Some additional pictures of Elder B:

Hi Everyone, Davis has been experiencing the ups and downs of missionary work.  Here is his latest email and some pictures.

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Hey Sorry its been a while. I don't get much time around here to do anything. Hopefully I will soon but here is a guy weve started working with.  Out here there are lots of things going on. 

We've had a few people challenge us and one tell us if we gave him 5 minutes he could shake our faith and No one really wants to talk to us. However we are working with this one guy who always tells us he is agnostic. His name is joe and loves to read. The only reason we were aloud back is because of what we said the first time we met him. Well when we were walking and talking to people for a few hours now and it was extremely hot and humid. We were drenched with sweat and tired. No one was interested and we were approaching the end of the street and we saw this dirty pumpkin orange house. We walked up the stairs and knocked on the door and a little old fella answered and asked. "what do you want" and we explained that we were missionaries and that we were going around and sharing a message about Jesus Christ. At first he told us that he was Atheist and didn't want to hear it. So we said alright well do you have anything we could help you out with? Any service work we would love to help mow the lawn or do anything that could help you. He stopped and looked at us for a few minutes then asked what our names were. We told him our names "Elder Burnett and Elder Jenks!" He said Elders huh? You look pretty young to be "Elders" We laughed and he asked how old we were and we told him 19 and 20. he laughed and said you know what. Ill think about it you guys should come back next week around the same time. 

So we did and there he was sitting with his door open waiting on his couch for us. He let us in with a warm welcome and told us how glad he was that we came. We sat down and talked to him and got to know each other. He told us. Im impressed with you guys. Ive had so many others come to my house and try and share a message or tell me something or sell me something and I tell them no and they leave. But you guys offered me help. Im old and cant do much anymore and you guys offered to help me. Now I don't need you to do anything I have a guy I pay to mow my lawn so you don't need to worry about that. But im impressed with you and respect you. He sat down and he asked us if we have ever heard about these scholars that show how God doesn't exist and how these things couldn't be true. But then he told us that he believes in God. He then told us that we should read these books and that they are very interesting. I asked him if reading is a hobby of his and he pointed over to the pile of books and said I have a library upstairs. "I love to read. but ive grown old and need to go buy a large print bible." I asked him if I could give him a book and get him a large print bible for free. He said oh yes that would be wonderful and he asked what book we had for him. We explained it was the book of Mormon and he said. Id love one! I can reimburse you guys for the cost. We told him its fine there is no cost and that we would get him large print as soon as possible and that we would love to come read with him. He was just as excited as we are and told us how much he loves the bible and the stories in it and how you can apply them to everyday lives. Well we had to go soon after the conversation. But we are going back to visit with him soon! I am excited to.
There is a scripture that has a wonderful message about service. Mosiah 2:17 "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God." When you serve or offer to serve others they see that you really do care and that you aren't just there for yourself. Its a meaningful way to show love and respect.! 

Recently the weather our here has been crazy. It has rained a ton and has broken the record for most rain fall since weather started being recorded. Its been hot and super humid and it can be exhausting. However the work goes on! recently with the temple open house the first day they were expecting just around 200 people to go through the temple with the missionaries however close to 2000 came through with us that day. They are expecting around 74,000 to go through the regular tours however since then there are going to be a bunch more. The Temple open house has been a great opportunity to answer questions and help others feel closer to Christ. There have been many fun stories we've gotten from the Sisters that are helping with the tours. My companion and I went with one of the recent converts from his last area and her son and her mom. While we were there we saw our mission president and other missionaries and so many people that wanted to learn about the Temple. The Temple is beautiful and the spirit there is so strong. It was amazing to go through and see the beautiful inside and feel the warm and powerful presence of the spirit there. Those of you in Idaho the Meridian temple will be finished soon. I invite you all to go through the open house if at all possible. it is a rare opportunity to see the insides of a temple for yourself and to feel the wonderful spirit that resides inside and on the grounds. 

I love you all and hope you are all safe. I am doing well and have some pictures for you. One of a sunset of Indiana then the Indiana temple. Love you guys stay safe and continue to be awesome!

It has been A while since I have last sent out an email> I want you all to know Everything is AOK out here! So to catch you all up. So Elder Tafuna (My last companion) has been transferred. I now have a new companion named Elder Jenks. I will be killing him off so in 5 weeks he will be going home. My wrist has gotten a little better however I am still not capable of lifting anything heavy or grabbing and pulling anything. Just yesterday I caught a turtle! It was wandering down the side walk and coming our way. His name is Toko. I got pictures with him and let him go. 

We also finally have an investigator! She is absolutely solid every time we have met with her she has had concerns about the church and all of them had been resolved. She is reading the book of Mormon and the bible side by side using the references down at the bottom. She is super interested in what we have to say and has enjoyed meeting with us. Sarah is a single mom with a young boy. They have a little dog and all of them are wonderful! I love meeting with them. Recently she asked about what we do for kids and we asked her what she meant by that and she had explained that she wants her kid to stay away from drugs and stay healthy and we brought up the word of wisdom talking about how we keep away from drugs and alcohol and harmful substances and she loved it XD She is continuously reading the book of Mormon and asking questions about what she is reading and giving us the opportunity to help connect the dots however she gets it almost all the time. She knows her bible like the back of her hand and it is super awesome! Recently we went over to her house with a member and had a great discussion that went on for an hour or two! it was great. The sad part is I don't think she is in our area. So we might have to introduce her to our district leader and his companion because she might be in their area. I will probably still have opportunities to teach her! 

So in Indiana the Temple open house is drawing near and my companion and I are going with a few others and possibly with my neighbors. With The Temple growing closer to the open house people are taking interest. We have invited many to come and see and feel the beauty of the temple and to feel the precious spirit that resides there. I am excited to go see the new Temple with others not of our faith. It is a very exiting time. This is a great and rare opportunity for those who have never been to the temple to get to know more about it!!!

Happy 4th of July by the way everyone! I hope everybody is safe and had a great time! we went to this one guys house that was in a different area to watch his show. It reminded me of home and going to awesome firework shows at my friends house. Ill never forget the 4th of Julys with my dad and all of his buddies and my friends farting around with fireworks!  What makes me happier than anything about the 4th here is that mortars are legal here XD I LOVE IT even if they weren't people still would get them! Well the work is moving forward and sun is still shining I love you guys and pray and hope for the best for you all

Hey Dad happy Fathers day! There is a lot and little going on right now. SO I thought about talking to my companion, which no matter what I say it will be ignored and he will not respond to it. He will just text on the phone or play on his Ipod. We have a new investigator and the guy is very Bible smart. So on Thursday we will bring a member from our ward to go with us to meet with him. his name is mike. I started reading the training manual. I will be Training myself. Almost all the Elders that I am with will be leaving this transfer next Wednesday. 20 new missionaries will be coming this transfer.

We think that one of our neighbors is dead because he has not come out of his apartment for a few weeks and we know this because a few weeks ago the apartment managers put a paper at each of our doors and his is leaning on the door and its been there for weeks. and the flies are everywhere in his apartment. There are tons and tons of them on his windows and sliding door. and his truck has been sitting outside. It could be a number of things. He could of had a ton of meat left out or he left his dog when he went to work. or I don't know but we do know he was older and had a stroke a while ago and had his mom start living with him... So my other neighbors are going to call in and see whats up.

So we got new ward missionaries finally and thank goodness. We only had one and she is a stud when it comes to missionary work. I forgot to tell you guys but like 2 weeks ago or a week ago I injured my wrist. I dislocated it trying to tackle my comp playing football with the guys XD we have been playing sports and lifting on our free time. I guess its their last chance to hang with each other so no matter what I do or say I am ignored and it happens anyways. However it is during later hours in the day after tracting hours. It has been a very slow month since not much is being done. My companion thinks its ok to interrupt people. I told him to knock it off but he says you learn to interrupt people because they can go on tangents and try to bible bash... That is stupid you don't do that to members XD So right now im learning to be more patient. My district leader said don't worry. it’s almost transfers and pretty soon you will have new people and hopefully less distractions for Tafuna. One day you will be with a very obedient companion and you will work super hard and it will be the best time. I am learning what kind of missionary I am not going to be. Ive been praying a ton. And went back to studying the basics of my purpose. Ive been asking for help and praying for everyone. so It will get better and I personally have been becoming more obedient like waking up early and doing what I can. Which I can still do better at.  

I love you dad. Happy father’s day ! I’m working towards being a great missionary!!!

This week has been slow btw. Because Elder Tafuna Got ran over like his bike and have of his body under the car. So we were down from going around much this week. However we have set new goals to become better missionaries and kill it this week. Let me know if you both do. I’m just buffing out all the details and stuff right now and I feel as if I am starting to become the missionary I want to be. Yesterday I got up and bore my testimony for the first time in front of our ward. It was awesome. I felt like I could just go up and talk for days. My testimony was pretty smooth and a lot more expound than my usual own.  Words just came out! IT WAS AWESOME, I just felt pumped yesterday.

Oh so today we are starting our exercise and eating healthy with a few other Elders. Because. we are all getting fat. I’ve gained like 10 - 20 pounds XD Jk am not sure I’ve probably gained like 10. and the pot is at a different residence. it’s in my companions old place. No one really won. It was just my companion and I then we told some sisters to come join us so we took it outside. OHH I Made fried rice the other day with bacon oil and rice in a pot and eggs and a whole bunch of spices I found XD it was good!

We got one of our Pdays taken away cause the zone got in trouble so we went to email another day and on Fridays its family history day. and no one showed us how to do it so we waited for the sisters and they came at the last minute of the library day so we just sat and emailed and I put star wars music and Skyrim and fallout 3 music on my flash drive!! SO FUN STUFF!!!! I love you guys and am figuring it all out!!

A couple of pictures from his pday nerf gun fight...Rambo would be proud.

Hey Everyone!!! Just want you all to know everything is going good!!! My neighbors and I have been talking a lot and we had a BBQ with them yesterday! Where I had some Ghost pepper hot sauce! YUMMY!!! So far we have had not much luck but we are praying and searching for new investigators. So Saturday we had an F1 tornado touch down like 2 miles away from our apartments so that was fun! Its been pretty rainy this week and I love it! You can go outside and get soaked in like two seconds! Elder Tafuna and I have been teaching This one Ladies son and getting him ready to be baptized before June 17th. How ever we want to help her get reactivated in the church so she can lead by example for her family. She has another son who sits in on the lessons and listens and participates so that's pretty cool! On a random note. There are ponds everywhere here and it is pretty humid. There are all sorts of animals chillin around here and HUGE OPOSSUMS HERE or possums or how ever you spell the name XD We chased one away from our door. We also have 4 big snapping turtles in our little pond out back and bunnies and fun stuff like that!!! So far the mission is a great experience and I love every second of it! Even the rough parts because every second of it is a learning experience. One thing my companion and I recently talked about was how we become stronger after having a rough experience and how it helps shape us and strengthen us so that we can stand up stronger or get up faster if another bad experience may happen. We also talked about how there is opposition in all things. For instance if you were to eat bread all day every day for your entire life. How would you know how great steak is or any other food is. That is one way to look at the times when we were feeling low. If life was perfect and everything went the way it is suppose to then how can we appreciate those times of  happiness to the fullest.  Hopefully you all get what im trying to say. But there is always opposition in all things and that's how we can grow stronger and grow to appreciate what we have more. Any ways. I love you all!! I hope and pray that you are all doing good!