Email from Matt

Hello!

Sorry for the late email. P-day is Tuesday the week of transfers. I wrote a letter, but I'm not sure if you would have received it yet. I am horrible about writing a letter one day and not finding a chance to mail it until a few days later. So I found out that I am staying in West Cleveland, but Elder Marini is getting transferred out. Elder Carter is also being transferred, and Elder Leake is staying. Both of the sisters are staying. Elders Brown and Allen are being "shotgunned" out - they are both being transferred. So now the suspense is on until tomorrow when I meet my new companion. This is going to be weird - half of the district is leaving.

I'm glad to hear that Cody and Peyton were both finally able to 'move', even if their respective rooms aren't completely done yet. Are Peyton and Delaney super excited to have their own rooms? Does Cody like being able to look out his window and look over all his kingdom - horses, chickens, dogs, etc?

Good job Delaney with your piano number and getting your driving permit. Did you decide if it's time to get your patriarchal blessing yet? You should start driving. It's less stressful if you start with Dad.

So - are they going to Idaho this week? Who all is going? Are they getting a flight into Bernard from Challis?

That's funny - "thanks for all the crap you gave us!". Are the new family that just moved in members or not? (Note from Patty: We gave this family 14 garbage bags full of horse manure for their garden and they thanked us with a treat and the thank you card said "thanks for all the crap, we've never had anyone give us so much crap before". It was funny!)

So the other day we were contacting a referral we got from church HQ for a bible. It was after dark and it was in a less-desirable part of town - right by a CMHA (Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority/government housing project) tower. The man we were looking for wasn't there, but while we were talking at the door a car pulled into the drive with a couple older ladies in it. We walked past the car to get back to the street and they cracked the window and asked "are y'all church people?" we said we were and they said something like "oh thank goodness, y'all about gave us a heart attack. We thought y'all was a couple a' killers!" We thought it was pretty funny. I guess I am more intimidating than I thought. Just the next day, someone at church said I must have been hugged a lot as a baby because I always smile so much. Interesting contrast. Good job mom and dad (and everybody else who contributed hugs), I guess you hugged me enough as a baby.

Update on investigators:

John:Not too much to update. We taught him several times more. We taught him the first half of the plan of salvation (premortal life, creation, fall of adam, and earth life) (we'll teach the last half of it next time) and a cool lesson that teaches about the organization of Christ's church, the great apostasy, and the restoration of the gospel by using a bunch of little cups and making towers out of them. It would be too tedious to explain the whole thing, but it's cool. He is in pretty poor health and thinks he's going to die soon. I hope not, but from the way he looks, sounds, and coughs, I can believe it.

Tim and Barbara: We taught them the same lessons as we taught John. They had somewhat of a hangup with original sin, but not too bad. They really like Bro. Branch and I think he is going to be a great fellowshipper for them.

Tenika: Taught her about authority and the restoration (the cups lesson) also. You may have heard about the serial killer they just caught in cleveland. She got a call at the start of our lesson and found out that one of her old friends had been one of his victims. She was understandably a little bit distracted, but otherwise everything went pretty well. I think that is just about everybody that we are teaching consistently. I am really thankful to finally have investigators who we can consistently teach. I just wish they would come to church, read the book of mormon, pray with faith to know it's true, quit all their bad habits, be baptized and confirmed, go to the temple, and endure to the end now.

Not much else to report. It's getting colder, the members are feeding us, Bro. Branch and Bro. Wray are amazing, and it's all good.

I'll probably send home the sd card this week or next week. Sorry I am not very diligent at picture taking. I have started carrying my camera with me in my coat pocket, but I never think to take pictures of things.

Love you!
Elder Smith