it on the gospel library until a few days ago and I just love it. I've probably watched it 10-15 times. 

I'm really excited for general conference and will be weird because it's my last one but I'm sure there's going to be something to console me and my affliction. When is Mother's Day by the way? I'm looking forward to Skypeing being for that last time but I hope you guys don't just talk about how you're going to see me in a little while cause that's no good. I've been noticing a lack of mail over the past three or four months. I do hope that there's going to be some love shown here in the next couple weeks but hey I don't make the rules. I hope this email is long enough I'm using the speech recognition thing and I'm a little too lazy to put in paragraph breaks I hope you'll be able to determine the changes in thought but if not then that's okay too.
Thanks for the emails everybody. I love you guys!

Elder Willard

P-Day, Service, and Studying

I'm so sorry I didn't get my email to you! I kind of rolled my ankle last Monday so I got distracted even though I had most of it written. I tried to send it the next day but the wifi was down at the building we were at and that was the day we got new iPads so my draft wasn't sent. I know that's kind of a long excuse but please forgive me.
So there I was playing 21 with some other missionaries. Totally crushing with a score of eighteen and coming down with a rebound when my zone leader fell on me and I twisted my ankle like I sometime do. I took ibuprofen and iced it right away. I can move pretty easily now but it's all yellow and blue and there is some pooled blood at the bottom of my foot. I'll send you pictures soon. We did get new devices last Tuesday and they are pretty similar to the old only that they are a little faster and they have a lot of storage space. We also get an app called duolingo which is a language learning program.

I've been brushing up on my Portuguese just a little bit. I sent off a small package today for Dad's birthday. I hope the rest of the family doesn't mind that I got him something for his birthday because it really is a special occasion. You don't turn old (50) everyday. There is something in there for jack that I have been meaning to send for a while now. It feels like a long time since I've been to the temple. I've only been able to go three times I think and there will probably only be one more chance for me just before I depart. When I first got here we did temple service since we were so close to the temple. We'd just pick weeds and plant flowers and things that mom would love. Also Rototilling, which nobody likes. I really don't know what to do with my bike. I think it's a piece of junk but that's probably because I've had to deal with it for such a long time. I could probably send it home and make good use of it or if Jackson gets his call stateside and he wants a free bike I could just send it there!

We've been asked to study Preach My Gospel over again and I have been amazed at the amount of information that I have missed in past readings. It really is inspired. I love the quotes at the end of chapter one, Harold B Lee's especially. So if you remember that my companion out in Palm Bay threw my Frisbee
that you guys sent me while I was in Brazil into the ocean you'll be pleased to know that he replaced it finally last week and I have been carrying it around with me for about the whole week. Luck favors the prepared.

Spring break next week! I hope that you guys have something awesome planned to keep the kids working. Remember that Gordon B Hinckley said "too much undisciplined leisure time gradually wastes a life.” I am so grateful for the mission it has taught me so much. It has made me regret the time that I wasted in front of the TV when I could have learned to play the piano or get better at a sport or SOMETHING useful. I also regret not being nice to my awesome parents all the time. For being lazy and not learning as much as I could have. Learn from my laziness, young ones. Honor your parents. I wish I could go back and be a good boy at home. It would make life so much better if I had behaved myself half the time. Anyway no sense in lamenting. I'll just go read the psalm of Nephi again. Thanks so much for your patience and for the emails! You all are great! I love you!

Elder Willard

Last 12 Weeks

March 9, 2015

Hey everyone we had a pretty great week here in Belleview. Me and my companion are going to be staying for another transfer together. The weather for the last couple days has been sublime. We have a lot of investigators to work with and we're feeling pretty blessed. I feel like I have things to write about but I just can't remember them. Maybe if you ask questions I would be able to respond but I just don't have the memory capacity for all this missionary work stuff. Glad to see that I will have another relative to look forward to when
I get back. I don't plan to count down the weeks too much. I want to make it as painless as possible.
Things are winding down. Got to make this last 12 weeks count.
Hopefully I can end in Belleview.
Thanks for the emails everybody,
Elder Willard

Visiting the ER

March 2, 2015

Oh hey family, you guys rock. I just wanted to let you know. The tulip festival picture was really funny. Marnie is still really cute but even more so then. Try to keep her away from the boys. We've had a tough week. Nobody came to church so we ended the week poorly. We did have a family that had been taught by sister missionaries in New York move here and make a media referral of themselves and then they came to a baptism of a child in the ward. Last week when we were playing volleyball my companion Elder Jurges dislocated his shoulder by swinging at the ball kind of weird. We sat in the ER waiting room for 3 hours for him to be seen and x-rayed. He then took off his shirt at the request of the doctor and as he did so popped his own shoulder back into place. We then waited another 2 hours for him to be re-x-rayed. A lovely time was had by all. We found out my last companion is being made a zone leader on his sixth transfer, but we all saw that coming.
The time is winding down. Love you guys!

Elder