Pork Chop Pot Roast tho!

This week was pretty good! We biked a lot like usual. We talked to a lot of people while we biked. We are now teaching a lot of those people we talked to also! So that's pretty good! We had a great lesson with Terry this week too! I wasn't there cuz I was on a trade off with another missionary but Elder Stevens said it was really good! They talked to him about the Book of Mormon and how it can draw anyone who reads it nearer to God than by any other book. He really felt the Spirit as they taught him because he said he would read the Book of Mormon everyday! He's getting closer and closer to his baptismal date so we are very excited for him! 

We also finished our 2000 piece puzzle this week! Its super big and sweet! It took us a good 3 weeks to complete it but we did it! I also got sick this week so that wasn't very fun. I tried to push through because I could just hear my dad calling me a wimp in my head so I decided to push through haha! Also we had some lessons that I really didn't want to miss so we went to those which ended up going pretty well! One was with this guy named Pastor Chris and obviously he's a pastor for a church but he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and has been reading it! He said he's been asking God for the full truth of His Gospel for a while and so we told him we are the answer to his prayer and we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we know this church is Christ's church found in the New Testament once again on the earth. We told that by reading the Book of Mormon he could know that what we taught him is true and he said he would keep reading and pray to God and find out! He said he loves the Book of Mormon so far though and wants to preach out of it to his congregation! He's so awesome! We are excited to continue teaching him! He is definitely seeking for truth.

Something else that helped me push through the sickness was something I've been studying lately. I read a BYU devotional by Jefferey R. Holland called "Lesson from Liberty Jail" and it is a very good talk! It talks about Jospeh Smith's experience in Liberty Jail and all of the things he and those with him went through. It was definitely a very hard experience he had but he talks about how it was the trial in his life that made him the prophet that he was. He went on to talk about how we all go through very hard and tough trials in life that cause us to feel like God has forgotten us. But just like Joseph's experience if we turn to God and continue to have faith in him and endure then those experiences can turn out to be the most revelatory, influential, and life changing experiences of our lives. God gives us trials to help us learn and grow in this life because that is what life is all about, learning by experience. As long as we turn to God and trust that he knows what's best for us then we can endure through the hard times and really grow in this life. 

I love you all and hope you all have a great week!

Florida is so bipolar!

Wassup! Its been a very great 2 weeks! Transfers happened and I'm staying in Orange Park! I'm so happy to be staying! This is one of my favorite areas for sure! Sadly Elder Josse got transferred though so I'll miss him a lot! My new companion though is Elder Stevens and of course he's from Utah! He's pretty cool though. A lot different than my other companions but we'll have a good time! He's a super hard worker so we will definitely have a great transfer! Also now I'm the district leader here so that's going to be different! So far everything has been pretty good and I haven't destroyed the district yet haha! I'm excited for the new experience though!

Something amazing that happened this week was we had a lesson with Terry, one of the people we are teaching, and we invited him to be baptized on March 9th and he accepted! His faith has been getting stronger and stronger in the Gospel and he definitely knows that he needs to be baptized! He said he loves it when we come over and teach him because he feels super good when we do. We told him that's the spirit testifying to him that our message we are sharing with him is true and from God. We have another lesson with him today and I'm super excited for it!

We also have been teaching Lilly a lot. She is 9 and is supposed to get baptized this Saturday! We are super excited for her! Its gonna be a great week! We had a very successful week this week too. There is a whole family that came to church this Sunday that a family in our ward invited and they loved it and are coming again next week! We are super excited for them to come next week!

Florida weather is crazy! It was super hot on day this week and I got a bit sun burned and the next day was freezing cold! Its insane!

I hope everything is going great with everyone! I love you all and hope everyone has a great week! 

Love,

Elder Plumb

Here's mine and elder Josse's album cover for our band haha!

Conversation Email between Mom and Calvin

To Elder Plumb:

Hi there - did you get the pizza?! I didn't get a phone call saying they couldn't deliver so I am assuming all went well.  Hope it was satisfying!  As you can see all your bros wrote you and your dad so I will keep this short this week so you can write them back.  Well, I know you got your transfer call on Sat. too but I don't know the outcome so you may even have a very busy day if you are leaving.  We understand if you can't write everyone til next week.  

The Patriots won - ugh!  The score was the 2nd lowest scoring 1st half in super bowl history with 3-0 Patriots up.  Then the Rams came and scored 3 in the 3rd quarter, so going into the 4th quarter it was 3-3.  Weird huh?  Than the Patriots scored a touchdown - boo!  And then with 2 mins. left in the game the Patriots scored a field goal to seal the win.  Ugh Ugh Ugh.  Oh well...such is life.  Broncos have a new head coach is Vic Fangio who was the DC of the Chicago Bears.  So cheers to next season!

Love you and hope all is well!  All is well here!  Marcus's bday is on Sat, Feb. 9th.  He wants a lds friend sleepover friday night and then his school dance is sat. night.  He also wants a new phone. His came from his friend so he is due for an upgrade.  We have Stake Conference this weekend too and a general authority is coming so there is a youth session at 8am on Sunday.  Wish us luck getting your bros there! ha ha!

-Mom

To Mom:  

Yes we got the pizza! It was so awesome! Thank you so much! We had the other elders over at our apartment for the call so we had a good time! You're the best!

Ya we had the transfer call and I'm staying in OP! I'm so happy I'm staying! Elder Josse got transferred though so I'll be getting a new companion named Elder Stevens and I don't know anything about him. Also I'm the new district leader so that's gonna be weird. We'll see how it goes! 

Ya I heard about the patriots winning! Another trash year! That sounds like it was a very lame super bowl! I'm glad I missed it lol! I'm glad the Broncos got a new coach too! Hopefully he does good!

Oh man tell Marcus happy birthday for me! That spoiled child haha! Which General authority is going to be at stake conference? Haha ya good luck getting them there on time! I hope y'all have a great week and stake conference! I love you mom! Thanks again for the pizza! You're the best!

Love, Calvin

To Elder Plumb: 

That is great you are staying in OP! And getting a new companion will hopefully be refreshing and helpful as District Leader. What a great opportunity for you to lead! I am sure you have a lot of missionaries who admire and look up to you so they will respect you in this role. Good work! Proud of you! Are you the only DL or is your new companion also a DL?

Glad the pizza was perfect and fun for you all! Whew! I'll have to do it again sometime huh?! ;)

I love you-

Mom

To Mom:

Ya I'm glad I'm staying too! I've heard my new companion is obedient and a hard worker so that will be good. I'm the only DL he's the "buddy" lol! Thats what DL companions are called. Yes we would love pizza again another time! Thanks again! Love you!

Love, Calvin