Flat Zach Adventures

     Let me introduce you to Flat Zach, a long lost relative of Flat Stanley.  Flat Zach has been around since the beginning of Elder Muir's mission; however, due to the overwhelming responsibilities of maintaining his blog and other domesticated responsibilities of his mother the Flat Zach adventures are not up to date :(  In case you're not familiar with the adventures of Flat Stanley and his origin check out the following link:  vm=r&s=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley?vm=r&s=1

     Since the inception of Flat Zach he has been on many adventures.  Flat Zach is proving to be a great missionary tool and we have big plans for his coming travels.  He's the topic of conversation whenever he makes an appearance and gets lots of smiles, comments and support.  The beauty of him is that he's portable, economical and very fun to have around.

     Flat Zach was a fully vested Cougar fan during the BYU vs. Utah rivalry game.  Thanks to some very thoughtful and generous neighbors Flat Zach enjoyed the game from the front row at the game.  Elder Muir is going to be so excited to get his package of pictures this week with his weekly Cougar Tracks game report :)    Coming soon...Flat Zach visits Lake Tahoe.

Flat Zach gets up close and personal on the field with Cosmo

 

 Flat Zach and the Cougarettes...not sure if this is mission approved :)

 

 Cute BYU cheerleader that threw Flat Zach a BYU tshirt

 

 





Week 16...Zone Conference and Fall is in the Air

1. First off, how was zone conference? When was it and how many missionaries were there? What did you do?  Zone conference was AWESOME!  There were about 85 missionaries from Harrisburg, Chambersburg, and Lancaster zone.  It was very inspired conference and very good to hear what was said. We talked about the Come Follow Me teachings and how we can tie that into the way the Savior taught and wants us to teach.  Also, we discussed the talk His Grace is Sufficient       http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/09/his-grace-is-sufficient?lang=eng   and also a talk by Elder Bednar      http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng     (the very first conference talk he gave). I really enjoyed those talks a lot.  I'm sure you have read His Grace is Sufficient since it is in this month’s Ensign.  I really like the story he shares about the piano lessons and the boy and the analogy he gives.  I think Pres. Beard talked about it in stake conference once.  I especially like where it talks about how it doesn't matter how good or bad we are that we just need to keep trying and not give in even though we hit a lot of wrong notes. We are always going to fall short, but we shouldn’t give up because we fall short.  If you keep practicing you will get better and your testimony will grow and it will be easier to turn away from sin and not have the desire to do evil.  Growth and development take time.  So does learning, it’s important to learn from our mistakes and keep striving to become a better disciple of Christ.  Luckily, the atonement has been given to us and we don't need to be perfect.  What counts is that we keep trying to become like Him.  The talk by Elder Bednar is given literally hours after he is called to be an apostle.  He talks about Enoch and how he asks God what’s so special about me, why have you chosen me?  He feels very inadequate.  You will have to read the talk and it explains it much better.  It also talks about his experiences when they are getting ready to change Ricks to BYU-I.  Someone asks him are you nervous to do this and he said he would be terrified if he did not have the "strength of the Lord".  So it was a very good zone conference.  No such luck on technology yet.  There is a mission president seminar next month and president thinks he may get more info there.  So hopefully it is getting closer. 
2. Did you have interviews with the mission president?  No, that is in November I think
3. Are the leaves changing in Camp Hill yet?  Little by little they are.  Things are starting to cool down so it should be soon. 
4. Is the weather cooling off? Yes  Will you need winter stuff yet or is it finally starting to feel bearable?  Let’s give it a little bit longer.  Hopefully I can make it through this transfer, but I will keep you posted. 
5. Looks like you might have had a lot of rain on Saturday, did you survive?  Yes, we did have rain and luckily that was our day that we walked up to the M family’s home and a couple of other places that are far away.  It was sprinkling on us during the afternoon and that night around 6:30 or 7 pm it started pouring.  At that point we were in for the night because we had to finish weekly planning.  I was glad to not be stuck in it.   
6. What are the highs/lows for the week?  Well this week was a good week but also kind of a long week.  So the first thing is a new guy moved into the ward and he lives our area.  His name is J. M. and he played Little Ricky on I Love Lucy   http://everythinglucy.youns.com/joseph-michael_mayer.asp?vm=r&s=1 He recently moved from Portland.  He lived down the street from the temple.  He and his twin brother played Little Ricky in the 3^rd  through the 5^th  season.  I got a signed card from him that I will either send home or take a picture and send it.  He had an open house to meet his neighbors and get to know people on Monday at his apartment.  So we went with the sisters and the bishop. He has a neighbor that we are hopefully going to start teaching soon and she seems pretty interested.  He served his mission in Japan.  He is strong in the gospel and will be a good addition to our ward.

     Another high is we picked up some new investigators.  It is a husband and wife.  He is not all there mentally.  I've seen him out walking a bunch of times (when Elder J was here) but we could never find him to teach him.  His wife is in a rehab center. She is recovering from pneumonia and muscle atrophy from the pneumonia.  They are a younger couple so we will see where it goes.  Obviously another high was zone conference.  My low for the week is I have a huge blister on my Achilles heel.  It was because I wore the tie up shoes on a day that we walked to the top of our area and they are kind of tight.  I think they might be too small (even though the guy said that 8 ½’s were best).  So I wore them to try to give my other shoes a break since they really are on their last steps…literally. The problem is now the blister is in a spot that just gets rubbed up against my shoe since it is on the back of my foot.  It would be fine if I could wear flip flops, but that’s probably not going to happen.  So hopefully it will get better quick.  I have a picture to send but Elder F says I can't use church computers anymore to email.  The library computers won't let me send pics.  So you will have to see it when I send the SD card home.  I have asked president and we will see what he says.  Also a high was the other night the moon was coming up and it was huge and orange.  A picture will be coming eventually.  Finally, I read those 2 Ensign talks you were talking about I really really loved those.  I think Elder Holland is amazing. 

7. What are 5 positive things for this week?  1)  Zone conference.  2)  It’s cool to think that Little Ricky is in our ward.  3)  The moon was beautiful and amazing.  4) We have some new investigators. 
8. How are the investigators coming? Is the work progressing/picking up?  Yes, things are picking up little by little, but we’ve also had a little bit of falling back down. 
9. Were you able to make contact with the new guy that Elder J originally tried to contact?  Yes, we are going back in couple of weeks.  That is when he told us to come back. 
10. What about Franky & Sally? Do the kids still have lice? Have you been able to go back?  I'm not really sure what’s up.   They say they do, but I'm beginning to not buy it anymore.  Unfortunately, they are sliding backwards a little.  We tried teaching them Saturday and we were able to get in but it was not really anything great.  However, all we can do is keep trying and hope and pray they will start moving a forward again. 
11. Any news about the guy in jail?  Not much, his girlfriend called the other day and said he still wants us to come.  We told her of our problems/roadblocks.  She said she would try to get us on the visitor list. 
12. How are the meals? Good,  just like home cooking.  I am starting to eat my peas, corn and beans.  Are you being fed a lot?  Yes, we probably average 3 times a week
13. Did you get a letter from gma Bonnie & gpa Lewy? Not yet.  What about a Deseret Book pckg from gma Karen?  Not yet.  I guess I should be expecting a lot of mail the next few days.   
14. What's the name of the CD/group that you wanted some music from? Lower Lights Dad said it sounds kind of bluegrassy? Yes, that is them.  They have some cool songs I have heard.  Can't remember where to find it in the letters/emails. I should have written it down.
15. How did you get to WalMart last week (when lady paid) if the sisters weren't there yet? Is WalMart close enough to walk to?  The sisters just weren’t with us at that point (meaning we were shopping separately in the store and we were not together) and the lady just ran into us first. She was so nice and paid for our groceries and we did not know where the sisters were.  The sisters showed up and then she bought us lunch.  So the sisters still drove us to WalMart, they just weren’t around us when we ran into the lady. 
16. What having you been buying for groceries lately?  I haven't had to buy a lot lately because I still had bulk stuff like bagel bites etc.  I’ve been making stuff with chicken like the bbq chicken pizza and teriyaki rice and chicken.  I found these little chicken cordon bleu balls that Tyson makes and like those.  I wish I could make some of the recipes you sent and some of the recipes out of the book Alyssa gave me, but they all take too long to make.  We don’t have a lot of time.  Luckily we are being fed pretty good.   Today I need to stock up on things again because I am starting to run out of my stock pile. 
17. How are things with Elder F? Anymore weird stuff, any good stuff? Are things going better this week? Do you enjoy him as a companion?  It is interesting.  I would take Elder J back in a hearbeat, but I am making do with what I have and learning a lot in the process.  I know some people in the ward are not thrilled with him.    I will write more in my snail mail.  So hopefully I will make it 3 more weeks.  It will be fine, but if I get anymore with him it may be interesting.  I just wish I could know what the few people in the ward don't like about him.  Overall, he is good but he just has little things here and there that I don't love about him.  I will talk a little more about it in snail mail because I'm out of time on the computer. 
18. Do you need anything? (besides the shoes, belt, shorts)  What is Alyssa's apartment address now that she is in panama?  I would like to send mail directly to her so it doesn't have to go through the mission home. 
19. Can we specifically pray for anyone/anything?  That Elder F and I can continue working together and be unified. 
20. When is the mission/zone tour that Elder Arnold is doing?  October 9
21. Are you happy? Yes
22. Did you hear about the game?  Yes, lots of people were very tired yesterday.  Since it was 2 hrs ahead here it did not end until 2 am.  I am kind of glad we have a few years for a break too.  I'm excited to get your Cougar Tracks game report. 

I love you and miss you, hope you get the SD card today. 

Love

Elder Muir

Week 15...Starting the New Transfer

1. What are your highs/lows this week?  One of the highs was transfers even though it was sad to see Elder J go, which also made it kind of a low as well.  It will be great to work with Elder F and get to know him.  Unfortunately the week was kind of a slow week in teaching and everything else.  Seems like we are starting out new again and have to start a new routine/schedule.  But definitely another high was teaching the M family.  We taught them about the gospel of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end).  I also loved getting your mail/package on Friday.  Also, another high was stake conference yesterday.  We watched it from our church building while it was broadcast from the stake center.  It froze up a couple of times so we missed bits and pieces.  I liked it because there was a big focus on member missionary work.  President Topham spoke and gave a good talk about why it is so important to have member missionary work.  Well that is pretty much this week in a nutshell, hopefully this week will be more productive.  Also we are getting some ward missionaries to help the ward mission leader and hopefully that will help us out even more.  The thing about the transfer is that I’m now the person that knows what’s going on with our area.  Introducing Elder F to all the people and giving the history about each situation isn’t my favorite, but eventually he will get to know the area and it will get easier with each day.  I’ve decided I don’t like being in charge, I would rather be a minion, but I know that’s not how it works.  I have to remember it will be the same for me when I’m transferred…starting all over again. 
2. What are 5 positive things that happened?  We were able to make contact with this guy that Elder J and I tried to contact all summer. Elder J taught him before I got there but they had to drop him because he wasn’t progressing.  Elder F and I got in contact with him the other day and hopefully we can maybe get somewhere with him.
3. Tell me more about Elder F?  Well, things are good.  He is from Mesa AZ and is the oldest in his family and he has been out about 7 1/2 months.  I definitely got used to Elder J, the problem is, every time you seem to get comfortable the Lord likes to change things up.  Elder F likes to do kind of funny, off the wall, weird things and sometimes he makes situations really awkward.  He likes to do that for some reason.  He is into theatre stuff and did that in high school.  One awkward situation was during the BOM class nobody would ever give answers to anything so he would stare people down and make them give answers.  Also another weird moment was last night at dinner with the T family we were having a lesson and people were getting off topic and not focusing, so to get their attention back he whistled really loud.  Also he has really weird sarcasm and jokes.  He has some weird little quirks, but don’t we all.    Now onto his good traits…he really wants to teach and find people and that’s great.  There’s not a lot happening in this area so he really wants to improve that and so do I.  Overall, we are doing pretty good and I’ve got at least 5 weeks or longer to get used to him.   Also he thinks walking everywhere and not having bikes is very unproductive (he has been in a car area his entire mission) so we are trying to get bikes.  So maybe we will get bikes for a little bit before I leave the area.  There is someone in the ward that has one fixed for us and someone in another ward that wants to give us one, but that one needs to be fixed.  So I will keep you posted on what happens. 
4. Are the two of you adjusting and getting to know one another? Yes, I think so.  The first couple of days is an adjustment.  It takes time getting used to each other but we are both getting adjusted.  It is definitely different because Elder J and I finally had a system/routine down and now we have to kind of change things and make a new system that works for Elder F and me. 
5. Is Elder F obedient, diligent, fun, hardworking, easy going etc?  Yes
6. Where did Elder J go to? He went to the zone just north of Pittsburgh.  Was it hard to say goodbye to him?  Yes, it was weird saying goodbye but most likely I will see him again at some point and I have his email. 
7. How did you get to the transfer meeting in Harrisburg?  The sisters in our area took us. 
8. Are there mission vans that take the missionaries to areas that are across the mission?  No, you just take mission cars that missionaries use and you get rides from missionaries going from side to side. 
9. Why is your area a walking area instead of biking?  It can be either or it just depends on if you get bikes from the ward members or not. 
10. Why didn't you have a car if Elder J was the district leader?  Because not all places have a car and our area is small enough that we don't need a car and District leaders aren't always in car areas. 
11. Where is the new sister in your ward from? Is the other sister the one from the MTC or is she in the other area in your district?  The new sister in our ward is from Florida.  She came from the other ward in our district, she is the one that was in the MTC with me.  Her old companion is training a new missionary.
12. Do the other Elders in your district (B & T) ride bikes or drive? Why do they have bikes?  They have bikes because somebody in their ward bought bikes for them. 
13. Do the sisters in the other area of district drive a car? Yes, because they have a big area. 
14. If the F family and T familys live in the sisters' area, how do you get to dinner at their homes? Do you walk or do they pick you up?  They pick us up.  Most of our dinner appointments are in the sisters’ area (the majority of the ward is there).  So our dinner appts. usually pick us up. 
15. How's the weather been? It looks like last week you had quite a bit of rain one day and it was quite hot for a few days and then fairly cool. I bet it was fairly humid with the rain. The temps looked like a roller coaster...up and down. Have you had rain?  It rained this morning but now it is sunny.  Thursday we got a big rain storm and yes it was very hot and humid up until that point.  But lately it has been around 70 give or take a few. 
16. When you placed the BOM on your own a few weeks ago...how did you do it and where were you at? Have you heard anything from her or made contact again? I know you said you were handing out free books and she said sure, but what were you doing? Were you at a store, a fair, on the street corner?  We were tracting doors and we had a district goal of trying to give out 16 BOM's so we were just knocking a few doors and I happened to give one out to her and she took it. 
17. How did you find out about Elder F being your companion early (before he did) and how did you know he trained your MTC companion?  The Sunday before transfers we were talking to the zone leaders about transfers a bit and finding out what the ride situation was and where we needed to meet and they told me then.  I knew he trained my MTC companion because each transfer President sends out a sheet with everybody's picture with what area they are in and who their companion is.  So I saw their companionship on that sheet. 
18. Who was the baptism for that took place a few weeks ago with the other Elders? I'm assuming they are in another ward? Did you meet the person that got baptized when you did exchanges?  They baptized the daughter of a less active lady.  The girl is 10 years old.  Yes, they are in another ward.  No, I did not meet her before because I have only been on exchanges in that area once and they had not started teaching her yet. 
19. How is the M family...what's going on with them?  Not much is going on with them, but we had another good lesson with them talking about the doctrine of Christ and we focused on enduring to the end. The spirit was strong and hopefully they will become reactivated soon and be more committed to make the gospel a part of their lives.   
20. How are things with Franky & Sally making any progress? What about their friend?   Unfortunately, we have not been able to teach them again because I guess the kids still have lice.  We were on our way up there on Saturday and they texted saying they still found some lice on one of the kids.  So I hope we are not losing them but they’ve been really hard to make contact with lately.  I have no idea about the friend because she may be in a different area now but like I have said she was just always at their house so she was hit and miss.  So they are all a work in progress and I hope we can help them see the blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer them.   
21. How are the F family & T family?  They are doing well they are keeping busy with school and sports and work and all of that good stuff. 
22. Are you still cutting your own hair? No, I have only done it once and last Monday night we had dinner with the hair cut lady so I got it cut then.  It was a much needed haircut because it had not been cut since July so my side burns and all that were a mess. Plus it was super hot with my hair that long. 
23. Are your shoes holding up? Yes, but not for much longer.  I'm hoping they will make it through this transfer and then I will go to a car area.  I was thinking you should send me my other black shoes in the closet so I can wear those out too before I buy anything new. 
24. How are your feet holding up?  They are doing pretty good, I got one blister the other day but that is the first one I have had in a while. 
25. Do you keep track of your mileage?  No, but I figure we average about 10 miles a day. 
26. How many districts are in your zone?  3, I think we are a smaller zone
27. Did you get a new zone leader?  No
28. Did you get my O'Fish'al 100 days package? Was there too much reading material in it?  Yes, I loved it.  The picture of the flooding at University Mall and BYU stadium are crazy. 
29. Have you met anyone new?  The guy I was talking about in the highlights so hopefully we can make some progress with him.
30. Any progress with the church referral from the guy in jail?  No
31. How's the BOM class coming? Do you have more attendees now? Who teaches it?  It's coming along ok.  Some weeks we a few people but the majority is usually missionaries.  The missionaries rotate teaching. 
32. How's the ward doing? Do you have any fun upcoming events?  The ward is doing great.  I can't think of any big activities coming up.
33. Do you have any Rita's Ice nearby?  Yes, but I have never been.  I have heard from people that have been to Utah and had sno cones that Rita’s Ice is better so maybe I will try it out one day. 
34. Is there anything we can do for you?  I was thinking you should send me the brown belt in my drawer that goes with my Levi's and also I could use on more pair of gym shorts.  You could send my black ones like yours. 

     Also, I got Aunt Merri's package (thank you Aunt Merri J)  It was sent to the mission office and it was not priority mail so they could not forward it.  So the zone leaders got it at their monthly meeting in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago and I got it from them yesterday.  Also, I got letters in the mail from Rina Hansen and Teresa Bell the other day.  It was sure good to hear from them, tell them thank you.  I’ll send snail mail with pictures tomorrow.
 

Love

Elder Muir
xoxoxo

P.S.  This was a portion of Elder Muir's letter that came this week after his email (letter is dated Monday, 9/16/13)

Hello Family...

     I loved getting your email.  I was hoping after we went shopping I would be able to come to the church and email back and forth and check to see if you responded to my email.  I also wanted to send some pictures.  But unfortunately when we got to the church the internet was down so none of that happened...sorry. 

     We went to WalMart for our normal Pday shopping excursion and a lady from another ward saw me and Elder F.  She came up to us and bought our groceries and gave us each a $25 WalMart gift card.  Unfortunately for the sisters, they weren't at WalMart yet, so we were the only ones that received her generosity.  But the sisters showed up just as we were finishing and the lady bought all of us lunch at McDonald's.  She was a nice older lady.  It made me think of the times when you've bought stuff for the missionaries when we were out and about and when I delivered the groceries to our missionaries.

     Tell Jake Standford CONGRATS on his mission call.  That's crazy about the Lake Tahoe Ironman, sounds like lots of loops and back and forth for the course.  It would be cool to be there to see it, but it would be a nightmare to get around. 

     I have not been able to read the articles in the September Ensign that you were talking about yet.  We don't get a hard copy of the Ensign until zone conference.  I will keep you posted on the details of zone conf (Friday 9/20).  Maybe we will find out more info about iPads & FB etc. since missions are starting to use them now.

     Also, Happy 20th Anniversary yesterday (most likely).  Hope it was wonderful, I can't believe it's been 20 years.  Well, I love you and miss you :)  Also, I still haven't heard the reason for gpa Lewy's new truck.  Thanks for the pictures.  It is so weird seeing the traffic light at 13th E. and 132nd S.  Well got to go.

Love,
Elder Muir

Week 14...Transfers, 100 Days, A New Companion and Trained!!!

     It's been said that the only "constant in life is change".  This week things are changing up.  On Thursday (9/12) Elder Muir will hit his 100 day mark...YAY!!!  He's survived the first 100 days, only 630 days to go.  Transfers were this week (Tuesday, 9/10) and now that he's officially trained he feared that he would lose his companion, Elder J. 

     Elder Muir's email (dated Monday, 9/9/13)

1. What are your highs & lows this week?  Unfortunately this week has been kind of slow.  We did not teach a whole lot of lessons, but one high was that I placed my first BOM on Tuesday all by myself without Elder J's help.  I literally said, “we are handing out these free books, do you want one” and she said sure.  I’m not sure it will go anywhere but we will stop back and check with her.  But hey, I was proud of myself!  Another high was district meeting on Wednesday.  Since it was our last district meeting together because of the upcoming transfers we had a really good lesson on enduring to the end of our life and our mission.  Also another high was the other Elders in our district had a baptism on Saturday so we went to that and it was pretty cool.  A low was trying to go visit the guy in jail. Unfortunately, there are a lot of roadblocks in our way and we are not going to get in to talk to him because 1) only one person can visit with him at a time, so we would be breaking companion rules if just one of us visited with him and  2) we have to be on his visitor list to see him. In order to do that you have to call the superintendent and get on that list.  So there’s a lot standing in our way, but just like 1 Nephi 3:7 says, “the Lord will prepare a way to accomplish the things that he commands”.  Overall it was kind of a slow week, not much happened, so hopefully things will pick back up this week once transfers are over with.  Also, I did an exchange with the other Elders so Elder J (district leader) could go do the baptismal interview for the baptism that happened Saturday.  Also, I watched some cool videos on the Mormon channel.  The videos are new and it is under introduction to Mormons and it talks about the temple, family history, basic history of the church, temple square, and missionary work.  They are all different videos.  I’ve also been watching “The District” on the Mormon Channel and I really liked one of the quotes that was given…the key to know God is to struggle.  I think this is a really inspiring quote.  The Mormon Channel has some great things and would be great for you to watch for FHE or on Sunday afternoons.
2. What are 5 positive things this week?  Me being able to  place the BOM.  Also I loved getting your BYU package.  The BOM class was fun because it is cool how Nephi is prophesying about things that are going to come about in our times.  I have enjoyed reading your seminary stuff on Alma and Amulek.  Also, I will sometimes say vocal prayers to help me stay focused and not let my mind wander. 
3. What are you grateful for?  I am grateful for prayer and how Heavenly Father can help you when you need help. 
4. What's the scoop with transfers?  So here’s the scoop with transfers…I am staying in Camp Hill and Elder J is leaving and he’s going to be a Zone Leader somewhere.  He will find out where he is going tomorrow.  I know who my companion is, but I don't think he knows I'm his companion yet.  I will go get him at 8:45 tomorrow morning.  His name is Elder F (FYI, he trained my MTC companion which I thought was pretty hilarious). One of the sisters is staying in our ward but the other has finished her mission and she is going home.  Her new companion is another sister that was in our district and I was in the MTC with her and came out to Pittsburgh with her.  The elders in the other ward in our district are staying the same and one of them will be the district leader.  The sister missionary in the other ward in our district will be the STL (sister training leader).  Her companion was the new sister that just came to our ward when Sister A went home in July .  So I will get more info tomorrow and next week when president does his email. 
5. Who calls and tells you whether you’re being transferred or not?  Well the zone leaders call and tell you if you are getting transferred or not.  We found this out on Saturday.  If you are getting a leadership calling (DL, ZL or training) president will call you sometime either Saturday or Sunday.  So we knew things were changing Saturday but we did not know if either of us would be in leadership positions yet.  We didn’t get any calls on Saturday from president, but of course in the middle of sacrament meeting he calls and we both freaked out.  He left a message and we called him back after sacrament. Elder J found out he was becoming a ZL. 
6. How does the transportation work for transfers?  Well it is a very complicated process that the AP's make and send out to the ZL's.  What makes it especially hard is how big the mission is.  Basically you carpool with missionaries to the transfer meeting either in Pittsburgh or Harrisburg, depending on what side of the mission you are going to and coming from, and then meet your companion and depart from there.
7. I know you share a room with Elder J, but do you have 2 rooms in your apartment?  Yes, we do have 2 rooms, the other is the study room.  I will send some pictures of that in another email. 
8. What happened with the BOM and the guy in jail?  Well as I mentioned above, we sent the BOM off to him and unfortunately it got sent back.  It said it is an unreliable source.  So apparently it has to come from whatever ward the guy is in (I think he is a less active) so we still are trying to get it to him.  I am determined to get it to him before we leave, so I will keep you posted.   
9. How are Franky & Sally?  Well we have not been able to have a lesson with them for a while because the kids have had lice. Hopefully we should be able to go this weekend.  However, we stopped by last night so Elder J could get a picture with them before he leaves.
10. What about the M family?  They are doing well, we had a good lesson with them about eternal marriage and getting sealed in the temple.  I led the discussion because that was the day we were on exchanges.  It was a cool experience, the spirit was strong and I think they liked it.  Also, they made it to church yesterday so that was great.
11. Any new investigators?  No
12. Did you get my BYU football starter kit?  Did you like it?  Yes and Yes!!!!!!!!!!!
13. Did you like Mrs. Wrubell's play by play of the game?  Yes, it was awesome!!! I just thought of Greg in my head as I read the play by play and his freak out moments that he has and I loved it.  You should apply at ESPN and become a sports reporter J.
14. What did you think of the camping trip?  Wait till you see the pictures :)  Oh boy, what didn't I think…all I can say is that must have been an ADVENTURE!!!  I can't wait to see the pictures.  Also I loved the block “Y” that you wrote the letter on, thanks!
15. Are you more comfortable with your teaching?  Yes, I am getting the hang of things and getting better and more confident.
16. How does it feel to be officially trained?   Kind of scary, but it’s also a good feeling.  I know now that I'm officially trained I will do awesome. 
17. Anything we can do for you or that you need?  No, not that I can think of.
18. What can we pray for?  That I’ll be able to continue to progress and work well with Elder F…wish me luck.

Love,

Elder Muir

     Well now that you have the answers to the questions from your email,  here are the answers to your questions from the  BYU letter.  The reason I asked where the Elder Holland quote was from is to see if I could find the talk but I figured you found it on Pinterest.  Also, I know a little bit about the BYU vs. Texas game.  I know that we won but that is about it.  It sounds like you had quite the rainstorm.  Bro. T was telling me they had like 3/4 inch of rain in an hour before the game started.  Also, that Alpine had a flash flood warning.  That is crazy about Kayla’s mission getting iPads and FB already.  We are not using them yet, but it must be soon if they have started in other areas.  So I will keep you posted.  That is cool that Andrew is a zone leader.  And that’s a big NO…you never told me about Derek going to homecoming. Who is he going with?  

 

     Tell Kyle "Congrats" on his Eagle and becoming an Elder.  I forgot that brother Pugh's dad was mission President here.  The previous mission home is in our area but I don't know exactly where, but I'm sure I could find a few people that knew who he was so I will keep you posted.    Also Elder Arnold spoke at our MTC Marriott Center devotional while I was there.  He is going to be at our zone conference next month while he does a mission tour.  Which I keep forgetting to tell you, Elder Bednar came right before I got out here so I missed it by like a week.  He spoke to the entire mission.  I have a picture that Sister Topham gave me even though I am not in it.  I will send it to you. 

     Also, I read a good Ensign talk by Pres. Eyring.  It is called "Be Ready" you should all read it but especially have Derek read it.  http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/11/be-ready

 

     I don't think Elder J thinks you are crazy.  Yes, he is excited to be a zone leader.  I think he is on his way to AP at some point.  Elder F (new companion) has been in Lewisburg (somewhere north of Camp Hill) but I know nothing about him and I think he has been out about 7 1/2 months.  I will snail mail after I meet him.  No, I did not take a pic with Franky & Sally yet but I will when I leave.  I don't know what has happened with the friend we will ask when we see them next. 

 

     Yes, I heard about the rain delay for the BYU game.  They can't get away from the rain it sounds like.  That is cool you got to talk to Elder Arnold at the funeral.  I will have to tell him that he talked to my parents at the funeral he spoke at.  In the pictures I sent there is a picture of my nametag with my missionary tag in Braille.  A member sister in  the other ward that is in our district does Braille stuff. The missionaries in her ward (other Elders in our district) have Braille nametag stickers. We thought they were cool so the missionaries must have told her and she made us some too.  Also, if you email elder Arnold info about me, tell him I am in the Harrisburg zone so he knows where to look for me. Yes, I am still happy.  I am just ready for transfers and to meet my new companion.  I will keep you updated and write after tomorrow.  Still no info on gpa’s new truck, tell gpa Lewy that I'm patiently waiting for him to tell me the story.  Well, peace out I love you.

 

Love,

Elder Muir

xoxoxo

 

 Last district meeting together

Study room

Study wall

Braille nametag