I'm going home!!!

I'm going home tomorrow, everyone. I would write more, but we're a little busy today. Hahaha. I love y'all! SEE you soon! :)

(I'm off to lunch...) :)

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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Not My Last Email :)

Hey Everyone!

Just another beautiful day here in Crossett! Happy December to everyone too! Though at 74 degrees outside it doesn't exactly feel like it. The 39 degrees back home would probably feel a little more like December and the upcoming holiday.

We plan on washing the car and going shopping. Exciting I know. Maybe swinging by the bowling alley a little later. Also, I am frying up some chicken for dinner (we have almost a whole bag of chicken breasts in the fridge that need using, and last time I fried up some chicken, it was REALLY good...which was two weeks ago I think.) That's pretty much our p-day for the day.

My last p-day.

It's weird to think that this is coming to a close. I wont deny that it is. I know President Uchtdorf said that you should always be in the "middle of your mission". Forgive me for what may be considered by some a "negative" attitude towards the end of my mission and by acknowledging the close of my mission (I have to pack sometime after all). It's not the end though, it is really only the beginning. The beginning of an eternity of service to my Heavenly Father and service to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Serving a mission and being a missionary has better led me and trained me to do that. To become whom he would have me be.

What are my feelings this last week of my mission? Excitement. Sadness. Nervousness. Calmness. Knowledge.

I may not know what the future might hold or what I may be doing in life, but I know that I will press forward and always be anxiously engaged in a good cause.

Maybe after a day of rest. Because I am also tired, oh so tired. :)

Exchanges went well this last week. We had a very successful day out in Oak Grove, LA. We contacted a referral we had which turned out to be a part member family, who was really excited to come to church yesterday! Only they didn't. None of our investigators did. A member did bring a friend of his to church with him who had never been before. He fit right in. The branch does a pretty good job of that (for the most part).

I will be speaking in church next week for about 5 minutes or so, just about my mission. Elder Durrant and I are also singing with the young men (Hymn #202). Then I am speaking in church the following week too. Only it will be in a different ward, a different stake, a different state, a different world.

I love the people here. I truly, truly do. I love the South. It is a second home to me. I have family here now. I know I can always come back and there will be open arms to receive me.

No matter where I go though, no matter where life takes me, I believe that Mt Pleasant, Utah (even as small as it is) will always hold a place in my heart. I will always love it there. But I've come to realize something. The place doesn't make the home. It's the people. And I know several people that I will get to see a week from Wednesday that will ALWAYS be home. Don't worry, I'll bring tissues. :)

Speaking of that! Oh! I almost forgot. I leave the Jackson airport at 10:10 AM on December 12th. I have about a three hour layover in Dallas, and then my plan lands at 5:00 PM in the SLC airport. I kind of wish it was earlier. Oh well.

I will talk to y'all probably next Tuesday (at which point I will be in Clinton, MS). Until then, I love y'all :)

Love,
Elder
Dwight
Mendenhall

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Miss me much?

Hey Everyone!

Did you miss me? It's been a whole week since you heard from me. :D

Sooooo! I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! I know I did. We ate and played basketball and actually went to WalMart that night to check out the Black Friday craziness that started early this year! Crazy stuff. Let's just spend a day being thankful for what we have and then go kill each other over stuff that we don't have and want.
I'm just glad they didn't really have anything that I wanted. Other then movies.... I couldn't resist. I bought myself some early Christmas presents. Come on, when you can buy the entire Harry Potter collection (all 8 movies) for $16, you jump on it. Hahaha

We are going on exchanges today. Elder Durrant is going to Greenville again and Elder Arthur is coming to Crossett with me. We are driving out to Greenville this time, so we need to get going soon, as it is a two hour drive.

I am excited for this week though. :)

Landon and Rachel went to OK for Thanksgiving, and when they were gone, we raked all the leaves in their yard (it had been about two weeks since we had helped him do it the last time..this was the third time) and I have never raked sooooooo many leaves in my life! And then are STILL more on the trees. The cool thing here though is that you rake them to the side of the road and the city comes by and sucks them all up and hauls them off. Pretty nice. With the back yard though, we'll just burn them later. :)

OH! And Landon and I were talking today about burning a suit coat on my 2 year mark (don't worry, one from a thrift store!) and we're probably going to start the fire with his flare gun! I am pretty excited. Hahaha he has a big field that we can go and do it in. :)

Anyway, I am off to email President McDonough and then to clean some and then it's off to Greenville!

Love y'all muchly! :)

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

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Just Another Day In Paradise!

Hey Everyone!

It's just another beautiful Monday here in southern Arkansas and I am loving life! :)

We had interviews this past Friday in Monroe with President McDonough. I enjoyed them, though it ended up taking our whole day. After I sent the email about me being sick, we went and gathered the things we need to take down, and then we went to Monroe. We didn't get back until about 8pm that night.

President McDonough asked me an interesting question that I didn't have an answer for. He asked who I thought would be a good replacement for me here in Crossett to serve with Elder Durrant. I had never thought about it and it gave me a little insight into him and his responsibilities as a mission president. I do not envy him in the slightest, that's for sure.

We had our Thanksgiving dinner at the church yesterday following church services. Landon and Brooke and Blaine were all at church. It was really neat to have them all there. Landon and co stayed for all of church this time. They brought three different desserts too. And we are actually supposed to be eating chili at his house right now (though no scone strips and I really want some! hahaha)

Thanksgiving will mainly be spent here in Crossett with the Rice family and the Stephensons. I am looking forward to it. We'll be able to teach Brooke and Blaine, which we haven't really been able to do in a few weeks.

I am feeling better this week, but still coughing and blowing my nose (in case you were wondering!). It's only every now and then though, instead of constantly. :D

I love you all and hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving week! Remember to be thankful always for what Heavenly Father has given you and most importantly, make sure you tell Him how grateful you are every day for the blessings you have. Life is so sweet and short and precious. Everything you have can be gone in an instant. Make the most of today, as it's a gift (that's why they call it the present)/

Until we meet again next week!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

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Ooops!

Hey Everyone,

 

The library was closed on Monday, and that is also the day I caught a nasty cold. I've been pretty sick the last couple of days. Anyway, I just wanted to shoot a quick email saying I am alive and will email on Monday. Love you all!

 

-Elder Mendenhall

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Family History

Hey Everyone!

Family history is pretty cool and amazing. I love looking at the church's website (https://familysearch.org/tree) and just seeing who I am related to and when they lived. It's fun tracking where they were born, when they died, and imagining what happened in between. :)

Well, I was all smiles at church on Sunday. Brooke and Blaine weren't there, as they were staying with their nonmember grandparents. So that was a bummer... The reason I was all smiles though is that Landon and Rachel came to church! They were a little late for Sacrament meeting, but they were there. They stayed for Sunday School as well. Rachel has been in at least several months (everyone was really happy to see her) and this was Landon's first time going. They had their kids with them as well. We are going over there today, so we will get to see what he thought about church. I couldn't stop smiling though after they came in. :D One step at a time. :)

I'm thinking a lot this morning and not too interested in writing a lot. Life is great though :) We enjoyed the Fall Festival at the church on Wednesday. We actually ended up helping set up and everything right after we emailed. We went back to the church where our bikes and bags were and we didn't leave there until 8:00 that night. Too bad people there don't count as being in church :D

We taught our devotional on Thursday at the nursing home, and that went well. I was looking at the piano and one of the ladies asked me if I played. I then played a couple of hymns for her and told her I would play more this week. Wish me luck! ;)

I love you all! I hope all is well with you and that this week is amazing! :)

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Happy Halloween!

Hey Everyone!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable day. :)

Yesterday was transfers, and we went down to Monroe to spend the day, as I needed to send something on the transfer van to a missionary that went home (and is probably flying home as we speak). We also got haircuts down there, and played some basketball with the other Elders. I also said goodbye to some missionaries that I am going to miss dearly who were transfered. It's weird to think that I wont see them again, unless it's back home. Pretty trippy. 

Elder Durrant and I are staying together for one more in Crossett. We're both excited. This past week wasn't the best week for us though. This week will be better though :) I already know this to be true :) We were at least able to teach Brooke and Blaine last week. Not so much this week, sadly enough. Brooke has dance classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays now, and we haven't been able to recoordinate our schedules. We will see them tonight at the Fall Festival at the church.

Speaking of which, we have about 4 miles left for the month. I am not sure if I mentioned it, but last month the entire mission went over our allotment of miles for a first in our mission history. Missionaries were going hundreds over. They ended up cutting everyone's miles (our zone actually didn't go over last month.) Our allotment went from 1025 to 900. Which is not too many for such a large area. We make it work though. Today, Brother Oden picked us up on his way home from his graveyard shift at the paper mill in Crossett. He picked us up at about 7:10 and drove us to the church in Bastrop. We had our studies and then district meeting. We are biking around Bastrop today until 5:30, which is when the Fall Festival at the church is. We are then putting our bikes in the back of Brother Oden's truck and he will drop them off tonight on his way to work, around 10 or so. We will get a ride back with the Rices or Dyes. The Branch generally takes really good care of us. 

We helped Landon (the guy with the donut shop) put together a swing set on Monday. It's pretty legit. It has swings, a slide, monkey bars, tire swing, and a rock wall. It took us about three-four hours to put it together. It was fun though. :) His kids love it, and are really warming up to us. It was a lot of fun to hear Tanner (their son) call out to us Monday, Look Elders! Hahaha kids are too cute :)

I hope y'all have a good week. I know we will. :) I love y'all and I will write more on Monday with more stories and hopefully pictures! :)

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

 

Donuts...

Hey Everyone!

Did I mention before how Elder Durrant and I can get free donuts pretty much any day but Sunday? We know the guy who owns the Daylight Donuts here in town. Landon. His wife is a member (Rachel).

Well, we got a bunch of donuts on Saturday. And then I had the genius idea of finally going through with something.

If you care about my health, now would be a good time to stop reading ;D

...
A few years ago a read an article in the Deseret News that had a list of one food item in every state you had to try. Whether because it was really yummy or unique. Well, I believe it was Colorado that had a burger that was served between two Krispy Kreme donuts.

Saturday I made bacon cheeseburgers and then we had them between two Daylight Donuts. They were AMAZING! It was really good. The glaze just complimented the burger in an amazing way. The burger themselves were tasty too, though far from healthy. I diced up onions really small, mixed them into the raw meat with some seasonings. I cooked the bacon and save the grease, and cooked the burgers in it. We both had two burgers. Elder Durrant had his second one on bread.... I had mine between two chocolate donuts. Not quite as good as the glaze, but still yummy. How did I feel after you ask? Not the best. 4 donuts, over a half a pound of meat, bacon, and cheese is quite a bit of food. And bad for you at that (extremely bad). Do I regret it though? No. Would I do it again? Heck yes. Just not two. ;)

On to the work!

We taught Brooke and Blaine about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We used a trick that Elder Todd taught me last year (that he learned from Taylor, his brother). It has to do with making a cross from a piece of paper by only tearing it once and in one direction. As you do it, you can teach the Gospel. It went over really well :)

Thursday we finally made it out to Oak Grove, LA with Brother Oden. We were able to contact our two referrals out there. Lewis and Stacey had wanted a Book Of Mormon because of Mitt Romney. Lewis wanted to be able to defend Mitt's Christianity when it came to that in conversations with other people. We taught them the Restoration and they gave us an open invitation to stop back in next time we were out that way (which is looking like a once a month kind of deal).

We also contacted Casey and Chelsea. They are friends and future sister-in-laws. (Chelsea is engaged to Casey's brother). Casey had gone to church in Texas and is really good friends with a member down there. They both seem really interested. They have dates set for the 17th of November.

We also got to visit with some less actives out there who really aren't able to come to church anymore due to health and the long drive.

We also finally got up to one of our potentials and taught him and his wife (Roy and Jessica) outside their house. Jessica we hadn't talked to before, but guess what? A couple of days before we originally talked to Roy, Jessica had been trying to look up information about the church because of Mitt Romney. Then we showed up and gave Roy a Book Of Mormon a couple days later. Pretty cool stuff :)

Anyway, that's a little bit of our week. Life is great! I am for sure loving it :)

I love you all! Hope you enjoy the pictures of the donuts! ;)

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Pictures!

MY District These are the three other missionaries that were in MY District. (I was a district leader for a transfer and I had the best district ever. Enough said.)

Elder Crockett back in the day on his bike. This was one of his first days I believe.

Sister Findley and myself. She came out with me and went home shortly after this was taken.

Sister VanRoosendaal (Sister V) and myself. She is still down in Monroe right now. It's her 5th transfer there. ------

Me on the giant rocking chair in Gulfport. It claims to be the world's largest.

Smoothie King with Elder Hamp (who was trained in Gulfport South and is now serving with Elder Crockett)

Elder Jemmett and his candy wrapper tie he made. :)

McGruff the crime dog. We met him while doing clean up evaluations down in Slidell, LA after Hurricane Isaac. He was really cool. You should have heard his voice. Sounds like McGruff. :)

Holding a copperhead snake!!!! (Okay, it's fake, but still) Do you like my Mormon Helping Hands shirt? I sure do! :)

Elder Durrant! Born here in Crossett, AR! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the pictures! :) Love ya! -Elder Mendenhall

October 16, 2012

Hey Everyone!

What a week! Mainly yesterday. It was AMAZING!

Yesterday was Zone Conference down in Monroe. We had Elder and Sister Nash of the seventy come and speak to us. I learned a lot. The Spirit was really strong. It's hard to put it into words. It was all really incredible. I know I should say more about it, but I can't right now.

Elder Durrant, myself, Sister VanRoosendaal, and Sister Jenkins (as well as Elder Thomas on the piano) did one of the musical numbers yesterday at Zone Conference. It went well. I had a recording of it that we did again after that I am going to try and send. We messed up (by we I mean I) a ton on the recording. Oh well. It was fun. :)

Danielle dropped us officially yesterday. A real bummer, but we're moving forward with the work. We are teaching Brooke and Blaine tonight about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We'll be reading from 3 Nephi 11 with them where Christ defines His Gospel, as well as I have a little object lesson to help us out. It should be really good. We're eating before hand too, which is gonna be awesome! They are trying out a new recipe on us. Missionaries as guinea pigs... what's new? :D

Elder Durrant enjoyed his time in Greenville and I had a good experience with Elder Eisinger. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with Brooke and Blaine that night of exchanges. We switched back Wednesday morning in Greenville, MS. I finally made it out there. :)

I know this isn't as much as last week as far as details go, but I am going to send something else out in a few minutes that should hopefully make up for that :)

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Fiesta!

Hey Everyone!

I just want to start off by saying that my mind is still blown from Saturday morning in General Conference. Elders serving missions at 18 and Sisters at 19. Craaaaaazy! Since then I have gone over everything in my mind about this from people that I know that could leave on missions now if they wanted to, and what would it be like if I had left when I was 18. McKay and I would both already be home from our missions. Though........ I wouldn't have learned the things I did and met people I've met in that extra year I had. I wouldn't trade that year for anything. Sure, I was ready when I was 18, maybe even more so then when I was 19. I was so excited. In that year though, I finished seminary and graduated with a 4 year certificate, took two institute classes, went to another year of EFY, met many new friends, got more work experience, applied to and got accepted by BYU, registered for classes, and then dropped everything a week before school started (wonder how many people knew that..). I got to meet my nephews William and Jaxon and my niece Chloe (where I also got to stand in the circle on her baby blessing). So much happens in a year. So much happens in two years, and even in just a week or two. Would I have left when I was 18 if I could have? Yes. Am I glad I didn't? Yes. Would I trade my two years in the MJM for anywhere else? Heck no. The MJM is the best mission in the world for me. I love the South and the people here.

Here is a little recap on these past two weeks:

I went to Johnny Moore's viewing and funeral on the 26th and 27th. We stayed overnight with the Zone Leaders in West Monroe. Bishop Coenen actually asked me to give the opening prayer at the graveside service. Johnny is a good man with a heart of gold. He did more for the missionaries in the last few years then probably several of the other ward members combined. It was good to go. I know that our lives aren't just here, but that we lived before and lived after. The body in the casket wasn't Johnny. It was an empty glove with no life. The Johnny I know lives on and is full of life and love, probably pulling pranks and making jokes all the time still.
For lunch after the funeral, we went to the Creamery. Mmmmmm... they have yummy food and I missed it. Johnny used to take us there. Good times.

We've been able to teach Brooke and Blaine twice now. The Restoration and the Plan Of Salvation. They want their dad, Shawn, to baptize them. He's in Houston working pipeline until the first part of December. I hope I am still here to see it happen. :)

We also taught Danielle about the Restoration and set her with a date for Oct. 27th. We met her street contacting. Other then that, we have knocked a lot of doors and got several appointments, all of which have fallen through.

We rode out with Brother Dye to go see Brother Griffin (a less active who used to be the branch president when Crossett had it's own branch, years ago...he just moved back to the area), who happens to live in Fountain Hill, AR. The edge of our area. Well, he wasn't home, so we went across the river to go see Sister Ball, who used to go to the branch, but now goes to Monticello branch which is only a half hour instead of Bastop which is over an hour away. Anyway, she was less then a mile away so we went and visited with her and a friend that was visiting her from Idaho. Well, when we went to leave, Brother Dye had two flat tires on his van. Both tires on the left were flat. So he called AAA to come and tow it back into town to fix it and called his son-in-law who came and got us and gave us a lift back into town. We then went and did a devotional at a nursing home.

Saturday morning (the 6th), we drove down to Bastrop for Conference. We watched it there (that's when my mind was blown and still is..). After, the Rice family took us out to a Chinese buffet because our teaching appointment fell through. As soon as we were done with lunch, we headed down to Monroe to watch the second session. We got there right as it started. We enjoyed that and then we had a dinner with eight other missionaries from Monroe/West Monroe. It was a Mexican potluck. We brought down some tasty chicken fajita mix we were going to serve over rice, but totally forgot the rice. Oops. Well that was good food. Elder Durrant and I then went and briefly practiced our musical number for zone conference that the Monroe Sisters are singing with us. We stayed there for the Priesthood session and then went back to Crossett.

Sunday morning, Brother Rice picked us up to take us down to Bastrop for Conference. That's when he told us that the satellite stopped working after the Saturday morning session and that they had watched everything else on an ipad at the church. They called SLC and got a website link for the Priesthood session. Looks like going to Monroe worked out well for us after all.

Well the satellite was still down so we all watched the Sunday morning session on an ipad again. Brother Rice drove us down to Monroe for the afternoon session and everyone else just went and watched it at home.

So, Conference was amazing and I loved it. It was also an adventure. I know for myself that those men that spoke to us are truly men of God, prophets and apostles of the Lord. My soul is filled with such great love for them and for my Savior. The assurance that this Gospel and Church are His, is a knowledge that I wont trade for anything else. I just wish that people could feel what I feel, and then they too would have no doubt that this is His work. We are doing our best at bring that Spirit within us, out and unto the hearts of others, where they choose whether to let Him in or not.

I love all of you. We are going on exchanges this week until Wednesday. Elder Durrant is going off to Greenville, MS (yeah, compare the two on a map...that's our district). My boy is growing up so fast! I love training. I know that all the missionaries I have served with have been with me and I with them for specific reasons. I needed them. I have learned so much about myself and others because of my companions. It's almost unfair at how much serving the Lord has blessed me personally. Serving the Lord will always bring us joy and knowledge, as long as we do it for Him and out of love and for no other reasons. Leave the feelings of pride, selfishness, hate, and fear behind and fill your soul with love, faith, and hope. Serve Him with all willingness and all that you have. Hold nothing back. If President Monson can be an apostle for 49 years, then we can serve a two year mission, we can do our home teaching, we can do our family history and temple work. It is all the same great redeeming work. Do it for God, and leave all else behind.

I love y'all. I really truly do. I can say that for anyone that will read this. My heart is full. Jesus is the Christ. He is my Savior and friend.

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

What a week!

Hey Everyone!

What a week! And by that... it has pretty much rained since Saturday.

It has been a good week! :) Too bad I don't really have much time to tell you about it all. I used pretty much all of my time today helping out other missionaries with some computer stuff they needed help with. Remote helping is fuuuuuuunnnn... kind of.

Anyway, it's lunch time and I am starving. Then it is on to WalMart!

Just trust this last week was really good :)

Love y'all!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Life is AMAZING, isn't it? :)

Hey Everyone!

Heavenly Father is so amazing, isn't He? I just love Him, His love, and the charity I feel. Life is great here in Crossett. We have several appointments lined up throughout the coming week. Though, on a sadder note, we might need to reschedule some to attend a funeral.

Johnny Moore in Monroe passed away yesterday morning. They are saying it's from heart failure. You probably remember me talking about him, especially when I first got to Monroe. Anyway, I'm not sure when the funeral is, but it is probably towards the end of the week.

It really makes you stop and think about how precious life really is. A good friend passes, while any minute now, I will have another nephew born into this world. Time is short here, and we need to make every minute count. As Dr Seuss once said, "Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" so... be the best self you can be. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Look at those around you and serve them. Love them, and if they don't have this Gospel in their lives, share it with them. Help them to be ready to meet their Heavenly Father again and to want to stay with Him because their hearts will have been changed. Become like Him.

I love all of you! This work and Gospel are the bestest! I love them dearly. I am here to make these last few months count as if nothing else does. Pray for me. Pray for Elder Durrant, and pray for Crossett and the Bastrop Branch.

Until Next Week,
Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

I Love Life and Crossett! :)

Hey Everyone!

 

Just a quick hello from Crossett!

 

We got here last night at about 8:30. I am serving him with Elder Durrant who is from Grantsville, Utah! Out there in Tooele county. :) I love him already. I am full of love lately for eveyone and eveything. I am soooooooooooooooooo excited to be here in Crossett. It's the best! We have a little ghetto apartment that is actually pretty nice, if not a little shabby looking. It's home and I love it. The Millers (one of our office couples) and our Zone Leaders (Elders Jones and Brinkerhoff) set us up pretty nicely. A lot of new stuff in the apartment. A nice comfy couch and beds. I am just loving it all.

 

Our address is:

501 Main Street

Apartment A

Crossett, AR 71635

 

Make sure to send a little letter to my new companion too! I just can't get over the fact at how happy I am here and to be able to spend the last two transfers training and reopening this area. I can't wait to meet the whole branch. We have already met several members. There is an 8 year old being baptized Monday and we taught her today. There is hopefully a bunch of less actives and nonmembers attending. She (her name is Ashley) wants everyone there. She is cool and is sooooo excited to be baptized. Her mom, Sister Fortune, is an awesome member missionary too! (also one of our branch missionaries)

 

Anywho, Life is just great, I am loving it. We don't have any food yet, so we are going shopping after this so we can survive until Monday at least. I am sick of the fast food I have had in the last 36 hours.

 

I love you all! I hope to hear from everyone soon! :)

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall :)

Crossett, AR

Hey Everyone! 

I just wanted to let y'all know that transfers are coming up this week.... and well, I am being transferred.

I am being called to train again. I am going to Crossett, AR (look it up, I dare you...). My boy and I will be opening the area up. So in a nutshell:

I am training and opening a brand new area in Crossett, AR. It is part of the branch in Bastrop, LA. Part of the Monroe, LA stake/zone. Headed back that way. I will finish my mission there, seeing as how training lasts for 12 weeks. 

Well.... just thought I would let you know. :) I am super excited about it. I am actually super happy and can't wait! :)

I love you all! I will let you know more details when I get there. :)

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Mendenhall, MS

I finally stopped in Mendenhall, MS. :)

September 10, 2012

Hey Everyone!

 

It's pretty crazy to just think about what today is. Really weird :)

 

I love all y'all. I hope that this email finds everyone happy and healthy and just loving life! :)

 

We had a ton of meetings this past week. It was really good. A lot of driving, but I enjoy it for the most part. :) ZLC was really good. I enjoy counseling with President McDonough and the other leaders in our mission. :)

 

Well, this week we will be going over the Slidell at least a couple of days from about 10-5 and going door to door and filling out work orders for people. Basically asking complete strangers if they need any help fixing stuff. Our whole zone is going. Should be good. Then we will have some awesome lessons during the evenings. I am excited for eveything this week.

 

Sooooo... Diego came down Saturday and took Elder Jemmett and I out for dinner :) And he stayed overnight in a hotel and then cooked lunch for us yesterday. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! I have sure missed his cooking. Hopefully I can duplicate it a little bit this week. It was awesome to have him down though :)

 

I hope all of you have a loverly week! Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. Oh! And I will be sending some pictures in just a few minutes :)

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

I'm Aliiiiiiive!!!!!

Hey Everyone!

First off, I dislike holidays that are on p-days. No mail and no libraries. Oh well. I keep on smiling.

So, Hurricane Isaac was a bust, at least here in Gulfport. Hardly any damage over here, and we didn't even lose power. We had Gulfport South and Long Beach elders stay with us Tuesday-Thursday. We went and helped with a flooded house Thursday, and did some yard work on Saturday, other then that, it's been a normal week. We had a training meeting in Hattiesburg yesterday (Tuesday) and we are headed to Jackson tomorrow for ZLC on Friday. So lots of travel this week.

Anyway, life is great. I am looking forward to next p-day. Birthday p-day is gonna be fun! :) Not sure what I plan on doing, but it's going to be fun anyway :) I am going to be resisting the urge to go to the casino ;) Hahaha, put me on the coast around a casino for my 21st birthday, go figure. :D

Anyway, I am going to keep this short, as it's late at night and we don't have time. Just wanted to let you know that we are alive and well. :)

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Not Much Time...

Hey Everyone!

 

So has some of you might have heard, we have a hurricane coming in tomorrow. Hurricane Isaac. Anyway, the library is closing at one today because of it. so in 14 minutes. We didn't realize that or else we would have come earlier.

 

Anyway, the storm is nothing to worry about. We have protocol all put in place, etc. People seem to be freaking out more then they should though. Several gas stations were sold out of gas last night over in Ocean Springs. Someone told us that everyone was buying water, bread, beer, peanut butter, and toilet paper. Much needed commodities. Hahaha.

 

We had an awesome week! I wish I had more time to tell you about it. We will try and stop by a member's house later to email more.

 

I love all of you and hope you have an awesome week! Don't worry about us down here. We'll weather the storm! :)

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

My Weekly Email

Hey Everyone!

 

I love you all. Life is great!

 

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

Alooooooooooooooha!

Aloooooha!

 

Yes that means hello and goodbye.

 

Sooooo...

 

A week in my life:

 

We had ZLC this past week. We drove up to Jackson on Thursday and spent the night in the mission home. That is always fun. We got to see all the other Zone Leaders plus three other missionaries who are going home on Thursday. Elder Shumway is one of them. I'm gonna miss him. We had a lot of fun serving around each other. He flys home Thursday and then Friday and Saturday he goes on a retreat for the ambassador program at Weber State. Sunday is his home coming talk and Monday he starts school. Just be glad I am going to be home for a month before I take off to Idaho.

 

Friday we actually had ZLC. It was a lot of fun to council with the other Zone Leaders and with President McDonough. Oh! I don't know if any of you remember Elder Bruderer (my district leader/ zone leader in Monroe) but he is one of the assistants now. Him and Elder Nykamp. Actually... there were 7 other missionaries that flew out with me, and out of those 7, five were at ZLC. So weird that all of us are in leadership positions and are now some of the senior missionaries in the mission.

 

We did a lot of service this week. Seems we are always serving, which is good. We helped the members across the street move into the house and then we helped them put in a floor in the dining room. We helped an older couple move some stuff in their house on Saturday. The sad thing is, they are basically going to go less active/inactive due to the irreverence in Sacrament meeting. In any "Mormon" church. Don't get me started on it. They fed us lunch and went on for a half hour about it. Anyway... moving on.

 

On a side note, I found out that I am related to Elder Burt (who is serving in Long Beach) and also a member here, Sister Curry. So, Ezekiel Johnson, who is my great, great, great, great grandfather is how we are related. I come through the George Washington Johnson line, and they some through two others. So Ezekiel is how we are related. It's pretty neat to be able to look at family history and see just how everyone comes together.

 

Well I am excited to have a full work week ahead. We are teaching district meeting to our whole zone on Wednesday about what we learned at ZLC. And we are also teaching our Book Of Mormon class that we started that night. This is the third week so far, and it is actually a pretty big success. :)

 

Well I love you all. Hope all is well :)

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Douglas Mendenhall

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Week...

Hey Y'all!

 

It's been a pretty uneventful week here. Compared to the week before. My wrist is doing well. Healing slowly. I keep doing stuff like help people move, which doesn't help the wrist. :D

 

I can't really think of any stories of experiences from this past week. It all kind of blends together. And typing at this computer I am at doesn't help the wrist either. It was the only available one though. I am still on a stool and the computer is higher then me.  

 

I know this is short... but oh well! Love you all. :)

 

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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My Accident Picture

I drew this myself! ;)

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I had a fun week....

Hello Everyone!

Well some of you have heard and some of you haven't yet, but I sure have had an interesting week.

 

So Tuesday morning, I went on exchanges with Elder Nielsen (yes the one that lives two doors down from Grandma Shelton) in Biloxi. Well, it gets to be about 6:15 that night and we are biking along Pass Rd to visit some people. Well we are going along and there is a car that is pulling out of a Catholic church. Elder Nielsen bikes past and and I keep going. Well this car comes, doesn't stop, and accelerates to get into traffic. He didn't see me at all and t-boned me on my bike. I land in the lane of traffic. No cars were coming (he was pulling out into the road so of course not). Anyway, he stops and gets out and is pretty freaked out and am asking if I am okay. I was. I pulled my bike off the road and Elder Nielsen is back at this point. Anyway, a car stops and asks if I am alright. He was a military cop that works on Kiesler Air Force base. He calls the cops while I am talking to President McDonough on the phone. Well, two cop cars pull up, followed by a firetruck and then an ambulance.

 

Before anyone freaks out... I am okay. I had a sore hip for a day or two and a sprained wrist. I went to the hospital (courtesy of the ambulance) and they took three x-rays. I was bored out of my mind in the ER for two hours though. :D I had one tiny scrape on my knee and that was it. Nothing short of a miracle that I walked away like I did. :)

 

Anyway, I drew a diagram on the computer and attached it for you to view. It's in a PDF format. I hope you have enjoyed my story! :)

 

Other then that it was a good week. It rained a lot. Like... A LOT.

 

Brother Chipman isn't getting baptized this weekend. He hasn't been able to stop smoking yet and we haven't been able to see him.

 

Anyway, we are super busy today. We went to Long Beach and gave Elder Muller a blessing and then I went with Elder Burt to go give a less active member a blessing while Elder Jemmett stayed with Elder Muller (who is pretty sick... throwing up all morning). We now need to go pick up the Ocean Springs Elders soon and bring them to Gulfport to the bike shop and then take them back after. Plus we need to fax in numbers to the office, clean our car, and try to relax a little bit. Finish my letters and mail them off, and then some appointments tonight.

 

I hope everyone is doing well. :) Know that your prayers are working and keep sending them my way. I love you all!

 

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall

 

 

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Hello Everyone!

 

Fair warning, I don't feel like emailing or saying much today. That of course isn't fair to y'all, but oh well.

 

 

Life is still going really well. We started teaching a couple this past week, Gordon and Lynn. They are awesome. Lynn was baptized when she was 8, but hasn't been to church since age 16... and a lot of things has happened in between that and now. Gordon isn't a member, and they are both really interested in the Gospel. They had us over for a lesson and dinner on Friday. It was awesome. :)

 

No one came to church this past Sunday, but Brother Chipman is still progressing. We need to meet with him this week and see how his no smoking is going. Gordon is also stopping smoking. It's just neat to see people make changes in their lives altogether. That's the cool part of being a missionary. :)

 

That's the thing with missionary work. It is so rewarding when people progress and SSSSOOOOOOOO frustrating when they don't. It's very disheartning. It's okay though. I focus on the good! :)

 

Funny story of the week.... my automobile accident. :D Don't worry, no one was hurt! Other then the rear passenger tire. We were stopped at a stop sign turning right. I turned to sharp and the rear tire hit the curb and the curb cut the tire. Dented the rim a little. Really lame that it did that. The curbs here that they put in after Katrina are deadly. I have pictures of it on Elder Jemmett's camera which is in the car. Maybe next week I will send them.

 

Interviews with President McDonough went well. It was fun just getting to know him a little bit more. The Assistants stayed the night with us and then we actually had a zone meeting for district meeting the next morning. We taught what we learned in ZLC. It went well. :)

 

Well... I love you all. Have a fantastic week!

 

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello!

Hey Everyone,

 

This past week has been good... here is a little update about my mission... I just sent this to someone else, so I am going to be lazy and copy and paste it here...

 

I am serving with Elder Michael Jemmett from Rigby, ID. He is a great companion. We have fun together. We are very similar. Both of us are super girl crazy, love music, games, etc etc. He has been on his mission for about 13 1/2 months. Anyway, he is great to serve with. I am hoping for another transfer with him after this.
 
We have a new mission president. I got to meet him and his wife last Thursday and Friday. President McDonough. He is from Murray, UT. He is awesome. I am excited to serve with him. He's a little soft spoken, loves this gospel, and has the spirit about him. He wants to do this write. He loves all the missionaries. Him and his wife are traveling the mission over the next two weeks and going to all of the apartments and interviewing and visiting with all the missionaries. I am excited to see them again tomorrow night.
 
Well, it is so much fun being back in Gulfport. I have got to see a lot of people that I know and love. Especially the Kitchens! I hope you remember them. She is great. Sad news though is that they are moving into nursing homes. Probably in three weeks. Different ones too. Joivan is probably going into the VA one (veteran). While Grandma K will go into another one. It's pretty sad. I love them to death. I am just glad I got to see them a few more times.
 
We are working with a PMF right now. Rick Chipman. His wife is a member. Brother Chipman has been visiting with missionaries for about 17 years now. He just never wanted to quit smoking. Well, before I got here, he prayed for help to quit smoking, and now he has diabetes and cancer. Pretty crazy, but all will be well. He has a date for the 28th of this month. I pray he makes it. :)

 

 Life is going just great here. I am loving it. We got rain this morning, but it looks like it is starting to clear up. Means it's gonna get warm! That's okay though. At least Mississippi isn't on fire... ;)

 

Well, I love you all. I hope life is just great for anyone who reads this. Because life is too precious and amazing to not enjoy it. :)

 

Until next week!

 

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

 

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Gulfport Week 2

Hey!

 

Real quick...

 

Life is great! I am loving being back in Gulfport. I have been able to see a lot of people that I love dearly. It has been awesome. :) It is also sad because it is a military ward and so some are already gone, some are deployed, and some are leaving really soon. Like the Hinds... they leave in 19 days. He is out of the military now and they are moving back to Indiana. Go figure. It sure ws good to see them. :)

 

Well, the library closed yesterday before we could email, so I am going to be brief today.

 

Just know that life is going really well. I am serving with Elder Jemmett from Rigby, ID. We are pretty similar. It's been a fun week so far. :)

 

Ummmm... I love you all! I will have more time next Monday. Our week this week is pretty packed already. We leave Thursday for Jackson, staying the night and then we have Zone Leader Council (ZLC) for most of Friday. So there is 1 1/2 days gone. Plus tomorrow is the fourth and we have some plans already, but holidays are a pain as a missionary. No one wants to take away from their family time to talk to us. We will be doing our best though.

 

So in short, I am loving life, loving this work, and am just as happy as a bird with a french fry to quote a friend of mine.

 

I hope everything is as awesome and amazing for all of you. Try not to burn up in the heat and flames, umkay? :)

 

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

 

 

 

 

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Back To The Coast...

Hey Everyone!

 

Well, I am sitting here at the library in Gulfport, MS. It's been a little less then a year, and here I am again. I did end up in Gulfport as a Zone Leader here. My companion is Elder Jemmett from Rigby, ID. He's been out about 6 months less then me, and I am super excited to serve with him.

 

For future reference, my mailing address here is:

 

16097 Orange Grove Rd

Gulfport, MS 39503

 

We stay in a two bedroom, one bath house in front of a member's home. Kind of like the little house on the property back home. Just no upstairs. And nicer. And in the south. ;)

 

Well, I am excited to be here again! It's so weird being back here. We went and visited a recent convert today, Willyray. He was baptized on Feb. 25th. He was being taught last year when I was here, but I didn't recognized the name. When we got to the house though (which his sister who is a member used to live in) and I saw him, I realized I had met him already. For just an hour last year, but I still remember him. So crazy.

 

Today we are going down later to go see the Kitchens! In case you don't remember, they are the older couple that I absolutely love. She feeds the raccoons. Anyway, I am SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I have missed them lots! There are so many people I am excited to see. I can't wait until church. The Hauerspergers, Farmers, etc etc etc! :) :) :)

 

Okay, I am going to keep this short and contain my excitement as much as I can. We are going to go to the store after this so I can pick up some food to get me through the week. So I am going to try and keep all of that short, so we can get to work. I am excited to work here and I am dedicared to making my time count. The Lord has sent me here for a reason, so I'm here to "get 'er done!"

 

I love you all! I hope to hear from everyone soon!

 

Love,

Elder Dwight Mendenhall 

 

 

 

 

 

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Saturday...

Hello Everyone!

It's the Saturday before Transfers, and so you know what that means, right?

I am being transferred. I am heading east as a Zone Leader. I don't know for sure where I am going, but I am thinking Gulfport. And really wishing. I want to go back. :)

Just wanted to let y'all know. I will probably email Wednesday and let you know for sure where I end up. Elder Crockett is staying here.

Love you all.

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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Hey Everyone...

Hey hey hey!

Happy belated Father's Day, everyone. Especially all you dads out there. Especially my Dad, the world's best there is. :)

It's been a long week. Leadership training was on Friday. It was good. Long, but good. President Tucker kind of gave all of us his "exit interview" advice. The stuff he would usually say when we were going home. AKA, there was quite a bit of marriage advice. Hahahaha, I didn't mind it though.

No investigators in church on Sunday. For us, or the sisters. Kind of a bummer. Not sure what happened to Lavell. Hopefully we can catch up with him this week.

I'm wearing my board game club shirt today. Hahaha, sporting the board game geek that's inside of me. :) We are playing some games (and possibly some ping pong... thanks Danbi!) later today at the church. Sister Findley goes home on Friday, so it's our final "p-day party". We're not very creative, so games at the church. But then again, all of you who know me know that I am super happy with that. :D

The work goes on. Slowly, yet surely. This week we get transfer phone calls. So we'll see what happens. I know this email is mainly fluff this week and not much substance, but not much happened this past week. At least not anything I want to type out (it's p-day... I'm kind of lazy...)

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

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Losing My Mind....

Hello Everyone!

As I was contemplating what to put on the subject line, I looked at my wrist to see what day it was (I suppose it's the 12th, but  I checked out of habit) and I realized I didn't have my watch on. I forgot to put it on this morning. I also forgot to grab my planner on Sunday. Reminds me of the time I was with Elder Todd in Gulfport and I forgot to put on a tie before leaving the apartment. Funny thing was that I had my suit coat on, just not a tie. Not sure if I shared that story before. We were going to drop off some trash on our way to go pick up Gulfport Spanish and as I got out of the car to throw the trash away, Elder Todd asked me if I forgot something. "No, pretty sure I got all the trash" was my reply. Then he pointed at his tie. Then I looked for mine. Ooops. I just borrowed one from the Spanish Elders.

Anyway, I just enjoy life. I smile every time I think about that. I've had a lot of funny experiences on my mission. I have several quotes from Elder Crockett that are hilarious. Just the way he said them. Not as great unless you know him. One day though we were in the car with Elder Bruderer and Elder Mclean (last transfer) and Elder Crockett pipes up next to me:
"Something I've never understood is how my dad met my mom at a dance....*pause*... at a dance."
Just the way he said it and how serious he was too. We don't as yet have the full story on the dance/meeting/mission thing, but maybe one day we will. Anyway, Elder Crockett is pretty funny, usually when he's not trying to be.

Well, this past week was really good. I don't know if I mentioned it (I think I did) but the Sisters here baptized Kisha and three of her kids the first part of May. Well, this past week we started teaching her husband, Lavell. Super awesome. We have had some really good lessons with him this past week, and he has a date for the 30th of June, so please keep him in your prayers. I really hope he comes to church this Sunday, as he didn't two days ago. That is our biggest struggle right now is church attendance. We can't get anyone to come. Fruskrating sometimes. We couldn't even get an investigator to church and she lived right down the skreet! (Yes, people do say thos words like I spelled them....)

Other then the church thing, life sure is dandy. I burned my sacrificial pair of pants on Friday for my 18 month mark. Also, on Saturday, Diego and his mom came to visit Elder Crockett and myself for a few hours. It was awesome to see him again. We went out and got some food and just shot the breeze. It was super cool. :)

And..... I got some good letters in the mail this past week. And a package from home! Thank you for that. I got the package slip on Friday and I couldn't pick it up until Monday. We took it to Johnny's house and I opened everything there. Then we went and played some basketball at the church and you know what? I actually was playing pretty decent. I actually scored some points. Doesn't happen often. :)

Well, just know that life is well and that I love all of you. I hope y'all have an awesome week! :)

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

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It's June

Hey Everyone,

I hope y'all had a good week this past week. I know I did for the most part. I started having some major sinus and allergy issues Thursday though. Friday I had a pretty bad headache. I started taking some stuff for it though and it's pretty much cleared up. Johnny, one of the members here, has had this same problem for a few weeks now. It almost sounds like what Mom has back home. Crazy stuff. I know a couple other people who have had the same problem here in Monroe.

Other then that and just being tired, life sure is good. In fact, this week is looking to be a fantastic week! Now, that might just be because it's a rare week and we have a dinner appointment every day, but still. :D OH!!!!!!!!! And guess what Friday is!!!!

...
....
...
...
...

...
My 18 month mark! Can you believe it?! I can't. It's surreal. Crazy. That is a long time. A lot has happened in that time though. I have had four areas, 8 companions, trained two of those, had some baptisms, gained 20 lbs (yup!), have one new niece, two nephews (with one on the way), a new sister-in-law (Hi, Kim!), and tons of other stuff. I officially broke my bike all the way, got a new (to me) one, fell in love with the south (while loathing it some days...what can I say?), met so many awesome people, gained a deeper love and understanding of the gospel, found out exactly what kind of members there are in the church (those who do missionary work and those that don't ;) hahaha kidding! kind of...), ummmmm... it goes on and on.

To celebrate this special occasion, all six missionaries here are eating at the Bishop's house on Friday (okay, so it just happened to fall like that, though it is Sister Findley's 18 month mark as well..) and of course I will be following the tradition of missionaries and burning a pair of pants! (don't worry, Mom, they are an old pair someone left in our apartment, not any of mine...though I could burn mine as they are falling apart and sewed in many different places. They're still wearable though!) I am looking forward to all of it.

I know I bounce around from subject to subject, but hey, you just got to love me anyway. We went to go see Bruce on Saturday. We talked to him about the Plan of Salvation. Afterward, his cousin/brother/something or another came out and wanted to talk to us. His name is Herman. Anyway, I wasn't feeling the best and didn't say much, and so Elder Crockett and him talked quite a bit. Anyway, Elder Crockett got called an anti-Christ because we believe that the Trinity are separate and distinct beings. It was a rough day for us. To top it off, the next morning (yesterday) we went by to pick Bruce up for church with a member, and he was sick in bed.

This work may not be easy, but it's worth it. And I love it. I hope all of you have an awesome week! I know I will. It's all what you want it to be. There is enough good in a day to focus on that you wont ever have a bad day. :)

I love you all.

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

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Happy (Belated) Memorial Day!

Hello Everyone!

How is everyone doing today? I hope really well. :) Today is Wednesday, and we just got the chance to email today. Monday was Memorial day, so the libraries were closed, and yesterday was Zone Conference over in Bossier City, and we hitched a ride with our Zone Leaders (biking that far didn't sound like fun...) and afterward, Elder Shumway wanted to visit some of his Spanish investigators in Sherevport, so we did. So no chance to email yesterday.

Zone Conference was awesome yesterday. Probably the last time I will see President and Sister Tucker on the mission. We talked about a new finding activity, "harvesting" is what they called it. Essentially, we talk to people (either street contacting, or tracting) and say more or less, "Hello, my name is Elder Mendenhall and this is Elder Crockett. We are representatives of Jesus Christ. He has sent us to leave His peace and blessing in your home. May we come in and leaving this blessing with you?". Of course, a little more personable, and then if they say yes, we go in, gather the family, learn a little about them (names, ages, etc) and then kneel in prayer and voice a blessing upon them and their home (not dedicating the home, just blessing). Bless them all by name, etc. Some missionaries have already tried it with some success. Like President Tucker said though, it's not some silver bullet or cure all. It is just another finding activity to try. It will work sometimes, sometime not. It should be fun to do though, once I get past the initial awkwardness of it. :D

Life is just fabulous, for no other reason then I am alive and have a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my Savior and His work. :) I want to be more like Him, to feel the love that He has for all of my brothers and sisters. I love the South. I really do. I also love Utah though, and I can't wait to get back there. In the meantime though, I am enjoying myself here in Monroe. I love Elder Crockett. He's a good kid. :) Oh! I got to see Elder Kington yesterday too! It was great seeing him again. I love that kid to death! 4 1/2 months in Philly with him was just amazing. Hahaha, we had such a good time together. He is still over in New Boston, TX (his second transfer there). He's loving it!

On a secular note (and future note, but it makes me happy now)... I received a scholarship to BYU-Idaho. It's not's too big, about 1/3 of tuition cost, but I am happy to have it. Any little bit helps. Still not sure what I got it from (I assume I have Debi to thank there) but I have it. Super cool. I am excited to go there come January. I don't know if I ever mentioned it to anyone really, but I have decided for now to major in Recreation Management. I want to work with youth in an outdoors environment and help them better their lives and to succeed. To make a difference. :) Anyway, I am excited to go to BYU-Idaho. :) Come to find out, according to Rachel (as in my cousin Rachel), there will be about 7 of the "Shelton" family up there. Marlie and her husband, Jamie Shelton, Rachel, Ryan and his new wife, and then Camille Jolley. And myself. Super excited for it all. :)

Okay, everyone. I love you all. I need to wrap this up as I have a couple other emails to write. I love all of you! :)

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

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Who Reads These?

Hello Everyone!

I was just wondering who even reads my blog. Can you please comment and let me know. I would appreciate it. I love you all! :)

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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Hello Everyone!

Hey All Y'all,

Well, what a good week. I got my new bike on Tuesday, ruined the chain that night (yeah... don't ask...I am just cursed with bikes...), fixed the chain the next day and have been enjoying it ever since. I love it. It is a night and day difference from my old one. The shocks on it are really nice too. 

Anyway, we had several good lessons this past week. Bruce, our top investigator, has had several issues with his diabetes this past week (type 1) so he missed Scripture Study and church. *Sigh* Oh well! :) Everything is just dandy though. 

We played basketball today, and I am a little battered and bruised, but happy. 

I teach my first district meeting on Wednesday. Should be alright. Oh yeah. They split our district, so it's just Elder Crockett, the Sisters. and myself. It's better then having 11 in the district. 

Ummmm... we are going to dinner right now. I love you all! Sorry to be short! Love ya!

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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La De Da...

Hello Everyone!

So, I talked to almost everyone who is going to read this on Skype yesterday. It was awesome! :) I loved seeing everyone and talking to all of you. Just think. That was my last phone call/Skype home. Weird!

So, I pretty much ruined my shirt this morning. I just noticed. It has lots of little grease spots. I cooked bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and waffles this morning. They were delicious! I might need to invest in an apron though. Might come in handy later on. But I love bacon, so it was worth it! :)

I guess I don't have much to say. I am buying a new bike tomorrow. I am now a district leader. I am still training Elder Crockett. Life is pretty much the same other then that. I am in Monroe for another 6 weeks. Yup! 

Not much this week, but what do you expect a day after Mother's day? :)

Love ya!

Love,

Elder Mendenhall

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Hot, humid, and it's only May...

Hey Everyone!

So, it's only May, and we have already had 90 degree weather. With the humidity, that makes the heat index well over 100 degrees. around 110 or so. Anyway, life is great, despite the heat! My camelbak keeps me hydrated. Funny story though. We get back to the apartment last night and Elder Crockett curls up on the couch. He looks exhausted so I don't bother him. Well, he passed out for over an hour while laying there. He was dead to the world. Bless his heart. He walks into our bedroom and told me he thought he was only out for about 5 minutes. Hahaha, not likely. I guess the heat and exercise on a bike will do that to you. Oh well. I am loving it. Not the heat exactly, but the mission.

Well, Bruce was supposed to come to church yesterday, but when we showed up with a member to pick him up, he wasn't there. So, no one at church. This is the hardest time I have had getting people to attend church. We keep on trying though.
Other then that, it's been a pretty good week. Nothing too big to talk about. We got a lot of potential investigators, but none really turned into new investigators. This week though! Hopefully.

I am super excited to Skype on Sunday! It's going to be really weird though, because after that, the next time I talk to all y'all will be in person...weird... I'm not ready for it to be over yet (luckily, I still have 1/4 of my mission, but still... it flies by!)

Hmmmm... I don't really know what to write. Nothing really happened this past week. Well, we only have one week left of the transfer, which is crazy. I've already been with Elder Crockett for 5 week! Hmmmm... we'll find out this week if I will finish training him (I am sure I will, but crazier things have happened...Like my training time).

The Sister missionaries had some baptisms Saturday night, which was cool. A mom and three of her kids. That was fun to attend and watch. Soon... soon, we will have some too!

Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll...........................uh. I guess I don't have anything to say. Weird. I hope y'all have an awesome week! I know I will. Try to stay warm over there in the west. Don't get too cold! Love y'all!

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

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Suthunuhs!

Hey Everyone,

My Dad sent this to me, so I thought I would forward it on to all y'all. :)

-Elder Mendenhall

Suthunuhs! Sho nuff! Southerners know their summer weather report: Humidity Humidity Humidity ------------------------- Southerners know their vacation spots: The beach The rivuh The crick -------- Southerners know everybody's first name: Honey Darlin' Shugah -------- Southerners know the movies that speak to their hearts: Fried Green Tomatoes Driving Miss Daisy Steel Magnolias Gone With The Wind ----------- Southerners know their religions: Bapdiss Methdiss Football -------------- Southerners know their cities dripping with Southern charm: Chawl'stn S'vanah Foat Wuth N'awlins Addlanna --------------- Southerners know their elegant gentlemen: Men in uniform Men in tuxedos Rhett Butler ----------------- Southern girls know their prime real estate: The Mall The Country Club The Beauty Salon -------------- Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins: Having bad hair and nails Having bad manners Cooking bad food ---------- Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, You "PITCH" them. _____ Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess." _____ Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder." _____ Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, as in: "Going to town, be back directly." _____ Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table. _____ All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well. _____ Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'! _____ Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20. _____ Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and Po white trash. _____ No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn. _____ A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb. _____ Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... And when we're "in line,"... We talk to everybody! _____ Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage. _____ In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural. _____ Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them. _____ Every Southerner knows that tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; that scrambled eggs just aint right without Tabasco , and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food. (personally, I like them for any meal, and between-meal snacks).  _____ When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner! _____ Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.. _____ And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her sweet little heart"... and go your own way. _____ To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southernness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your little heart! _____ And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff....bless your hearts, I hear theyre fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language! _____ Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fah-evah ! There ain't no magazine named "Northern Living" for good reason. There ain't nobody interested in livin' up north, nobody would buy the magazine!   Now Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or wish they had abeen! If you're a Northern transplant, bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could.               FREE Animations for your email by IncrediMail                         Click Here!                                   --   If I M I because U R U, and U R U because I M I, then I M not, and U R not. But if I M I because I M I and U R U because U R U, then I M and U R!

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