8-12-13

Annie’s Letter

This week has been amazing! Mission Leadership Council, and after that we had a meeting with the sister training leaders. It was so great! After that we had to go to the mission office. We were talking to Elder Creer (he does all the apartments in the mission). I told him I had 2 desks and a dresser in my apartment that he could use (since the other 2 sisters moved out). He wanted them, but was unsure of when he would be able to get to Mt. Vernon. Well, the next day was zone meeting and as I am over the Columbus East 2 Zone I was going to be going to Zanesville for the meeting. I suggested that I could take the mission truck and trailer and bring him the furniture the next day. Haha. Imagine my surprise when he said.. "well, I have a dryer that needs to go to Zanesville...that could work" So he asked Elder Niu (vehicle coordinator) if Sister Arnell and I could take the truck. He asked if we could drive it and Elder Creer assured him that we could. He hates backing it so when we were doing the Fredricktown apartment, he had us back it instead. So Elder Niu handed us they keys. WHAT?! We were stoked! We had silly grins on our faces the rest of the night. NO ONE gets to drive the mission truck, especially with the trailer on it! So we went home, loaded up the furniture, I drove to Zanesville the next day, hooked up their dryer, and took the trailer back to Powell. After zone meeting we were all going back to our cars and the elders were all incredibly jealous. It was so funny.
This week was the Dan Emmett Festival in Mt. Vernon, lots of people. We got to go down one night to do some contacting. The elders had been there a little before us.
a member (that they didn't know, not from the area) grabbed them, told them they had someone for them to meet. So they took them back to meet...THE OSMOND BROTHERS who were there to do a show. Then the got invited to dinner and during dinner the Osmonds had them teach their band members who were not members. How cool for them!
Amazing story: On Wednesday the youth had a temple trip. There is a girl who is friends with a member who has been coming to church, went to youth conference, girls camp, mutual... and she went on this trip and stayed with some adults and got a tour of the grounds. Ran into the assistants (elder beck served in Mt. Vernon for a looooong time) and had an amazing lesson. She decided she wanted to be baptized. Soon. That weekend. So she had a last lesson with the elders that night, an interview the next day and on Saturday she was baptized. It was amazing. We all love this girl so much. She's just sweet as can be and has an amazing testimony. I am so glad I got to be a part of her conversion, and her baptism program! I have played the piano for baptisms and musical numbers more here than anywhere in my life! I love it! Anyway, it was an amazing baptism. The spirit was SO STRONG!
So...miracle! On Saturday, after the baptism, we had planned to go tracting on some side streets near some investigators. But NO ONE was home because of the Dan Emmett Festival. We were trying to decided if we should stick with our plan or go to the festival and contact there. We decided to stick to the plan. We knocked on 2 doors... no one home. The third door, someone was home! Her name is Crystal. She attends the Methodist church in Fredricktown. Her and her husband are both life long members there; the kept going there when they moved to Mt. Vernon because they don't like starting over. But a few minutes later, after talking about the restoration, she said that change is good, they will check it out. So we invited her to church and she said it would depend on how her husband feels. He is having some back problems and is going in to see a general surgeon this week. So we told her we would check in in the morning and bring cinnamon rolls and they could come! Well... we did. And they were't going to be able to come because he was not feeling well, but he said they should definitely look into it and they could go next week :-) That's kind of what we expected. So we go to the church for correlation meeting. All the sudden, the Elders call us out because...CRYSTAL WAS THERE LOOKING FOR US! It was awesome. We set a goal to have 3 at church. We have been struggling to get that many there. But we knew we could do it! So we put forth every effort, we made breakfast for 3 families! We prayed and prayed and focused on inviting people to church. And we had...drum roll please... 4 INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH! It was exciting :-)

Now, at the end of this week some people from my ward (the Perrine's) are coming out to Utah. She is going to call you and they might just stop in Wyoming if it works out. Her name is Michelle. She's great! Also, mom, could you possibly call the eye doctor and dentist and get some appointments set up for me after I get home? I know the eye doctor books out far... So that would be great :-)

Landon, to answer your question my last transfer ends on October 17. I fly home on the 18. But I have one more transfer before that, on September 5.

I'm glad to hear all is going well with all of you and you are staying busy! You guys are such a wonderful support to me. I love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do :-) ya'll are amazing! Have an amazing week and I look forward to hearing from you all next week :-) tata!

Annie

Landon’s Letter

hey 

So i am staying in Windsor North with Elder Minors. So I am excited to be able to stay here!

Not a whole lot this week. We also only have 2 computers. this week and  the other missionaries are waiting so I won't be able to write much this week.

We had a pretty good week. We had quite a few teaching appointments which went through so it was really fun. We are having fun!

Rachel- wow you must be busy i haven't heard from  you for a while ;) have a great week

Natalie- I am glad things are working out for you. Keep up the awesome work and continue to smile.

Annie- Wow you are lucky i can't believe that you got to drive the mission truck. Lucky.

Megan & Justin- I hope that you are doing well. Say hi to Justin for me. i love you both

Mom- I am going to need to send a few things home so I am going to try and send that by next week. I love you

Dad- Timmins would be fun but during the winter last year it got down to -50 degrees Celsius. So that is really really cold since -40 is the same for Celsius and Fahrenheit.

I love you all,

Love your favorite son, brother, and elder

Elder Landon Webb

8-6-13

Landon’s Letter

Hey mi famillia,

Transfers are next week. FYI

Hope you all had a great week. We had a pretty good week. Our drought of new investigators ended this week. It was really awesome. We were able to find 2 new investigators and things are looking up. So we have seen blessings this week! So we are very grateful for everything we have received.

This week we were on just buses and walking like I mentioned last week and things went great for us. We didn't have too many problems. We had to ride to the church 2 times which is a 45-50 minute bus ride from around where we are and a 10 minute walk to the bus stop but each time was good, fast, and easy.

The bus system here isn't the best because of our small area we have primarily 3 to 4 buses we can ride in our area. I don't know if you have checked out Windsor (ok well i know that Dad probably has) but it is about 36 square kilometers so I don't know what that is for miles. But it's awesome!

Rachel- hey how have you been? I hope that you are getting ready for your senior year at school. Crazy. How is your summer going?

Natalie & Jon- How is work going? When do you go back to school? I hope that things are going well for you guys!

Annie- Sorry Anzo about your hair dryer. Keep up the awesome work. When is the end of your last transfer?

Megan & Justin- Have you been camping a lot? Where do you go in the mountains? I hope that things keep going well for you. Justin do you have a bus pass or do you pay with money each time you ride the bus to work. I was wondering about that this week.

Mom- that is awesome you are teaching summer school. How is the garden growing? I wish I could help out in the garden so much!

Dad- Did you know we are almost in the same latitude? I'm not much more north then you are. Crazy huh? Also I am south of Detroit haha. Things are going great. I hope things are going good for you. Don't get too tired.

I love you all

Love your favorite Brother, Son, and Elder

Elder Landon Webb

8-5-13

Annie’s Letter

R.I.P. to my blow dryer. So... rewind 16 months. I'm in the MTC and my blow dryer dies. I was like... man! I don't wanna buy a new one! And...it came back to life. magical. back to present...it's worked for 16 months and this week... died. bust. I still don't wanna buy a new one. I've had that one for 8 years! But now it lives in the trash. I haven't been using it very often anyway lately..so I'll probably just get a new one when I get home. It was sad. It's tried to die several times on my mission but always came back to life. Until this time. So sad. Ce'st la vie!

SO this week was a pretty awesome week! We set a goal to get 2 chapel tours this week, we have had a really hard time getting people to come out to the church! But this week we made it a point to get it!Q So we prayed about it kept it in our minds and WE GOT THEM! We actually did one yesterday. We had an investigator, Jim, come to church. He was a little early and I thought "we should give him a chapel tour now" "no...we're gonna do it after church" "ummm...you should do it now." "fine." SO we did and he loved it and then church started. Good thing we listened and obeyed because..he ended up having to leave early. Yay for the spirit. Another good thing we listened moment... this morning while we were studying, Sis Nalls was sitting on the couch and she was gonna pull a blanket over her. She thought "I should shake out this blanket" so she did and out came...THIS MONSTER NASTY SPIDER! We're not really sure what it is...but it's pretty nasty. She killed it and THEN called me out...smart girl :-) yucky yucky yucky. I hate bugs.
Nate is doing well. I'm not exactly sure when he gets home, but it is right quick after I do. Probably in mid November sometime. Not sure. He is loving his mission though. You guys can read my letters, I don't care. Just don't mess up the order or the little bundle they are in! You don't have all of them though...HAHA!

Oh! One more miracle for this week! Last night we made an awesome contact with a referral and then when we left, we had about 20 minutes. We wanted to find a new investigator! We said a prayer, and both had the same name come to mind. So we went... we had met this man once before, his ex-wife is a member. He was getting her address so that we could forward her address to her current ward. We also met his daughter last night, and she is so excited for the missionaries to come. She wants to go to young women's! She was so cute! So we had a quick restoration lesson, and he is our newest investigator. When we for righteous things in faith and work  for it, the Lord will always answer. Check out 3 Nephi 18:18-21. The end.

So...QUESTION FOR YOU ALL! How has knowing that the Book of Mormon is true influenced/changed your life?
this is a question that someone asked...maybe my district leader...anyway, I took some time on Thursday morning and answered that... basically... everything in my life is what it is because the Book of Mormon is true. Obviously, I'm on a mission because it is true. I know that I can be with my family (current and future) for ALL OF ETERNITY! because the Book of Mormon is true. I know that I can be forgiven of my sins and overcome physical and spiritual death because the Book of Mormon is true. I have the standards and the friends that I do because the Book of Mormon is true. BYU was established, and I can go to school there...because the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers, that He is involved in the details of my life because the Book of Mormon is true. These are just a few examples of the things I wrote. The list goes on and on. So take a minute, think about it and tell me how it has made a difference to you :-) Well, I love you guys and I hope you all have a fantastic week! Tell grandpa and uncle Eddie happy birthday for me!

Tata!~

Annie

7-29-13

Annie’s Letter

Hello mi familia! I'm so glad to hear that the wedding went well! I was definitely thinking about you guys that day! During the wedding there, it was lunch time here...and I was definitely taking a nap... so for the rest of eternity I can say that I slept through my sisters wedding! haha! I realized that I was not at Megan and Justin's sealing, or Natalie and Jon's. AND I wasn't at Megan's graduation or Natalie's graduation. Sorry sisters! I'm a super slacker! At least for Natalie's I have good reason...like a mission. I think I was in Tennessee for Megan's graduation and in Powell (WY not OH) for her sealing. Or something like that. Oops. I have one more shot to make it to a sisters graduation and sealing... I promise I won't miss them Rach! :-) How fun that you got to see your old mission companion mom! That's awesome! I hope I get to stay in touch with mine, I love them all sooooo much! It's so cool how missions bring you so close to people that you probably wouldn't be close to any other way.  I love it! Thank goodness I came on a mission! We got a new missionary this last week from Thatcher, AZ. I can't remember his name off the top of my head...but it starts with a M... Motes! Elder Motes. He totally knows Brother Palmer and his family! It was exciting! "It's a small world after all!" So really cool story for the week! On Saturday, we hadn't found any new investigators yet this week and we were praying and praying that we would find some! So we went out to visit some potentials, some current investigators, and some formers during the morning-ish hours. We felt like we needed to rearrange some things and go so Tina now instead of later. So we walked over to tina's house. but she wasn't there. But her ex-husband Jim was! We've chatted with him a couple of times, but never really talked to him. (Tina lives with her husband, Chris and then her ex-husband Jim also lives there...it's Ohio). So we started talking to Jim about his past and he has a lot of things he has been changing and wants to change. He wants to be rid of the guilt that he carries from some of the choices he has made. He has never been baptized but wants to be...so he might as well be baptized into the true church! We had a really good lesson with him about the restoration. We asked him to pray and he just told us he didn't know how. Super humble man. So we taught him how and he said one of the most sincere prayers I have heard my entire mission. Later that night, with like 30 minutes left in the evening we went to visit a former investigator. When she opened the door she said "WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" She had a really bad experience with the church. Her ex-boyfriend is a member and his family is...less than a good example. Anyway, she had really hard feelings. So we talked with her for a bit and by the time we left she wanted to learn more and read the Book of Mormon and give the church an honest chance. She promised God she would change her life around if He would save her son (he had RSV and stopped breathing). Her son is alive and she wants to make good on the promise! How lucky that she answered the door instead of her sister or mom (who are also formers but not really interested right now). yay for miracles! :-)
Crazy that you got a letter from the mission about me coming home... it seems like just yesterday I was flying INTO Ohio! When I come home I would like to fly into SLC if possible, There are only 2 more missionaries coming home that transfer and they will both be flying into SLC as well. But I can totally fly into Rock Springs if that would be better for you guys. Whatever works :-) Yesterday we had a fireside and the sisters from Springfield came with Sister Roguski. It was so fun to see her! I can't believe it was over a year ago i LEFT Springfield! Time really does fly when you're having fun! Just like that song you played at grandma's 90th birthday... DON'T BLINK! Because when you do... you've been on a mission for 16 months, your sister is pregnant, your brother has been on a mission for over a year, your younger sister is married and your baby sister is about to start her senior year. YIKES! Well, I gotta run but remember I LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week! Tell Nat and Jon congrats and I love them when they get home tomorrow! peace out!

Annie

Landon’s Letter

Hey

First off I am glad that everything went well for the wedding. Congratulations Natalie and Jon! That is a lot of family there so that is awesome!

I don't have much time this week so I will keep this short.

Long story short we have a lot going on right now. Not missionary work but other things. We have the car for our 2 areas going into the shop this week so we are just out of commission in that way. The other Elders are going to take our bikes for the week and we are going to have just the bus this week so things are working out.

We have continued to work this week trying to find new investigators. We want to do other ways to find people so we are going.

Rachel- I hope that things are going good for you this week. I see a back to school sale here in Ontario so I hope you are getting ready for your final year.

Natalie & Jon- congratulations again. I am happy for you. I was thinking about you during that time. Hope it turned out how you wanted it to.

Annie- keep up the awesome work. I am grateful for the example you give. I am still trying to get that letter off. sorry..

Megan & Justin- I hope that things are going good for you. I am glad he is still kicking. :)

Mom- I got that tie off last Tuesday so it should be here this week. Maybe tomorrow or Wednesday.

Dad- Thanks for the pictures I hope you got my address sorry I just got the paper this week from the mission office and I kept forgetting to grab the address.

I love you all and hope things go well for you all.

Love your favorite Elder, Brother, and Son,

Elder Landon Webb

7-24-13

Annie’s Letter

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I will be staying in lovely Mt. Vernon for the next 6 weeks! All 6 of the missionaries here will be staying! I'm excited that I get to stay here! I love it! Especially the people. We went out this morning to see the Amish(that's why I'm emailing so late) and I was so sad that I might be leaving. But then I found out that I'm not and I'm so happy! I'm a little apprehensive because I have been struggling a little bit with Sis. Nalls but Sister Arnell has been my sanity...but Sister Arnell and Sister Meredith are moving the the apartment in Fredricktown so it's just going to be me and Sister Nalls. So...good thing I have been studying patience and humility like crazy! I don't even know what to tell you has gone on since I emailed last... I don't even know! We went to Reynoldsburg on exchanges and found some good people and got to work with the sisters there, WENT TO MARYSVILLE on exchanges! That was actually a really funny thing... so Marysville was going to come here on exchanges, but then there was a specialized training on Monday and Tuesday so we decided we would just go to Marysville and go to their training on Monday instead of ours on Tuesday. Then Saturday night (the exchanges was for sunday/monday) they called and told us they had bedbugs. YUCK! So we talked to the assistants and decided the best course of action would be to go to Marysville on Sunday and then come back to Mt. Vernon on Sunday night instead of sleeping there. because we did NOT want bedbugs! So on Sunday we went and had dinner with the Skaggs and it was SO great to see them! And I got to see a couple of other members at the church or while we were out and about, asking for referrals and such. It was nice to get to see them! It was definitely different though. I love Marysvile, but it is not my area any more. The Skaggs wanted to know if I had bought a plane ticket yet to come back to Ohio after my mission. :-) So I can watch the avengers with them! I told them I'd work on it. So mom, dad...when do you want to come to OHIO!? We then had our specialized training yesterday in Reynoldsburg which was really good. I love training, they just pump me up!

The last few days I have been feeling an ever increasing sense of urgency! I have less than 3 months left, there is NO time to waste! I have really come to understand how precious this time is, that it is not my time, but the Lord's time and that I have to do everything I can to help these people! The Lord has definitely been strengthening me as I have been humbling myself. We were able to see some miracles occur because of this.

We were at Roselyn's house. She is very stubborn and hasn't been reading because she wants to get everything else in order first so she can focus on reading. So we talked about the importance of reading and were just super straight with her. We read Ether 12:27 and told her that she needed to humble herself a little more. To re prioritize...read first and then everything else will fall into place. We told her that if the savior was here, He would ask her to do the exact same things we are doing, would she put it off if He asked her. Anyway, we finally got her to commit. We had Kyle and Maria with us and they are going through a very had challenge right now, and they shared that with Roselyn and how the gospel has blessed them and given them comfort through this trail. The spirit was SO strong, it was one of the most spiritual lessons I have had in my entire mission.

We then went to an appointment with another man, MIke, and he came to the door and told us that he didn't want to read anymore. That it couldn't be true becasue of Revelation "don't add or take away..." So we talked to him for a while and just told him that he had something very precious in his house, something that could change his entire life... and he was choosing not to even look at it and that was heartbreaking. It is amazing how the spirit really does just allow the words to flow when we are willing to just open our mouths and SAY THEM! Love it!

Well, I hope all is well. Tomorrow starts the big day! Endownments...sealing...ring ceremony...reception... I know it will all be beautiful. I expect pictures asap! Please. :-) Don't stress out. Just like Landon said, even if it doesn't go perfect it is the covenants that you are making that are important. Just enjoy your day. :-) Tell Greg congrats too!

It's been super hot here as well. Not 111 but definitely upper 90s and swelteringly humid. Today is super cool though. We walked outside and it was cold! 67 degrees! We weren't quite sure what to do! I'm glad Rach had fun at UREA! So exciting that Beaudee is kicking! I love that name by the way! I think it's cute :-)

The Judds have been out for about a month and a half. They are from Syracuse, UT. They are so sweet, I just love them! All the senior couples here in the OCM are just incredible! I don't know what we would do without them! this mission would just crumble!

Well, I guess that's really all for this week. I'll be thinking about ya'll! Love ya tonz!

Annie

7-22-13

Landon’s Letter

Hello everyone,

Big week this week so here's to the best! Don't get to stressed out ;D.

This week we had a lot of fun. It hit 44 degrees Celsius with the humidity. Which was 75% so if you convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit it is 111 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes and we were on bikes that day. Thank goodness it was only this week and it started to cool down as the week went on. 

We have been out finding. A lot of finding. It was starting to get disappointing a couple of times but we continued to press forward. It is cool because even though it wasn't every time but it was often enough that we felt like we couldn't go anymore we would find someone in which we could get a return appointment. It is not what I would hope for but it is a good way to learn more about what we are doing out here. 

This week as well we got to travel. Ok, we travel every week pretty much. It is either for 2 hours going to and from Chatham or Leamington and it is even worse when it is 4 hours going to and from London. But it is fun. The past 2 weeks we have traveled to London and we will most likely travel there again in 2 weeks. So good thing I learned how to travel in a car from sports trips to Cody, Powell, Jackson, and even Wright. 

Things are going good here for me. We are doing good. 

Rachel- I am glad that you had fun at UREA you should have done the eagles nest that one is so much fun. Anyways I am glad you had a blast.

Natalie- I hope that your wedding goes the way you dreamed. Even if it's not perfect remember that it's a step in your life that is monumental. Smile Big.

Annie- I hope that I hear from you next week. I am waiting to see if you got transfered or not I need to write you a letter but sorry I am very bad at it. What's it been 8 months? opps.

Megan & Justin- I am glad things are going good for you. I hope he keeps kicking he might be a good soccer player or something. haha hopefully basketball ;)

Mom- I know I have been not able to send off the tie we only have 1 car here and the other elders have it so it is really hard to get to a post office because there are things they need to do on P-day as well. I will try my hardest to send it off this week.

Dad- That is cool. I know a couple of people who have served in Markham. We have a calendar that is a space calendar it is awesome.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week. 

Elder Webb

7-15-13

Annie’s Letter

So, first and most importantly... is Beaudee what you will be naming your baby? That's a super cute name! I like it :-) I'm glad things are going well... sounds like you all have a crazy busy week coming up! Plus only 11 days until the wedding! Exciting stuff! The little house sounds like a crazy adventure! I'm glad you were able to get it all taken care of before the renter moved in. yes, the jam is for you. I bought it at the Troyer's bakery. It is SO DELICIOUS! It's very nummy. I'll definitely have to buy more when I go back out there! I love it! Now it even has a Troyer label on it. :-) Our jar was gone so you are very lucky I didn't take the jar out of that box and eat it myself! Thankfully, Sister Weaver gave us some jam that she made when we were helping with the barn. So I didn't have to steal any jam from you. Speaking of stealing...

On Monday I went with Sister Shelley (from Marion) to see Seanace. She had court that day for all her traffic violations... verdict: 3 days in prison, 2 years parole. So that sucks. Well, on Saturday Sister Arnell and Sister Meredith went by to see her. She wasn't there but her friend Levi was. Levi went and picked her up from prison. Then he drover her around a bunch of places and then, since he didn't have a lot of gas in his truck, he walked to buy a part so he could patch her pool. He really does a lot for her. Well... while he was walking to get the part...she stole his truck. It's so sad. She was doing so well but then something happened and she just started spiraling out of control. It's one of those things where you know how much the gospel will bless her. And we have been doing everything we could to fight for her....but unless people are willing to help themselves, we can't do anything for them. It's heart breaking but it is what it is. Hopefully she will figure it out... sometimes agency is a beast. I'm really thankful for it though. And especially thankful that I was taught how to use it wisely. CTR!! Such a simple phrase, but for so many people it is an almost impossible task. :-(

So transfers are next week and I really doubt that I'll be staying in Mt. Vernon..but who knows. So we'll just wait and see. I doubt it because first of all, Sister Arnell and I feel like the best way to handle the future of mt vernon is to have 2 of us stay here in Mt. Vernon and have 2 brand new sisters doubled into the new Fredricktown apartment.  That way it is just a clean break for investigators and missionaries. The area will be split 3 ways so it would just be easier that way. We talked to President and Sister Nilsen about it and they agreed with us... I bet Sister Arnell stays here and is the Sister Training Leader for Columbus East. Currently we have Columbus East, Columbus North and we recently acquired the Columbus South zones that we are over so it's a little crazy. They are calling one new STL at transfers so she will be in one of the other zones and I bet I go to the third zone. But who knows? There are about a bazillion possibilities when it comes to transfers. So "I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord." I love you all. I hope you have a great week! Stay sane! :-)

Annie

Landon’s Letter

Hey,

So this week has been really really warm. There is tons of humidity here and it just gets warmer and warmer each and every day. There is no relief from the heat even in the shade. This morning we went out side at 6:40 to kick around a soccer ball and we played in the shade just to try and keep ourselves cooler. So it has been fun. We are keeping hydrated as much as possible. 

This week we continued to find. It feels like all we do. Find. We have people that we can't ever get a hold of. So we are just trying to make due with what we have. But it is still the happiest I have ever been. Really!

Sorry this is short but I don't know what else to say. By the way who is Greg Harris marrying?

Rachel- hope you have fun at UREA. It is such a blast. It is the best time I ever had during my senior summer.

Natalie- 11 days eh? crazy I hope that things go well for you and they work out great. 

Annie- I hope that you stay in Mt. Vernon. You are such a great example thanks for all you do.

Megan & Justin- Same question as Annie? that is awesome I hope that things go well for you these next couple of weeks.

Mom- Baking Soda? That's crazy I would have loved to have seen that. Really!

Dad- We don't have a missionary change in uniform. So I am good with everything I have. Thanks for all you do.

Love your favorite Brother, Son, and Elder

Elder Landon Webb

7-8-13

Annie’s Letter

...literally. There was a service project at the Weaver's on Saturday. Brother Weaver is turning his barn into a furniture shop! Weaver farm and furniture! So we were helping to clean it out. One part of the project was taking out the grainery. Sister Arnell and I didn't just want to watch the fun..we wanted in on it! So we got some sledge hammers and took the walls down! It was super fun! We also tore down a wall right after that. We went over to Brother Weaver's brother's house and bought peaches and black raspberries! We met his sister though, not his brother. They were obviously a huge part of the shunning. But we called Brother Weaver later that night to tell him that we had gone over. He told us that his sister knows that the church is true, but doesn't quite know how to take action. That would be a very hard thing, can you imagine having the possibility of your entire family and community shunning you? That would be so hard! I have so much respect for the Amish. Read Alma 15:16. But instead of Amulek, try the names of the Weavers, Troyers,
and Hochstetlers. They are amazing. I am so glad that I know each one of them! I love them so much! Visiting them is definitely one thing that MUST be done when we come back to Ohio. :-) To see pictures of this fun event, get on my facebook and add Rhoda Rine. She has added me, just accept her. She also added Natalie. She wants you guys to be able to see all the fun pictures she takes :-) Visiting her will also be on that post mission to do list! :-) One reason that I want to come home is that it isn't really encouraged for parents to come and pick up their missionaries. Besides, I want to ride down the escalator in the airport and see ALL of you when I get back :-)

It sounds like all of you are just doing great! I'm glad things are going well with the house and wedding!

Megan, I love the picture of you! I always knew you would be a cute pregnant lady! I'm so excited for you guys! yayaya!

Landon, Sorry you sprained your ankle...no bueno! Especially since you don't have a car! Make sure you take care of yourself buddy!  You're just stellar! Thanks for your awesome example!
Natalie, I got your wedding announcement, SO CUTE! I can't believe that you're getting married so soon! It's crazy! Jon, thanks for sending me a letter! Justin...you only have 3 months. Get on it my friend :-)

Rachel, sounds like you had a fun weekend! I can't believe you're old enough to go to utah by yourself! And dancing with college kids... did you go to the.. um... crap, I can't remember what it's called now. But there is a place in Provo I used to go country dancing all the time! it was super fun! You could have met people I know!

Sadly, we don't get to go to the Hochstetler's sealing. It makes sense, but it's still kinda sad. It's all good though. We'll just have to go to the temple with the amish when we come back!

Also, I'm sending home a box today with some winter clothes in it that I won't be needing. Like my coat. It will also have an sd card full of pictures for your enjoyment :-)

So here is a miracle for the week!
On Wednesday night as we were planning we determined that Thursday wouldn't be the most effective day to knock doors or visit people because they were't home! So we decided that we were going to make a concentrated effort to get referrals! So on Thursday we were invited to 5 barbeques. We went to the three most productive. 1 with a family who had all of their non member family over, we had a great time with them! We set up a service project for the missionaries who are in the area that these wonderful people live in. They want to see us again before we leave! yay! We went to another with the Rines.  We also went to another one with a less active member and her parents, who are NOT fans of the church. But they allowed her to invite us over and even stayed out and talked to us! It was great! With our concentrated effort, and thanks to the spirit for bringing all things to [members] remembrance, we were able to accomplish our goal of getting 10 referrals on the 4th of July! It was amazing! We don't need to do more things, we need to do things better. I know that as we really focus on the things that are BEST we will be blessed with much success in bringing our brothers and sisters to the gospel. We simply need to have an "eye single to His glory." and what is His glory? "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" so, we need to have "an eye single to bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." AN EYE SINGLE TO MISSIONARY WORK! Just like Landon said... there are people we are around every day that we see and associate with that might be prepared for the gospel. We never know who the Lord has prepared so we simply have to invite everyone! We cannot offend people with the Lord's message as long as it comes from the heart. :-) Love you guys! Have a fabulous week!

Annie

Landon’s Letter

Hola mi familia,

Como estas?

I hope that things are going good in Wyoming. On Thursday I was thinking about the States while I as seeing the States right across the river. It is still crazy to see my home land just right there and I can't cross over to it. 

This week we had a good time just trying to figure more about our area since we whitewashed into it. I am excited to see the progress I know we can make in the ward. We have a new vision to establish  in the ward and I hope that it will be a unifying event for the ward. We as a mission had a goal for June to see 60 baptisms, well we achieved 78. Know we as a mission want to see at least 1 family baptized into the ward by September 29, 2013 in each ward. Pretty exciting news and goals to achieve. 

My ankle is fine don't worry it doesn't even bother me so I am fine. We are using the buses and bikes but we have such a small area and the buses don't even cover all of our area. Just so you know here are the boundaries.

Windsor North Area: (Where I am now) 

               East Boundary: Little River

               West Boundary: Crawford Rd.

               North Boundary: Detroit River

               South Boundary: Tecumseh Rd

Windsor South Area: (Where I was last transfer)

               Boundaries: Everything else in Windsor

               Other towns: Amherstburg, La Salle, Belle River, Maidstone, and Tecumseh

So there is where I am working at. Pretty cool huh! We are trying to get better at talking with everyone. I mean everyone on the bus, people we pass by, ride by, see across a street where we can get to, and everyone. We are also trying to help the ward in missionary work, home teaching, and also with activation. So we are busy. Most of our time is traveling. Go figure. So best make use the best of our time that we have.

Rachel: What you went dancing? Crazy! That is awesome you had such a great trip. You will remember that for the rest of your life.

Natalie: Keep going you are almost to the finish/starting line. Just one of many down the road. You are doing great keep it up especially with your example.

Annie: Wow you are doing great. Keep up the hard work and faith. I hope that things continue to do well. Thanks for all you do.

Megan & Justin: That is awesome congrats! When is the due date again? Thanks for the email it was great to hear from you!

Mom: So the tie is signed I just haven't been able to send it off yet I will try today to get it out of here. Thanks for all you do.

Dad: I am glad to hear Elder Hyatt is doing good. I think he has been planning that for a while. Thanks for all that you do I love you!

I love you all and appreciate all that you do.

Love your favorite Brother, Son, and Elder,

Elder Landon Webb

7-3-13

Landon’s Letter

Hey everyone,

So I got transfered this week from Windsor South. I also got a new companion. He is Elder Minors from Alberta. Oh ya I got transfered to Windsor North. Our district leader was in North and us in South had a car but he needed the car for exchanges so we switched areas. I am now on a bus, bikes, and walking. So that will be an exciting adventure.

This week we do something called sports night where we invite investigators, Less-active members, and non-members to play sports. Well I twisted my ankle really bad last Thursday. It is black and blue but not too bad. So it is find I can still walk. ;)

For mailing things here I don't have my new address so you can still send things to the old one and I will still get it. The house is only a 15 minute car ride away from where I now live and we see the other missionaries pretty often. 

You can feel the the work of the Lord hastening here in the Windsor Ward. We as a ward watched "The Work of Salvation" during the 5th sunday for church and it was awesome. We also have been working with members here and they are really excited about trying to share the gospel with their friends. It is really exciting. I know each of us have family/friends/co-workers/associates/people we pass daily/and people we meet each day who have not yet heard or even received the restored gospel in their lives. I would invite us to pray for them and to pray for the opportunity to share the gospel with someone. Then look for those opportunities to share the gospel, bear testimony about it, and invite them to visit mormon.org and/or come to an activity (ex. FHE, invite them and the missionaries over for dinner and afterwords the missionaries share a small spiritual message, or even relief society activity). Try it out and see what happens. I know that if we act in faith knowing that the Lord will not let us fail and showing love for our friends we will be successful no matter if the person accepts the invitation or not. 

Rachel- I am glad to hear that things are going well for you. Wow that's a lot of time to work. Congrats! Keep learning lots. It's more then just learning about teeth. It's learning how to work and prioritize your time.

Natalie- Holy cow you have a ton of announcements to send out. Don't worry 498 more lest to hand out after you sent out Annies and mine. Just remember when things seem stressful and you need a breatk it's the best time to read the scriptures or watch a mormon message on lds.org

Annie- Wow you are really busy. I don't get how you are keeping things running in your area. That is absolutely crazy. Keep up the hard work and loving life. You are helping out many of Gods children come closer to Him through the restored gospel. Keep smiling :)

Megan & Justin- I hope that things are going good for you guys. I know how busy you both are but I am grateful that you are still fulfilling the callings you have. It is a time for us to grow closer to our Father in Heaven. Thanks for your great examples and all that you do.

Mom- I know what you mean. We all want things to be fine now and fast. I am learning that a lot here on the mission as you probably know. I am just grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who keeps us in mind. 

Dad- Thanks for you great example and all that you do. I know I have learned a lot from you and I have been able to apply it here. I am grateful for you and all that you do. I really appreciate it. Thanks! have a safe trip.

I love you all,

Love, your favorite brother, son, and elder

Elder Landon Webb

7-1-13

Annie’s Letter

First of all

-yes I am in Knox county, that is so cool! In Knox county Mt. Vernon is the only "Big" town. Then there is also danville and centerburg (the geographical center of Ohio) and Fredricktown. But I don't know if any of those were around when he was here, but that's super awesome! I'll definitely keep my eye out for family! :-)

-Natalie, I sent dad pictures for the cardboard cutout. I still can't believe you wouldn't wait for 3 months so you could have the real me instead of a cardboard one ;-) haha.

-next transfer is July 25.

So, the mission is officially split as of today! Crazy! It's so exciting to see the work progress so much, so quickly! The difference in the OCM is so incredible comparing now to when I got here 15 months ago. And the changes from since President Nilsen have been here have been intensely crazy! They are coming up on 2 years on the mission, this month! I'm not gonna lie... I'm glad I'm in Columbus because I get President and Sister Nilsen my whole mission :-) yayayaya! So let me tell you about the insane week this has been!

Monday, as you know, we went to hell. Tuesday was a normal day, working hard! Wednesday Sister Arnell and I left Sister Nalls and Sister Meredith for the first time. We came to Delaware on Wednesday for an exchange with Sister Jensen and Sister Stump. Sister Nalls and Sister Meredith did so great! It was a little rough at first, but they work through it all by themselves and just did a stellar job! Found a new investigator, taught stellar lessons...it was just great! Friday was another normal day. Again, we had some stellar lessons! We have some great investigators that we are working with. Our poor investigators get whip lash I think becasue there are 4 of us so they never know who is coming to teach them. It work out better this way because when we are on exchanges it's Sister Nalls and Sister Meredith anyway so we just all teach everyone. it's a little crazy, but we like it. One really cool thing. We had a lesson with an investigator, Jordan, on Friday. He will be moving to Toledo tomorrow, which we are super sad about, but he has a job up there so that's good. We weren't sure how it would go up there with getting the missionaries to him and if he would talk to them... he was sad it wasn't going to be us. Anyway, after his lesson on Friday he was saying the closing prayer and he asked that the missionaries in Toledo would be able to find him. Warmed my heart :-) So Saturday we were talking to Sister Nilsen in the morning and ended up leaving on an emergency exchange back to Delaware. So we were here all day Saturday and Sunday and we will be here until tomorrow morning. Then we have mission leadership council tomorrow pretty much all day, so we will get back to Mt. Vernon around 5 tomorrow night. and then the sisters from zanesville will be coming on Wednesday until Thursday morning. So pretty much Sister Nalls and Sister Meredith are on their own for a whole week. We are really just so proud of them. They are incredible missionaries. They were definitely the right ones to be called to Mt. Vernon with all of our craziness. They are just stepping up to the plate and rolling with everything that is given to them. I am so thankful for them. :-) Such amazing missionaries :-)

Coolest thing. Here in Delaware they are teaching a little girl, Brienna. She is deaf. So we got to meet here on Wednesday and I got to sign with her, I'm super rusty but it was fun. She told me about her cat, the black one. The orange one is NOT hers. And she told me about how tinkerbell is her favorite fairy. It was very fun :-) Then on Sunday she was at church. One of the ladies int he ward asked Sister Jensen if they signed when they taught her, she said no, Brienna's mom interprets. But her mom wasn't there. So Sister Jensen volunteered me to go to Primary with Brienna. So Sister Arnell and I went, I told them I didn't know much and I was really rusty, they said that's fine. So we went and the lesson was on the 3 kingdoms of glory. We got through it! It was so much fun. Brienna has an attitude! She was teaching the other kids the signs for Sun, moon and stars and she would call them out when they were screwing around. It was so funny. Then we went with her to sharing time. There was a 3rd hour meeting for all the adults so the kids watched the Testaments (LOVE THAT MOVIE!) so we stayed with Brienna and it was just so fun to get to sign with her! The Lord definitely helped me, all things brought to your remembrance. TRUE PROMISE! It made me want to learn more! Someday I'll definitely have to do that. :-) That little girl is so special. I am so grateful that I met her and that I have enough signing knowledge that I was able to communicate with her. She really enjoyed having someone other than her parents to talk to. We really never know how the Lord is preparing us and what situations we will be in in our lives. It's SO COOL!  We will be coming back for her baptism on July 20! :-)

ALSO, the last amish family is going through the temple on July 27 and they invited us to go! We are so very excited! :-)

Well, that's all for this week. Love you all! 

Annie