We had fun talking to Riley on Christmas! We got to skype with him! All is well and he is starting to think about what to do when he comes home. He is a district leader now and has great companions. He is roommates with Elder Stansfield-an Elder he was with in the MTC-so that is kinda fun for him.

Chex.... mix.... The stuff I've been waiting for all year! Christmas is here, Christmas is here!
I haven't got the package yet. or a card. I got some from The mayletts, Grandpa Beardall, The Idaho Beardalls, and Aunt Ellen.
           Go Bolts! Pound them dirty birds!
 Yeah, we haven't had snow either. Weird.
Teaching is slow right now. And will be for a couple weeks. Everyone is gone. We have a lot of students in our ward, so they're all home for the holidays.
 Prez wants us to use members phones. But I might just use the cell phone like I did on mothers day. Oh dang. You haven't go the letter. hmmm.. I will explain all on sunday. The answers will be given! All the answers..... (creepy fade away into shadows) LOVE YOU!!! -Elder Awesome, yet humble

Our week kinda stunk. We led the Zone in Street contacts but all but one of our Appointments fell through. Bummer. So because of that, I'm not sure how the people we are teaching are.
     
It started to rain today. I hope its not like last year, where it rained for like 2 weeks straight.
Our ward still loves us. We have so many people to go see, we don't have enough time to see them all.  Plus everyone wants an appointment at the same time every week.
It's hard. Always has been, always will be. But just the same, It's worth it. -Love you, Elder Williams

The Drag Race was really fun. We walked around for awhile and got tons
of free stuff. Wilcox won some stuff at the Army booth by doing this
endurance challenge. Then some army guy went up and beat him. The
Races were pretty cool, Until the Funny cars! They were awesome! They
were so loud they rattle the fillings in your teeth! They go over 310
mph in 4 seconds. 8,000 Horsepower! That's 1000 a cylinder! We got to
meet one of the drivers, Jack Beckman. He was pretty cool and I got to
touch the car. The weather turned nasty close to the end of the day
and we left a little early.
We went with members to Golden Corrall the other night and We were
talking to some other members who drove from LA just to go there. It's
like the only one in socal I guess.
Well, bee blee blee blee blee That's All folks.
Love ya. -Elder Williams

Sorry, I meant big pumpkins. And the puppy may or may not have gotten
a couple of the little ones. (Speaking of which, the puppy now has a
home. A member took her and he loves her. =) )  It has been cold and
wet here too. It got down to almost freezing. =) And it's been raining
the past couple days.
I guess they are moving the mission office soon. But I don't know where
to.
Guess What?!! Nothing!! That's what is still going on. Absafruitly
nothing. We work and work and sit there because nobodys home, and
work, and feel trunky because it's hunting season, and work. yeah.
Tracting does nothing.  We can't talk to people walking around because there arnt any.
So...... Wonderful! Love you. -Elder Williams

My week has been super slow. Nothing going on. We're starting to teach active members now. That's how desperate we are. Hopefully we can lift the members up and make them feel good.

So, I should send out the package this week. It's hard because I don't have a car. So I have to mooch rides off of other missionaries. And they don't like it. So.... Yeah, hopefully this week.

I wanted to carve pumpkins this year but we're too cheap.

I love you as always. And I always will.  Yeah. -Elder Williams

-

Howdy,
     Thanks for the package. It was well recieved by everyone.
The Granola is good. Even better with milk.
We might have someone to teach! It's a girl that turned nine without
getting baptized so we get to teach her! Even though she knows the
gospel better than anyone else in primary. At least we're teaching
someone.
I am going to send those pants. as soon as I have money to do it. We
get paid Oct 31.
Dang, I miss Adam. That was not a good day.
So, for my year mark we went to Red Robin. Yummmm. That was fun.
I'm supposed to be writing things down? I'll save my emails.
I love you!!!!!!! Yeah. That much!!!!! (______('-')_______) That's a
hug. -Elder Williams

Holy cow. Yeah, not much going on here except for our new roommates. They're both cool.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do this Thursday, It's a big deal out here,. they call it your "hump" day. I might just do missionary work like every other day. We've been doing a lot of service for this member who just moved into our ward, pulling weeds and moving stuff and whatnot. They're a really cool family. Thier name is Robison and I keep wanting to call him B-rob.

  We might have someone to teach. Maybe. The singles ward elders were teaching the daughter of a family in our ward and the rest might be interested. We can only go over on Saturdays.

  

  I love you -Elder Williams

Hey,  

     This transfer business has been crazy. Normally they call us Saturday night with whether we are leaving or staying, but they didn't call until Monday morning! Both my roommates left and we are getting a Greenie with his trainer. Wilcox and I are both staying, which means I'm going to be in an area more than 3 months. Which is new for me. I guess there is something more for me to do here.

     So we went to an Airshow Saturday and It was pretty cool. Lots of neat fighters and old planes and people walking on the wings and stuff. We had lots of people come up and ask us why on earth we were out having fun and not doing missionary work.  We just told people that we were doing missionary work and we talked to more people there than we would in our area. Which we did. But we all got super sunburnt. We got laughed at in church.  Elder Packer of the 70 came and talked to us for 6 hours. And he had the most monotone voice I have ever heard. but they got the whole mission together and gave us flu shots after. wonderful.

     Wilcox and I are getting along. The desert is really cooling down. It was 90 one week and then 60. All the natives are scrambling around looking for their heavy winter coats. We're loving it. About time it cooled down.

    How did Trevor do with homecoming? did we win? Did he have a date? I look at the average teenager here in Cali and I'm glad we're in Utah. Teens are teens, but there is a big difference. When Sarah starts dating, I'll be there cleaning a shotgun. And I'll show the boy a shell with his name on it. I don't even have to say anything. Just show it to him and smile. Sarah will probably hate me for it, but she'll be safe. Plus it's nothing compared to what dad is probably going to do.

     Tell everyone thanks for emailing and I love them. I'll be home in a year, no sweat. I only have 48 weeks left. I think. Love ya! -Elder Williams   (PS Can you take the dog?)

 

      

Still nothing happening with any investigators. It's pretty dissapointing. We didn't even get to watch conference on Saturday because we were helping a new family move into the ward all day. There is a place not far from here called Lucerne Valley. It's a whole lot of nothing.My Bike's tube popped again. The day after I bought it. Piece of crap. I'm going to get one from a bike shop. instead of Target. (There are more Targets out here than Walmarts. We have two in this little town.)

We were having dinner with a family that has a missionary out and they were complaining about how his letters are only a couple lines. I'm sorry if I'm causing you grief. I'm not a great writer.

So, we really need to get rid of this dog. and I'm serious about giving it to you. she's super cute and happy. I could give it to some other missionaries and they could meet you in Baker. Or send Trevor or Chuck down. but, you should take her. Let me know. think it over. Take your time. but not too much.

Any who, I love you as always and another year isn't too long. -Elder Williams

-

 Nothing new is happening. We're still trying to get people to come to church and keep commitments. not happening.  Transfers aren't until Oct 11. I wish I had more to tell you. We're still trying to get rid of our puppy. You want her? Seriously. We need someone to take her and JJ needs a friend. 

Two of my pants have huge holes in the seat. Biking is not nice to pants. Will Mr. Mac fix them? They are suit pants. I'll send them with the other stuff. 

I love you , we keep moving forward. I love you. -Elder Williams

I didn't get transferred. I'm still in Apple Valley. Hot. Sunset hills ward. 

My comp is Elder Wilcox from Oklahoma. He's 6'8" and 270lbs. He plays Left Tackle for BYU. We've been working out a lot. also, both our bikes are in the shop so we're walking. We hung out when I was in Fontana and we would joke about us being companions. We make a pretty big pair. We get along. We got a new gator, his name is Curt and we set a baptism date with him last week. He's homeless right now and living in a tent behind walmart. But he's receptive and is putting a lot in God's hands right now. We're trying to help him as much as we can.

You got tied up? We hog-tied one of my roommates.

 

 Yes I'm feeling the spirit. I just want to do work. I want to feel the spirit and I want to help people come closer to Christ.  The mission is nothing like anything anyone ever said it was going to be. No movies can capture what it's really like. I love being a missionary. I don't regret coming out. I'm here to do work.  I love you. so much.- Elder Williams

        Whoo!! Go Eagles. and Chargers! I wish I could watch football. Right now.

 Sis Swan wrote me. It was an awesome letter, she said a lot of nice things.

Sorry I've been pretty irritable lately. A lot of things are contributing. Gators not keeping commitments or appointments, my bike tire popping, me buying a new tube and having it pop,(sound familiar?) and etc. I'm trying to be like Jesus. It's just a long and hard journey.

I love you so much. I really do. Please know that the lord is watching over me always. -Elder Williams

I'm glad you had a good time at the camp. I miss camps. I hope I'm with the scouts in the future so I can go on camps with the little guys. Those are some of the best memories I have. Camping. I want to camp so bad right now. I look outside and I feel weird because I'm not up granger in a hammock reading and eating Frog-eye. Tell Sarah I'm proud of her for making the hike. and for being at camp by herself.

         The area is really awesome. The members are super nice and willing to help with the work. It's a pretty wealthy area, with lots of retired folk. Ward's like these we call full of, "Newly-weds and Nearly-deads." My comp is awesome. He is a great guy who loves to work. His medical condition doesn't limit him as much as it should. We've done more work in the past week than the last missionaries did in 3. We've come in at night completly exhausted. It's been 90-100 degrees in the shade. (I've never drank so much water in my life. I can chug a liter in 5 seconds flat. I'm losing weight and It feels great.) I'm worried about Elder Thomas though. Everyday he just hurts more and more. We're trying to get a car but President doesn't even care. Doctors have told him that he can't be on bike but Pres just said to suck it up.

Luckily it's been raining the past couple days which is really strange. (DESERT!)

         We have a few solid gators and a few not-so-solid. It's hard to drop the ones that aren't actually interested, but they just waste our time.

     Love Elder Williams

hey, sorry I'm writing late. We roasted a pig today. On a spit. We got up at 6 to go and get it and then we roasted it for like 5 hours. Worth it though. Our tongan members were proud. Our whole zone was there and the ZLs got me a cake. I'm way tired.
     Yesterday we had a lesson! With an Investigator! It went super well and she is way cool.
We hope she goes all the way.
  I got the package. Thanks. I have to hide the mangos from my roommates.  I got a letter from Gpa Beardall too. I'll write him.
Sorry. not much time today. Love you and You are always in my prayers! -Elder Williams

Hey!

        Nothing new to report on this week really... I got leied last night! A sister missionary just came back from New York and they had us sit up at the head table and we got pretty legit leis. (I got Pictures) So we don't have any Gators but last night the bishop called the whole ward to repentace because we don't have anyone to teach and in a Tongan ward the only way to get new people is from the members. So maybe that will stir them up and we'll have people to teach.  Yeah it was 92 the other day, and Humid! As for spirtual experiances....
There was one really awesome one back in my first area.... I'll look in my journal so I get it all right and Tell you next week.

 Love You So much! -Elder Williams

Rain. Tight. I wish it was raining here. then we would have an excuse for all the cloudiness. It's something called June Gloom. All month long it's pretty cloudy. The temperature is nice though. Way to go with teaching impromptu lessons! We have to do that all the time. It's nice to have the spirit in those situations isn't it?

    So, this week stuff has actually been happening so I have things to tell you. First of all, last monday we got together with some other elders and played football which was awesome! But it made me realize how out of shape I am. There is an elder who plays for BYU but luckily he was on my team. I got double teamed the whole time by Samoans so not much happened. On Tuesday we got a call that we would be getting a two-week missionary. (In a few places they let youth go on missions for two weeks. They follow our rules and teach with us and everything.) We were freaking out because we have no work in our area. On Wednesday we went to the Autoclub Speedway for service. It's a legit NASCAR track. but we were working on the inside. A bunch of colleges came and raced little Formula one carts. There were a lot from out of the country. We sat in a golf cart for 7 hours checking peoples wristbands so they don't wander into a restricted area. Then on Thursday we got our Tweeker. (Two-weeker) His name is Colin and he is from Ontario which isn't very far. He is 17 and pretty smart. He went on a two week mission last year, and it wasn't that great of an experience because the missionaries he was with didn't do anything. So we really want to make this a good one for him. But again, we have no work. And the less-actives we visit are all out of town this week. Convenient!

     Then we went to the speedway again on Saturday. This time we checked people in a more restricted area. We were out in the sun this time and both Newsome and I got fried. We have the sunglass-line and everything. But luckily someone taught me about vinegar. Now I just have a tan. a red one. (Put the aloe vera gel in the fridge. It feels awesome)     

  

I finally compiled a list of birthday ideas. I would like more of those cards that sis Barton made, A couple books: Believing Christ and Tennis shoes 2,3,4. Also there is a board game at Deseret Book Called Settlers of Zarahemla (which is kind of a spoof of a normal board game.) And my shirts are falling apart very quickly, (I'm not sure that Mr Mac's stuff was very high quality) I would like some new Short sleeve white shirts collar size 19 please.(like 3 or 4 of them)

    Tell everyone that I love them and Hi as well.

     Have I seen the Gospel change peoples lives? Absolutely! The first person who comes to mind is someone up in the desert. She used to be a drug abusing, Smoking, drinking, cussing, ornery woman. Then her sister who is a member told her to see the missionaries just to try them out. She took the lessons and quit doing all the bad things, cut way down on her swearing, had a better attitude towards life and thanked God for everything she had. She was baptised and still considers it the best time of her life. Her family who are still not accepting the gospel love the change in her. They thank the missionaries all the time for what they helped bring. That's Pretty awesome!

       I love you!!! -Elder Williams

So.... Yeah, Glad I'm In Cali for the shopping part.... Yeah. How is the shop coming really? Does dad own it yet? I'm concerned. That's good that trev is helping. Get some father-son unity going on. We finally have an investigator! kind of. It's a black guy married to a tongan so he's free game. We met with him once and he has a lot of issues with faith. We'll see how it goes. it's hard to meet with him because his work schedule is so crazy. Newsome says hi. We're doing good. The members like us because we are trying to learn Tongan and because we're working. (The Tongan is coming along terribly BTW.) Oku Faka-tonga kovi aupito. I would love a package too. Chex mix please. And Newsome says healthy stuff. I don't know. Whatever. Birthday? Money? I'm thinking. don't worry about it. It's still a month away.  Sorry there is not much to tell.  But always remember that I love you forever. -Elder Williams

What did you plant in the garden this year? Krenshaws? I'm still trying to learn Tongan, But I'm loving the food! when I get home. I'm making a Tongan feast. Pulu, Sipi, Hoosi, Kumala, Otai, Musubi, and maybe some Fai ke kai. You'll love it! And I'm staying here for at least another 6 weeks. And So is Newsome. We're really getting along now.
       I haven't called susan... hmmmmm. Although I talked to the elders who are in my last area and they said, "Some lady called asking for Rileymiester." I'm going to call her.

      I'm not sure what I want for my birthday. It's not till next month anyway. Don't worry about it. It will just pass and nobody has to know. I might want some books. Not sure which ones. I'll think about it.

    

Well, love you all. -Elder Williams

Sorry, The library was closed yesterday for memorial day. I'm super trunky because I'm not camping. I'm considering sleeping on our porch so I'll be camping. I miss everything about camping. and you tell Dad to enjoy the frogeye while he can, because when I come back, I'm eating a whole bowl to myself!

    Work is picking up in the ward. We still don't have any investigators so we are helping the young men with their eagle scout. I'm glad I have mine. Newsome has his too, so we are able to help out a lot. The missionaries who were here before us didn't do anything and so we have to warm the ward up to missionaries again. It seems like I have to do that in every area. It's not easy, especially with Tongans. One way we are fellowshipping our members is that our bishop owns a horse and has no idea how to take care of him. All he knows is that he eats hay. Newsome knows more about horses than I do, but together we are trying to educate Bishop and help the super skinny horse get fat.

   There was a birthday party for this girl who turned 21 in our ward. Tongans can party! Over 200 people showed up to the party, They cooked 12 pigs and the gifts they gave not only to the girl but to the bishop and to the people who helped make the party happen, they were all worth about $20,000. Tongan's are the most giving and charitable people I've ever met. transfer calls are this Saturday and I hope I get to stay here for awhile. Newsome and I are getting along really well too.

 

Love you, Keep camping! -Elder Williams

Thank you!!! The package was well received! The Chex mix especially. I finished the book the next day. I'll probably send a package home pretty soon. Lunch with Susan was awesome. I missed her. Hopefully we'll get together a few more times before I go home. Easter was good. Saturday we had a ward breakfast (with a bunch of primary kids acting like sharks at a feeding frenzy, running for eggs) Then There was a wedding we went and helped out with, and finally the stake talent show. That was pretty good. 

My comp and I are both being transfered tomorrow. I'm going to miss some of the people in the ward. I'll let you know where I end up. Change is good. Trevor's date was weird huh? That's too bad. It happens. My date's have been kinda weird lately too. Just last week, Savannah said she loved me, then she hit me and ran away. 4 year olds. Typical.

Yeah, I hear that you guys got a ton of moisture this year. awesome. Love you all, PEACE! -Elder Williams

 

Well, Kyle's farewell, that's crazy. He's written me a few times. Make sure I get his address please. :) That crazy kid is going to one of the places I wanted to go....
Yup, Six months this wednesday!! YEAH! It's tradtition for you to burn a tie on your 6th birthday. So I'm going to hit up a thrift store and get a nasty one for like a dollar because I like all the ties I have.

  Package? Surprise? Those are the words I like to hear! That and "I prayed and I know that this is the path God wants me to take." But packages happen more often than that.

Tell Gma Hi, I need to write her. I also need to write a lot of other people. but I'm waiting until next week to see if I get transfered. I thought I was for sure leaving but now I don't know.

        I don't think leadership is coming anytime soon. I'm not ready for it.

 Yeah! Chuck is getting stuff done. He still hasn't read and prayed about stuff, but I think he will. According to him, God is sending him pretty-not-so-subtle hints.

So mothers day is in a couple weeks, Does callie have a Skype? Because if I don't get transfered we could skype instead of just talk on the phone. That would be cool. She was the only one I could think of that might have it. Camerons family does, but they will probably be talking to Cam. Just a thought.

 

Hey, So this weekend was pretty awesome. Brian got baptized. (Number 2 for my mission) and then I got to confirm him Yesterday. Pretty awesome stuff. His friend Jeremy dunked him and then gave him the priesthood. He is prepping for his mish, so this was really cool for him. (The way it works is if you taught the person that got baptized, it counts as one of yours. Even if you didn't do the actual dunking. ) So we had President interviews last week and I was in there for about 20 minutes, I asked him one question, "I've read the missionary library and the BoM and I'm almost done with the New testement, What do I read next?" The he just talked to me about random stuff for 15 minutes.  Also, it is the Easter Season and it is the time for JELLY BEANS! the Starburst ones please! I love those. Back to pres interviews, My companion was in there for an hour! When he came out he said that he was talking me up. NO! I don't want leadership. (In this mission you would think that leadership would bring you respect, but no. It does the opposite. As soon as you become District leader, Zone Leader, or AP, everyone hates you. Regardless of who you are.) So if Hudak talked me up.... I might go DL. which would suck. But, I've only been out 5 months, so it's highly unlikely that will happen.

I'm glad you have a stronger testimony of tithing and the Atonement. That's awesome. That testimony can carry you through anything that you let it. I love you and hope that the blessings keep coming. -Elder Williams

 (Betty is Amanda's Grandma. She got baptized in November. and then Amanda in Feb. Before someone gets baptized they have to get the basic 4 lessons. then after they are baptized they get the first 4 plus number 5. So we were giving them those. I'm over there quite a bit because they're so awesome, they love me) Anyway, I thought the letter was clever too.

 Conference was good. My fav was probably Oaks on Desire. We went to a couple members houses and Investigators. Brian loved it.

Everything is pretty much the same as last week except we have 2 new people to teach. We are meetin with them tuesday so I'll let youknow how that goes.

LOve you tons!!! - Elder WIlliams

Wow, Tell cory that I'm way proud of her and I don't think I could do
that. and I bike everyday! As far as Augustine goes..... well, 

its tough to find him. His mom doesn't like his
grandma which is where we teach him, and it was spring break this week
so he wasn't ever there. But! Brian wanted to move his baptism date
up! so we moved it to the 9th. we would have moved it even closer but
General Conference is this next week. His friend Jeremy is going to
dunk him and he wants me to confirm him! Bodacious!  I'm super excited
for him. I'll send some pictures.
   The Weather right now has been really tough to work with. It's
always windy. (Not just a light breeze, we're talking galeforce!)
Biking uphill against the wind for 4 miles is no bueno. Plus it has
been really cold for some reason. Next week it's supposed to be up to
like 90. Hopefully the wind quits. A few members said that it won't.
All the trees have a definite lean to them.
     Conference is this week! I'm so excited. When you're on a
mission, conference is like the superbowl. twice a year! also this
means that I've almost been out six months! I won't be a greenie
anymore, Hallelughia! (how did I spell that?) I don't feel like a
greenie anyway. I've had like 3 members and a couple investigators
tell me that they like me and I'm a good missionary. That means a lot
coming from them. It's pretty cool. All my comps have said I'm good at
teaching too. cool!
   As for the Camelback... There is a Bass Pro Shop  in Rancho that I
might go check out... (Kinda like Cabelas) or I'll just go to big Five
or something. Love you!! Keep on Trucking! I tell investigators all
the time, With God on your side, how can you fail? -Elder Williams

 As for what is going on..... same stuff different day. The only upside is Brian. That kid just keeps progressing at warp speed. We go and see him over at the Winkler's house. The 19 year old, Jeremey is friends with Brian and is a good influence. Jeremey's parents are both deaf. It's kind of interesting to have a conversation with them. (Jeremey Translates) Brian is getting baptized in April and I'm hoping he will have a desire to go on a mission. This really is the coolest thing ever. There is no other experiance that can give you what this does. Plus, I'm losing weight! I'm down to 302! Biking.

         We got transfer calls this Saturday and Behunin is leaving. It stinks. I feel that I got shafted out of my time with him. He is really neat and I hope I get a good new comp. It is getting hot here and fast. It's in the high to mid 70's most of the time. I'm getting pretty tan. (Farmer/missionary tan) I was wondering if you could send one of the little Camelbacks that are downstairs please? Elders out here say that they work great.

                Anyway, I've been obiediant for like 2 weeks now. I just had a rough patch. It's in the past. I've got like 20 months left, so I'm glad I'm learning early. There is a good article in the ensign that helped me to gat back on track. actually there is like two in the latest ensign. On page 24? There is an article about preparing to serve a mission. There are also some tips for missionaries already out. Then There is an article on the Relief Society by Elder Holland and his wife. In that article he says that the gospel is always the answer no matter what the question is. It's true. I can testify to that. Thank you for trying to keep me on track. I love you. -Elder Williams

It's been a slow week. Yeah, I'm pretty sure i have strep. But when you're a missionary that's not really an excuse to stop working. On Saturday I went on exchanges. (That's when you and an elder from another area switch for the day.) I ended up being with Elder Bohman. :( He hasn't really mellowed out since the MTC. We went to go and see one guy and his teenaged kid opens the door and tells us that his dad is out with his mom and should be back within the hour. We asked if he could call him and see when a better time to come back would be. He leaves for a couple minutes and then comes back with the news that his dad is in Florida helping hurricane victims. COME ON!  I haven't heard that one yet. Back in Rancho we would go tracting with one of the spanish elders. that was always fun. Hispanic lady answers the door and say, "No Ingles." Which spanish elder replies with, "Oh Esta Bien, Yo Hablo Espanol" Then the lady says, "No guys, I'm not interested" In perfect English. Some people.

             Yeah, my area is huge. My bike still stinks, but I'm borrowing one from another elder that is a lot better. It's a Yukon Giant. More my size. And the guy that owns it is in a car area. So that works out well as long as I don't break it.

 My Companion is awesome. Elder Behunin and I are already talking about going to college together. He has only been out 4 months more than me.  Anywho, I'm digging the Desert. The attitude here is a lot different than down in the valley. People are a little more humble here so they listen to us. Tracting is somewhat effective! We actually had a cool door experience when we told this guy that there was a prophet today, he was like, "Who?! What's his name?!" And he wrote it down. He was pretty stoked that there was a prophet. He told us he would call us.... yeah, still waitin on that. We almost didn't get to email today because the libraries are closed. We are at our bishop's house for dinner and he was like, "Well, you have to email! Get on that computer!" So there you go. Our whole apartment has been sick this past week. It was only a matter of time. our roommates have been sick for two weeks. we're pretty sure it's strep, Which really stinks. (Something random, We found two Vodka bottles in our front yard. We threw them away. Then we found two in our back yard. It's fenced in! We think our neighbor is using us as a stash. One of the bottles actually still had some in it.) Well, love you! Peace out! -Elder Williams

Hey, Transfers were kind of weird. They put everyone in a church and say what area has which missionaries, they both stand up and acknowledge who their new comp is, and sit down. They call the Hesperia California areas and my name. They call my companions name and no one stands up. The AP says, "I guess you're going solo!" Turns out that the guy who I'm taking the place of, didn't know he was being transfered. So, a bunch of phone calls later and now he knows. (I found out Wilkins was my roommate, so I was comforted by that) He and his comp and I all drove up to the middle of the Mojave desert to Hesperia and The guy I'm replacing is way mad that he has to go and they didn't give hime notice. My new companion is Elder Behunin. He has been out almost 8 months and is from Hurricane. (Bee-hue-nin) He is way cool and I'm looking forward to this transfer. He took state in the discus throw, and has a twin brother in the military. He has spent 6 months of his mission in Barstow, which he loved.
         The work in the Desert is a lot different than down in the valley. People actually listen to you! Tracting is effective! My first day tracting, we were out for two hours and we got a new investigator! She was just eating up everything we told her about prophets and the Book of Mormon. We go back to meet with her on Thursday. I'm serving in the Bear Valley ward. Our area is huge. Just plain massive. Apparently it used to be a car area, (as it should be) But for some reason it switched to bike. Our area goes from Bear Valley Road, to Main Street and from Balsam street to the Mojave River. (it has kind of a chunk taken out of the southwest) Look that up! its huge! I've biked more miles this week than I have in my entire life. (There was a bigger bike in our garage so that makes my life easier) The other day we biked 12 miles just to try to contact a refferall! They weren't even home! I'm loving it here so far. The weather is pretty weird. It's either freezing cold or scalding hot. There is a lot of brush and a lot of Joshua Trees. There are a lot of Dirt roads too. (I've never been four-wheeling in a Corolla before.)
   I got to watch the big game yesterday. Go Packers. It was a good game which was what I was hoping for. My new comp is a packers fan. No more football for awhile. bummer.
Love you and remember to love one another -Elder Williams  

And now for something completely different, We are still not sure yet where Purcell is going. We don't find out until tomorrow, and maybe not even then. Transfers are kind of messed up this time. We haven't even got our calls yet to know if one of my roommates are leaving. We were supposed to get them Saturday night. We still haven't got them. The AP's are not very on top of things. They care more about themselves than about us lower end missionaries. Oh, well, just got the calls. Apparently we are both leaving. That is not a good thing for our area. Our investigators are comfortable with us. With us both leaving, the work with them is going to stop completely. oh well. Trust in God I guess. I'm in shock right now really. I love this ward so much.  I thought I was going to be here until march. I'm even supposed to give a talk in two weeks! I can't believe I have to say goodbye before my time. Tonight is it. I was looking forward to introducing a new companion to such an awesome area. I'll miss this zone too. A lot of awesome missionaries. Hopefully if an investigator gets baptized they will let me know. Dang. I really don't know what else to say. my mind is blank. I guess next time I email, it will be from some other part of San Bernardino County. I love you. -Elder Williams

Hey, Things are going pretty good. We went to the temple this morning. The first Presidency wants us to go to the temple on pday so we changed it to wednesday just for this week. I should be e-mailing on Monday next week. Transfer calls are this saturday. Purcell already knows he's leaving. I hope my new companion is cool. I'll know by Tuesday. Nothing really new has been going on, work wise. All the people we are working with are still stuck. Purcell says thanks a ton for the scrubs, he loves them. He would rather just sit around in them than go out and work. :) It's pretty warm here. It got up to almost 90 the other day. People are asking me, "Where's your jacket?" I just laugh.  Love you. -Elder Williams

Talofa!   Satan is working hard on all our investigators. Not coming to church, not reading or praying. The list of disappointments goes on. We are not discouraged though. some missionaries can't take it. One just went home because of depression. I just read an article by Dallin H Oaks that said that the fact that we are a child of God is an extremely potent antidepressant. I loved it. I'm reading Jesus the Christ and the New Testament. We are Tracting and biking a lot trying to find new people to teach. Purcell is pretty sure he is leaving this transfer. It's kind of weird thinking I'm going to have a different companion in 2 weeks. We decided that these last two weeks we are going to tear it up number wise. Pray for us please. We could use the extra help. I was thinking about our investigators and Purcell says that as long as we do our part as well as we can, God picks up the rest. Love you all and remeber who you are and what you stand for! -Elder Williams

Adam's cancer is still kickin huh? Dang. I love that guy. It always happens to the good ones. I'm praying. And a Missionary's prayer is loud to the ears of God. Remember that.) This has been kind of an interesting week. Starting really with Wednesday. There is a family that we love being with, (They need us around. It's kind of like a spiritual boost when we are there) we were over at there house sharing a spiritual message and He took us home. Like 20 minutes later, He texted us and says that he found his dogs smashed in the road. (He has had this Chihuahua for like 9 years.) So he came back and got us, and we went over and scraped his dog off the road for him. And then buried it. Crazy. The next day we went and helped the mission doctor move from his kind of nice house into a ridiculously huge one. The front porch was as big as our Apartment. He had music playing in the house and by the time you took a box in and went and got another one, it was a different song. I walked in the house and wondered why they needed a lobby. With decorative tile and all. The master bedroom was as big as my room, trevor's and sarah's combined. At first it didn't look that big because we were just in the living room  outside the bedroom. Holy cow. He is this little Jordanian guy who would be a member except he won't give up coffee. He kept giving us advice about life and stuff. He told us that if we are working with an investigator and they have tattoos they want to get rid of, he will do it for free. There were 16 missionaries there that helped and it still took 7 hours to move his stuff.  Then last night we went to dinner at the Martinez house. We were talking, and I mentioned I'm from Mapleton. Bro. Martinez slaps the table and goes, "No Way! We lived in Springville." I asked where. He said over by Reams. "Oh cool, my great grandma lived over there." He says, we lived over by that church across from Reams." I was like, "Yeah, my grandma lived over there." "What's your grandma's name?" "Merlene Beardall." "SHUT UP! We lived right across the street! I love your grandma!" Crazy huh? He lived in that white house with the red door. With the tree out front. He said that one time he was out trimming his trees when Grandpa came over and said. "Hey, Come trim my trees." I laughed. "That's Grandpa!" Sis Martinez said that Grandma made them a pie when he did prune the trees. I told him thanks because if he didn't, I had to do it. I was like, "I must have Trick-or-treated at your house! I must have met you guys!" Now of all places, they are in Rancho Cucamonga. They lived in Springville about 7 years ago. They were really sad to hear that Grandma and Grandpa had both passed away. Small world.
                 My Weightloss is going well. I've lost 10 lbs in a week. Got back on the eating every two hours thing. Works wonders. Biking at least 3 miles a day helps too. My gut is already smaller. Trevor, trevor, trevor. *Shakes head and sighs* Donuts are for church parking lots boy. That's why they made them. Everyone parks on the street for church anyway. The church by chucks house is the best. (Of course I shared my Christmas with my companion! He ate most of Aunt Marveen's present! I'll only be with him until February 1st though, so if I could give him those before then, that would be awesome!) Did you get my package? Pictures? I hope so. I never really know. Elder Allred wrote me. He is doing just fine in the Peru MTC. He will be out on his mission soon. Says he wants to know how Chuck is coming along with his mission progress. I wish I knew as well. CHUCK! Dang it! get on a mission. You will only find everlasting happiness!
     Love you all! Peace!

week 7

Howdy.  The teaching is going pretty much the same, the holidays are a slow time because everyone is either out of town or with a bunch of people. This week should start picking up. We don't have any new investigators. New years eve was pretty lame. We played Book of Mormon Mania (Which is causing a lot of contention BTW, it's a violent game) and Phase 10, drinking Mtn Dew  until midnight, then we broke out the Martenellis and toasted the beginning of my "black hole year" (The full calender year you are away from home.) Then we all crashed because we normally go to bed at 10:30. The next morning was not nice to us. We all had MT Dew hangovers. Today marks the beginning of the end. Purcell and I are starting our new diets and exercise programs. My goal is to lose 100 lbs by next year. Should be easy. Assuming I stay in bike areas and stay out of Polynesian wards. (They feed you non-stop over there) Chexmix is always welcome. I wouldn't say no to anything you wished to send me. That would be rude.  Elder Barton sent me a letter from Houston and it only took 3 days to get to me. I am certainly settling in here in SoCal. I was saying goodbye to Wendy's the other day, and as I was standing there, I realized, "Holy Crap! I'm in California. For two years. dang." So that was kind of fun. I hope nothing to drastic happens or happened to you, as far as Holy Crap moments go. I'm learning to love out here. It's weird, I've never really loved people right when I meet them. It feels all wrong. oh well, Love you. PEACE OUT!      -Elder Williams

Week 6

Dang, that's crazy that the Tabernacle burned down... The picture is pretty sweet though.
I will be calling on Christmas sometime in the afternoon. IDK really when because Purcell's family doesn't decide until Christmas eve where they are going to be for Christmas Day. I will be calling the house phone. Have everyone ready. Grab a box of tissues. Prepare your written statements. You read yours, and then I'll read mine. Then we will prepare a counter-argument and talk on Mother's Day. Just kidding. We wont talk on Mother's Day. Easy! Relax! I'm sorry!
We got Transfer calls on Saturday. looks like I'll be here another 6 weeks at least. Purcell will be here for 9 months. That is really abnormal for a missionary to be in one area for that long. The Next transfer is on Feb 1. That's awesome you guys finally got some snow. It has been pouring rain for about 4 days straight. I don't really miss snow. If it rained like this in Utah for a week, the drought would be over. I can't get my Chex mix!!!! I'm dying. I have to wait until Thursday. Waiting makes the heart grow fonder right? A lot fonder. I want it now. Paitence is a virtue that might kill me before I learn it. (BTW, the library where we e-mail will be closed next monday. I don't know if we will be able to e-mail. We might be able to go somewhere else. or go to a member's house. Shhh.) I had the weirdest dinner since I've been out! We went over to brother Vea's house. He is half Tongan and Half Hawaiian. I had Masi, Musubi, and Fai kaikai. (not sure on the spelling.) Masi is like a Cracker/Cookie. Musubi is pretty much Polynesian Sushi. It is SPAM, rice and seaweed, and weirdly enough, is way good! Fai kaikai is this dessert. It's has balls of sweet dough in this brown sugar/coconut milk sauce. Again, Way good. I'm still loving it here. Today is my two month mark. It doesn't feel that long. love you. -Elder Williams