Isaac's Mission e-mail

Dear family,


Well, this is the first e-mail I have ever sent to home. So forgive me if the format is a little clumsy.

The package you sent me hasn't yet arrived, so I am still nametag-less. Robinson is a lot like Madison, except maybe a little smaller. Robinson Branch is pretty small, it looked like about 20-30 people were there this time.

So, on Monday I was in the mission home. I didn't sleep very well because of all the other people snoring.

On Tuesday I met my companion, Elder Jacobsen. He's a good missionary, and is training me in how to be a missionary. He has a back problem that makes it so he can't ride a bike, and the Robinson area has a car, so my bike is actually just stored in a shed back in Louisville. We travelled to Robinson, which is 2-3 hours from Louisville, by getting a ride with the Weese's, a nice member family here. I put my stuff down, got ready, and then we set out for a couple appointments. We visited a couple members and an investigator.

Wednesday, we went to do service at the local Humane Society. We helped with cleaning up, filling food dishes, and taking dogs out for exercise. I had to get used to having cats and dogs all over, variously meowing, barking, and sniffing. We went back to the apartment, got cleaned up, and went out to see some potential investigators. We had dinner with the Valberts, a member family, and then went back to the apartment to do training, plan, and sleep.

Thursday, we went tracting. We found a couple of potential investigators, but our other plans fell through, so we ended up going back ot the apartment early.

Friday, we did a litttle tracting, and some training. Bro. Brock, a member who is leaving soon, took us out for lunch. We did our weekly planning, had dinner, and went to some appointments. We got a couple new investigators, and checked up on a couple of investigators who are planning to be baptised. One was Bro. Jones, a nice older man with one leg. He is currently learning how to use a prosthetic leg, and wants to be able to walk before he gets baptised. The other was Shelby, a young woman who wants to join the church, but her parents won't let her. She plans to be baptised once she turns 18, and is engaged to Shane, a member who is in the military.

Saturday, we had a district meeting, actually via tele-conference. We went to help Bro. Ellison, a member, move, only to discover that he wasn't ready to move quite yet. We ended up having lunch, then going out to visit some less-actives and potential investigators. We also visited the Scotts, a member family, and discovered that one of them was my EFY roomate two years ago!

Sunday, we fasted, and went to church. I met all the members I hadn't already met, but can't remember who is who yet. We tried to visit some potential investigators, with little sucess. We visited some of the members, then went to a CES fireside. Only two others showed up, but it sounds like that is fairly typical here. Robinson Branch is pretty small.

And today has hardly gotten started yet. It is my companion's birthday, and he got a new backpack and a new copy of Preach My Gospel. We also have a cake that one of the members gave us yesterday.

Mariana:

Keep practicing! I want to see you hit a bullseye when I get home!


Sam:

I now understand why your e-mails were so short.

Mom:

I am still getting used to being called Elder, but am adjusting quickly.



That's all I have time for!

Isaac Stephens