Riley and Janet took Natasha to see the birds at the aviary!
Natasha loved it!
Natasha using the key to find the different kinds of birds!
What a doll!
“Give us a thumbs up if you liked it!”
A Fun Day!
Reply
Howzit-Elder Flexy!
Our most wonderful and darling Elder Flexy arrived safely home today!
He has faithfully served for two years in the Durban, South Africa Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
We are so proud of him, and grateful to Father in Heaven for blessing our family during his service.
Totally “Fort Worth” It!
Hermana Kelsey 17:3 -email-Dearest family,
Things are good here. We had a pretty good week. We’ve been teaching J. quite a lot, and he’s progressing really well. I’m pretty sure he’ll be good to get baptized on the 28th of July! đ Wooo! He’s super cool.
Anyway, so this week:
Monday:Â We had a p-day activity and we played chair soccer for the first time since I left my last area. It was super fun, but there were way too many people. All of the sisters got hit at one point or another. But it was still fun.
Tuesday:Â We went with a recent convert, V., to the family history center thingy in the church to help him try to find his ancestors. It was pretty fun, but for hispanic people it is super hard to go back into their geneaology, because the records that they keep, in Mexico especially, aren’t that great. So we had a hard time finding his family. Also it’s hard, because he doesn’t know any of his father’s information. But anyway, we’ll find something.
Wednesday:Â Happy 4th of July!! It was pretty good, but we didn’t do anything besides the usual.
Thursday:Â While we were planning there was a huge wasp in our apartment, and Sister M. was really brave and killed it. We also found a really cool new investigator, P. She is a sweet little old lady, and her husband died about 6 years ago. She was actually given to us as a referral from her son-in-law, who is a member of one of the english wards. She is awesome! We are still teaching her so we’ll see what happens from here on out. đ
Friday:Â We had a zone huddle, and it was super awesome. We talked about making “baptism soup”, and all the ingredients and the process that does into that. It was pretty good. We’ll definitely be eating ourselves full of “soup” in no time. ; )
Saturday:Â We had a storm and the tornado warnings went off. Sister M. is like deathly afraid of tornados, so she was like desperate to find shelter. It was so funny, because I kept telling her everything was going to be okay, and she kept telling me, “But what about this…” or what about that?”
Sunday:Â Elder A. said something really funny while we were at church. He said, “How can so much anger fit into such a tiny body?” It was so funny to me, because y’all know that I have little spunk. He also knows this, but then the funniest part was what he said after. “It’s like she has midget madness!” Ha ha ha. He’s such a funny guy. I just laughed, and walked away.
Mom:Â First of all…OH MY GOSH!! That is not little T. and G. and Natasha!!!! What the heckies?!!? They are so big now. Oh my goodness! I miss those sweet little chidlets.
Second…Thank you thank you thank you!!! for the package. It was wonderful. I really was super excited about the clothes and the watch. And also the shampoo and pills were very needed đ
That was such a sweet story about the little tribe kids. I feel like it’s a little bit like that in missionary work, because if the missionaries you are serving around aren’t having success, it is hard to enjoy your own. But when everyone is doing good, then we are all happy. đ I think it’s that way in life in general though. And that is true about the gospel as well. The other day we were talking to this guy and this a little of how the conversation went:
      Man: Why do you go out and knock doors? Is it for your own salvation or is it really to save other?
      Me: The reason I come out and knock doors is because I know that the message I bring is true, and because I want everyone to be able to feel the happiness that I feel to know what I know. (I’m not sure if those were the exact words, but it was something like that)
But it’s true. When we are truly living the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not living it just because it is something good we should do, but because we really know that it is true, you feel a happiness that is unlike any other. And even when hard times come, you still have that faith and that testimony to fall back on. And I’ve come to see that that is something that everyone deserves. Every single person on this planet should have the opportunity to hear about the good news that we share as missionaries! đ And I am so thankful that I have the gospel in my life, because I would be in a very dark place if I didn’t have it.
Dad: Ha ha ha! Oh man, that is super funny what you called us in you’re email. I really am not to trunky. I have moments when I think about it, but just for like a few seconds, and then most the time when I do think about it, I’m not excited, I’m nervous. The real world is a scary place. đ But it’ll be okay.
Man, that is sad you had to miss the fireworks on the 4th. We also missed the fireworks, but we heard them. They kept us awake. But it was a good day.
Emily: I am for real writing you a letter today. I just didn’t finish your letter fast enough last week and then p-day was over so I couldn’t finish. But I will FOR SURE! đ
Well, I gotta go now. Tell Flexy hi for me when you see him! ; )Â And the rest of you, be good and I love you all lots! đ đ đ
Love, Kelsey
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Howzit-Elder Flexy!
Elder Flexy 24:5 -last email-
Guys,
this week has been really good we worked hard said a lot of goodbyes but its been a great two years i guess there isn’t much else to say just i love and miss you so much and i will see you wednesday.
Love Elder Flexy
Sunday Best!
“See that you learn the desires of the Master toward you, and, knowing those desires, see to it that you keep his laws and commands. Â See to it that the purity of your lives shall entitle you to the companionship of the Holy Spirit . . . This life is not given to us as a past time. Â There was a solemn purpose in our creation, in the life that God has given to us. Â Let us study what that purpose is, that we may progress and obtain eternal life”
-George Albert Smith
Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy
Family History Friday: A Wonderful Point of View!
Helen F. M. Leary has such a great point of view on Genealogy. I thought you might enjoy seeing what she has to say. Enjoy!
Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy
Double Boot Dangler!
This is my first born. He is amazing on the trampoline. When he was younger he would make up tricks and give them the most original names.
One of his tricks is called a “Double Boot Dangler”. This is him doing it below.
My favorite thing about this trick, besides the name, is that he clicks his heels twice while he is upside down. What a funny guy!
He always says, “Look Mom, I doing a Double Boot Dangler!“
Happy 236th Birthday America!!!!
If tomorrow all the things were gone,
Iâd worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.
Iâd thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
â Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they canât take that away.
And Iâm proud to be an American,
where at least I know Iâm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
â Cause there ainât no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there’s pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.
That Iâm proud to be an American,
where at least I know Iâm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
â Cause there ainât no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
And Iâm proud to be and American,
where at least I know Iâm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
â Cause there ainât no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
-Lee Greenwood
The Valley or The Mountain!
The view from the valley!
———————————————–
I went out to dinner with my daddy tonight.
He is a great guy!
I love to be with him, he makes me smile. As we’re driving along I looked up at the mountain. It’s my favorite mountain, the one I’ve looked at almost everyday of my life. I can’t imagine living anywhere except here, where I can look at the mountain.
I say to my dad, “Look at that beautiful mountain.” He says, “Yup, that’s why we moved to the valley. The people on the mountain swear they have the most beautiful view. Those who live in the valley swear they have the most beautiful view…”
I just sit there smiling, because I know he’s going to say something funny, because he always does. He smiles back and says,
“And those who swear the most are right!”
Funny. The truth is, both views are the most beautiful
————————————————-
The view from the mountain!
Totally “Fort Worth” It!
Pre-mission beauty!Hermana Kelsey 17:2 -email-
Dearest family,
HOW ARE YOUUUU?! (said like Nacho Libre says to Ramses) I’m doing good here in Denton. This week was good. We found a really cool new investigator this week. I’ll tell you more about him in a minute.
So this week on:
Monday: We had a pretty good p-day, but then the evening was kind of crazy. We ended up being late to dinner, because the elders were taking too long at Walmart. Then we were late leaving dinner, because we were late getting there. Then we were late to pick up our exchange, and when we finally got a hold of her, she had to go to the hospital because her dad was sick. So we ended up having a weird night, and we only taught one of our investigators. But anyway, I guess that is the life of a missionary. :/
Tuesday:Â We were tracting these mobile homes, and we went to knock on one of the doors. As we were standing there waiting for the person to answer the door I saw something unusual hanging from their roof. It was a huge banana spider!! It was porbably the size of a golf ball! And it wasn’t even as big as a normal banana spider. It was crazy. When the guy answered the door I asked him if he knew that it was there, and he said. He kept it there to eat the grasshoppers. Also Elder A. was on exchange with Elder T., who is from the Marshall Island, and we ate dinner with the P’s. Hermana P. gave us chili pequin which are like these super tiny, but very strong peppers. We dared Elder T. to eat one, so he did. It was like when I ate one all over again. He was asking for milk, and bread, and whatever else to try to calm the fire. Ha ha. It was so funny! But only because I have been there, and now I am on the other side, watching instead of suffering.
Wednesday:Â We had a super good district meeting about our studies. We rated our studies that we had had that morning on a scale of 1 to 10. I rated mine a 6. So my goal now is to get a higher number on the scale everyday in my personal studies. Sometimes, I just get to the point where I am loving it, and I don’t want to stop, and then my time is up. I can’t wait till after the mission when I will get to study what I want to study, and not what we have to study. đ
Thursday: We tried to help a member of the YSA ward here move stuff from her house, but it didn’t end up working out. We were disappointed because we LOVE service so much! But for reals! We also set 2 baptismal dates! They are with a couple named F. and B. They have 3 kids, two of them are named after themselves, and the youngest is named J. They are such a cute little family.
Friday:Â We had another sister, Sister M., with us for most of the day. Her companion Sister K., went to a meeting in H. (<3), and so she stayed with us. It was pretty fun. She is a really funny sister. She actually met me on my first morning her in Texas. And now she is going to be going home in like 4 1/2 weeks. :s Weird! I also got probably 30 mosquito bites on my legs. We had to teach a lesson to J. (our cool new investigator)Â outside, because we couldn’t go into his house, and we were out there for a while at the worst time of day (in the evening right before we are supposed to go home). đ
Saturday: Almost all of our plans we had set had to change, because we didn’t have enough miles to get ourselves to our appointments. But we had some emergency help and rides from some of the members, so it worked out okay, and we were able to get done what we needed to. We also taught J. again. He is super receptive, and he understands a lot of what we teach.
Sunday: J. came to church!!!!! It was amazing! That almost never happens. But he showed up and he met a lot of the members which was really cool. He loved sacrament meeting, and how people got up and shared their testimonies (because it was fast and testimony meeting). But something not so cool that happened was that in gospel principles, some of the recent converts were making some comments about other religions, and he didn’t like that very much. đ We told him that the gospel, and the things we teach are perfect, but the members of the church are most certainly not perfect. That’s why we are all here, because we want to improve ourselves. He told us he still wants to learn, so that is good. đ
Mom:Â Wow, did you do anything fun in while you were in Vegas? I remember when I lived in St. George I took two little like day trips to Vegas, one with Julie and Jennifer and Amanda to check out the Planet Beach that was down there. We got to do some of the spa treatments and then we ate lunch at The Cheescake Factory. The other was just one Amanda and I decided to do. We went to the mall and “shopped” (I didn’t really have any money). It was pretty fun, but I don’t think I would want to have an extended stay there. Sister V. (my last comp) took a trip to Vegas like a few weeks before she entered teh MTC. But she didn’t do anything crazy. They actually went to the temple there! đ Ha ha. Funny the difference between what some people do in Vegas and what others do in Vegas. đ
Woohoo! Congratulations, Mom! I’m glad you got yourself some new daycare kids. The Lord sure does bless us. đ I’m glad you are getting more stuff going on with you job. đ
Mom, can we feed the missionaries when I come home?! Please please please!!! I want to be able to help the missioanries any way I can, because I know what they need, and that any little thing you can do helps a ton. đ
Dad:Â I’m glad you had fun at your convention thingy. I hope you learned lots of good stuff to help you be better at your job, and to have huge amounts of success! đ
That’s kind of funny that things have been dry there, because it has been super humid here. I feel like I’m going to have some adjusting to do when I get back home. It’s going to be cold and dry, instead of hot and humid.
Emmy:Â I wrote you a letter last p-day, so you should have gotten a letter from me as well. đ But I will write back to you today.
Anyways, I love all of you lots! Tell Flexy not to get too trunky! đ
Love, Kelsey
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX