Homeward Bound

In the quiet misty morning
When the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing
And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming
When the corn is past its prime,
When adventure's lost its meaning -
I'll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not to the pasture
Chain me not to the plow
Set me free to find my calling
And I'll return to you somehow

If you find it's me you're missing
If you're hoping I'll return,
To your thoughts I'll soon be listening,
And in the road I'll stop and turn

Then the wind will set me racing
As my journey nears its end
And the path I'll be retracing
When I'm homeward bound again

Bind me not to the pasture
Chain me not to the plow
Set me free to find my calling
And I'll return to you somehow

In the quiet misty morning
When the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows stop their singing
I'll be homeward bound again.

A white Christmas after all....

Dear family,   It is always weird writing you right after we have spoken through skype. I told you this story on Sunday, but will tell it again for the sake of the blog.   On December 23rd, I was blessed to return to Gilroy for a baptism. However, I was surprised by who was getting baptized. I was confused and thought that an investigator that I had taught a few times was getting baptized. How great was my surprise when I found out that it was really Juan Moreno that was getting baptized.   Juan (or Juanon as we called him) was someone that Elder Smoot and  I had taught from start to finish this last summer. We had worked a lot with him. The day before his baptism, he got cold feet and disappeared.  We were super disappointed at the time because we cared a great deal about Juan and had really enjoyed teaching him the Gospel.    When I arrived at the Dunne building and saw Juan, I was shocked to see him.  I immediately went and shook his hand. As I did so, he told me, "Ya estoy listo!"  It was so great to finally hear those words.   It was Juan that sought out President DeSalmones and arranged his baptismal date. The missionaries were very blessed receive that call from President DeSalmones letting them know that they had a baptism in five days. All he needed was a baptismal interview and he was set for baptism.    It is really amazing how the Lord has His timeline and knows when His children are ready. I am very glad that Juan was ready and acted on the promptings of the Spirit as he felt them.   Love,   Elder Badger

Christmas time is here!!!

Dear family,   Can you believe it has been a year since last Christmas?  I can't wait to hear from you. We get 45 minutes this year to talk.  Ten days later, we can talk as much as we want.   We have set up a small Christmas tree in our apartment. It is always fun to see the lights at night right before bed. It reminds me of sleeping underneath the tree as children.   This week our work made a major shift. Instead of spending most of our time with less-actives and active members, we had a week packed with nonmember lessons.  On Tuesday night the ward rented a bus and headed up to the Oakland Temple Visitors center to see the Christmas lights. Irene and Franier had a really good time.  I think that the United States is quite a change for them.  Venezuela is currently run by the dictator Hugo Chavez. This has limited the amount of American cultural influence.  Radio and TV is heavily restricted there and portrays much propoganda against the USA. Fortunately, a good portion of the people there remember life pre-Chavez.  Over the last few weeks, they (Irene and Franier) have been beaten over the head with American culture.    On Saturday, the mission is doing a Christmas Eve breakfast.  Steak and eggs are on the menu. Every missionary is to bring a gift of $5 or less. I am trying to figure it out.   My scholarship applications are almost done. I am just waiting on a few letter of reccomendations then I can send them off.   I can't wait to hear from you on Sunday. Expect my call sometime after 1:00pm.  We have 11:30 church.  Brother Black in the Branham ward has offered his house for making phone calls. I get to see you in less than a week and get to hug you in just over two weeks.   Love, Elder Badger

Finding !!!

Dear family,
 
This week has been very good. We were able to find some new investigators that just kind of fell into our lap. They are family of an English family. Irene and Franier are visiting from Venezuela (probably one of the most unstable Spanish speaking countries). We have been able to teach them several time and are excited to teach them as much as possible before they return back to Venezuela on the 28th.
 
This next week is a busy one for the Los Alamitos ward. We have a temple visitors center trip, a ward sports night, and our ward Christmas party. It seems like every night this week is taken up by activities. This makes for good fellowship for our investigators.
 
I am doing well. I had my last appointment with Dr. T. Chen, marking my transition back to Dr. Senecal in Tacoma.  It is still weird to think that three years ago I was finishing up my last round of chemotherapy. Those were the longest six months of my life. The last six months have been tremendously faster.  I feel like I blinked and they were gone.
 
It is beginning to settle in that I will be with you in three short weeks.  Some of the colleges have begun letting out for Christmas break. When the students return to school, I will return with them.
 
We are excited for Christmas, but wish that San Jose looked a little more festive. San Jose doesn't put up as many "Holiday lights" as Seattle.  I enjoy the occasionally lit palm tree which is a bit of a difference from the Northwest.
 
I look forward to seeing you soon.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Christmas Time !!!

As you know, I love the Christmas season. Last night's First Presidency devotional really got me into the Christmas mood. I have been listening to Christmas music since well before Thanksgiving. I got approval from President Watkins ... for our Christmas plans.

The new videos, one of which was shown during devotionl, are pretty amazing. They are all geared towards being application based devices. You wouldn't believe how multi-faceted the Church's marketing campaign is. We are meeting with Elder Clayton as a zone leader council on Saturday to discuss a new website they are piloting in San Jose called "Just Serve". The Church is really working hard to get it's name out in positive ways.

Our work is going well. We are still shooting to have a baptism by the end of the year.  I don't know how to work any harder. We are busy. This upcoming week is a little interesting because Elder Manning will be going back to Yerba Buena for a few days. An elder broke both wrists while riding a bike. He has to have surgery and his companion will need someone to help keep their area up and running.  He should be back to Los Alamitos by the end of the week.
 
Elder Rodriguez keeps us laughing every minute. I think I got the only companion more talkative than myself. The only diffrence is that he can do it in two languages a lot better than I can.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger
 

Turkey Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Dear Family,
 
Many of you have asked if I had the chance to catch a bite of turkey.  The answer is yes. I definitely ate more than a few bites. 
 
I was glad to see your Thanksgiving pictures. It sounds like you had a blast on Thursday. Our Thanksgiving was pretty exciting too. Thursday morning we picked up Elder Rodriguez.  You wouldn't believe how much work we are able to accomplish with three.  Training Elder Rodriguez is very different from the last time I trained. Since last Christmas, the mission department has introduced a special training program that outlines almost everyday of companionship study.  New missionaries do not learn the Preach My Gospel lessons in the MTC. Instead, they learn how to identify concerns and teach to the needs of investigators. This means that we are giving Elder Rodriguez his first exposure to the lessons.
 
We anticipated a slow week with Thanksgiving, but were surprised by the amount of work that we had.
 
To give you a little background on Elder Rodriguez.... Elder Rodriguez submitted his papers from Ensenada, Mexico so he was able to submit at age 18. He doesn't turn 19 until April. He went to middle school and high school in San Diego where his parents live. His dad is currently serving as a branch president in San Diego.  He spent the month before his mission with his grandparents in Ensendada.  Much of his time growing up was spent split between Ensenada and San Diego so he speaks both Spanish and English.  We are really glad to have him.  The members love talking about Mexico with him. There is a certain level of camaraderie that only "paisanos" can have.
 
Today Elder Rodriguez got his first chance to invite someone to be baptized. I realize I still have the "greeny fire." I remember my first week in Redwood City and how scared I was to invite someone to be baptized in my broken Spanish.  He is eager and anxious to teach. The investigator we taught, Lucia, is progressing very well. We are hoping to have a baptism by the end of the year. She asks the "golden" questions.
 
While teaching her the Plan of Salvation, she commented that it all seemed familiar. As if she had heard this all before, but she didn't know where. It is really cool to hear that when we teach people.  Nothing we teach is new or different. The Spirit reminds people of truths that they once knew, but have forgotten.
 
I love you all and am anxious to open your packages and letters (and see you soon, but I don't like to talk about going home).
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Training !!!

Dear Family,
 
I am very happy to report that I will be training once again.  Elder Manning and I will be staying together as Zone Leaders in San Jose South, but we will be training a new missionary from Ensenada, Mexico.  We will pick up Elder Rodriguez on Thanksgiving Day.  His first experience in the mission will involve three holiday meals. He is currently in the MTC as an advanced Spanish speaker. This means that he already speaks English.  We are very excited for the chance to train. It will also give me someone to provide me updates on all of the new mission stuff after I am released. 
 
This last week was the perfect precursor to training.  We began teaching a part-member family within our apartment complex. We ate dinner with them on Friday night. If we can reactivate the mom and two daughters, it is likely that we can baptize the dad.
 
Ward council was perfect. I haven't seen it this good since Gavilan. The rescue moves forward. We are teaching many less actives and seeing results as they begin to make their way back to activity in the church. The members of the ward council are beginning to see the results and are eager to help us as we build the kingdom in Los Alamitos.
 
The week continued to get even better. Sunday, during the start of sacrament meeting, Jaron, an RM, approached us asking us if we could teach his nonmember girlfriend after church. She asked him if she could take the missionary lessons. She has been coming to church with him for a year and a half and this is the first time she expressed any interest in taking the lessons.  Elder Manning and I must have looked like a loaf of manna had just fallen from the sky when we thought about teaching her after church.
 
The lesson went really well. We were bold, but loving. Lucilla knows a good deal about the church already, but needed us to put together the "Why?" of the Restoration. I think we helped her a lot.  We are excited for our next appointment.
 
After Sacrament meeting we were approached by Rigo Garcia, who had been sealed to his family the day before, telling us that he had invited a family that was at his reception to take the missionary lessons. We are hoping to set an appointment this week.
 
It is amazing how going the extra mile really brings forth the blessings.  This week we achieved the "perfect week" as planned. We talked to 20 people a day and taught 20 lessons in the week. It was amazing to see the blessings just come. We have been working our tails off for the last three months, but it wasn't until we pushed ourselves beyond what we thought possible that we saw the blessings we have been seeking for months.  We now know what we are capable of more. We also learned how to better manage our time to accomplish all of the things we can in the week. The Lord really does bless us when we seek to grow and stretch. Sometimes he does the stretching, at other times, he makes us do it, but the blessings come. 
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

The Perfect Week...

Dear Family,
 
I am sure you have noticed the polarity in my emails from one week to the next.  It's not me. Missions are roller coaster rides without seat belts. 
 
This last week brought some welcome changes and improvements to our work. We began teaching a part-member family.  We are doing the majority of the teaching in a family home evening setting which is my favorite way to teach.  We taught about prophets and apostasy by playing a little game of prophet blind man's bluff.  The kids always like that we end up using our neck ties as the blindfolds. 
 
Along with this addition to our teaching pool, we have been teaching many lessons and talking to everyone we run into in the street.  We evaluated what we were doing and realize that we were doing everything "Preach My Gospel" says to do.  It took a little patience, but our work took a step forward this last week.
 
We are doing something a little different in the week to come in the San Jose zone.  We are shooting for the "Perfect Week."  As a zone every companionship is aiming to talk to twenty people a day and teach twenty lessons a week.  These are two numbers within our control as missionaries. Our hope is that we can have a "white" Christmas in the zone by filling our teaching pool now before the start of the holiday season.  Almost all of the companionships already have the lessons set. We have the busiest week planned yet.  My planner is painted black with appointments.  If all things go well, we should teach close to thirty lessons. It would bring the boost we need to have a great holiday season.
 
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we already have several invites.  The member family asked us to bring an apple pie.  We will do our best to see what we can do.  Some interesting pictures may result from our pie baking endeavours.
 
I love you all and hope all is well.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

"y angeles habrá, que me conduciran" . . . . . . . . . . . . (and angels there will be, to guide me)

Dear family,
 
I will admit it. This week was harder than I expected.  I returned to Morgan Hill, but for an unexpected reason.
 
Instead of performing a baptism, we were participating in a funeral as pall bearers.  Jesus Leon passed away this last week.  It was very unexpected. It was a challenging experience for all that knew him.
 
Fortunately, his funeral was well attended. The four elders that taught Jesus, myself included, performed a musical number.  His niece gave the eulogy, while Elder Griggs, Brother Arriola, President DeSalmones, and President Merril spoke. Over 100 nonmembers were in attendance.  I am not a huge fan of funerals, but found that this one really helped understand some of the circumstances in Jesus' life.
 
The funeral was Saturday from 3-5, starting with the viewing.  Jesus' body will be shipped back to Mexico so he can be near his parents.  He is survived by his sister Rocio (Gilroy) and his many cousins.  Much of the funeral was centered on teaching the doctrine of the resurrection.  It was what we all needed to hear.  It is nice to know that Jesus will be able to play futbol once again.
 
Please keep his family in your prayers.
 
Love,
 
 
Elder Badger
 
PS. We have been asked to only send two emails. One to the mission president and one to the family. After today, it is best that you write me letters. I will do my best to respond in a timely manner.

Talking to everyone...

Dear family,
 
It is always fun to hear from you. I am really grateful for your help with class registration and housing. I am glad that it is out of the way. We have big plans for November. Tonight we are meeting with a man that has been attending the ward for several months now, but has yet to be baptized. Yesterday he sought us out to set an appointment. Pray for us.  November could be Leo's month.
 
Yesterday's sacrament meeting was really good. Bishop and Sister Lopez spoke in preparation for their three year calling to the Oakland Temple presidency. Bishop Lopez is the first Hispanic member of the Oakland Temple's presidency in its history. It is really a testament to the growth of the Spanish speaking members here in San Jose.
 
Friday was yet another zone leader council. Much of it was centered on helping our missionaries remember their purpose and doubling down on obedience. We can always be more obedient.  We are encouraging our missionaries to seek every blessing possible.  Blessings come through obedience.
 
Saturday evening we decorated our trunk for the ward's trunk or treat.  Members kept giving us candy to give away so we ended up being one of the last cars to shut down.  It was really a great way to "move into the ward."
 
 
Our work is picking up. We keep feeling like we are going to turn a corner and things will begin skyrocketing, but that has yet to happen. We are working extra hard this week to make this week the tipping point.  I think tonight's appointment with Leo could really make the difference. Our work with the members has gone really well. We are teaching over two lessons a day, but want to add one more lesson to each day.  This week could make the difference.
 
I should be going back to Gilroy for another baptism this weekend. Angel Lopez was found through our Gilroy movie night.  The interesting part is that he is the father of a potential investigator we had tried to teach for the entire six months I was there. Now that they are teaching Angel, the missionaries in Gilroy hope to be able to teach Nancy, his daughter.
 
We are working hard.  I still go to bed very tired from long days.  We are building the kingdom here in San Jose. All of the time and effort is worth it.  Seeing Jesus Leon last week reminded me how much the gospel can change lives.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Lots of Lessons....

Dear Family,
 
This week we really put our focus into planning for our movie night and teaching lots of lesson.  As a result, we were able to teach 15 lessons this last week. We are very happy.  Teaching is my favorite thing to do. It's also the best way to further the work along. People change as they feel the spirit work within their lives. Even members appreciate feeling the spirit during the lessons.
 
We have been getting ready for a specialized training that will be happening later this week.  Think of it like missionary charm school.  A handful of companionships will learn everything from etiquette to teaching skills.  We are in charge of conducting the preach my gospel evaluation.  It should be a way to better help young missionaries focus their studies and strengthen their understanding of the principles contained in "Preach My Gospel."
 
I can't believe that this week is the time to register for BYU classes.  Although, I have to begin to think about life after the mission, I am pushing strong to the end. We are hoping to baptize a complete family by the end of the year and will make every sacrifice we need to make to achieve the goal. 
 
Our movie night went very well and was a huge step towards spreading the missionary fire among the members.
 
On Saturday I returned to Morgan Hill for the baptism of Jesus Leon. It was nice to see him again and say hi to all of the members I left behind in Gilroy. President DeSalmones gave us a ride from his house to Morgan Hill. I even got to say hi to Elder Smoot and Maria Franco while there. Both are doing well.  Fortunately, I will be returning in two weeks for Angel's baptism.  I look forward to it.
 
Love,

Some Weeks are tougher than we would choose...

Dear Family,
 
This week has been one of the most interesting of my mission.  Our work is progressing. The movie night is set for this Friday. All we have left to do is pop the popcorn.  We are really hoping it will translate into new investigators.
 
It hasn't been the work that has made this week tough. On Wednesday afternoon, we received a call from President Watkins asking us to get Elder W-----, our Spanish district leader, to the mission home. Earlier in the week, Elder W----- had told us that his mom's cancer had come back after four years of remission.  She was to begin treatment immediately. 
 
As the week progressed, we spent the majority of the afternoons at the mission (home) with Elder W----- so he could skype his family.  On Friday, he was able to talk to his mom and family as she passed away.  Please maintain him in your prayers.  I don't know how I would deal with a situation like this if anything like it were to happen to anyone in our family.
 
He is really being a trooper.  We understand that there isn't much we can do.  We are there to support whenever needed, but we definitely don't want to hover either.  Amazingly, the day his mom passed away, he went right to work and taught our district meeting. I don't know how he is doing it.

I have heard it said that more so than our mission is chosen by revelation, we are assigned to a mission president by revelation.  Such is the case with Elder W----- and President Watkins.  President Watkins went through a similar experience on his mission.  He has told us of his last conversation with his mom before leaving to Mexico.
 
I think the hardest thing about this week is the fact that we can't do anything. I have learned that sometimes we are thrown experience completely out of our control as human beings. They force us to rely on the saviors atonement and trust that there is a plan in all things.
 
Despite our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.  Much like a child is homesick for his parents despite the knowledge that he will return home in a few short days, the separation of death can leave us feeling homesick for those we love. We know we will see them again, but it doesn't change the fact that we are separated for a time.  Fortunately, we know that there is a reunion to come.  We must wait diligently, but it will come.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Two Trasfers Left...

Dear family,
 
It has been quite a week. I don't know if we can be any busier.  Are you tired of hearing that yet?  We taught 15 lessons and are really making some headway in our work with the members. The fire is catching. We are also working really hard in our rescue work with the less-active members.  Progress is coming.
 
Yesterday marked the beginning of my last two transfers in the field.  I am heading for the small coma.  We are working harder than ever.  I am still with Elder Manning and very happy that we will be together again. 
 
The work in the ward has been going so well that we are planning a movie night on October 21.  It will be an opportunity for the members to invite their nonmember friends and enjoy the company of the ward. We are also "moving into the ward" by hosting our car at the trunk-or-treat.  We already carved pumpkins yesterday and are excited to participate. 
 
This transfer meeting was very interesting.  President Watkins is putting many leaders as trainers/leaders.  Such is the case with Elder Smoot. He was transferred to Santa Cruz where he will be ZL/DL/ follow-up training.   We were glad that we survived these types of surprises.  We have our hands full in San Jose. Our zone is one of the largest in the mission. I can safely say that our hands are very full right now.
 
I love your letters. Please keep writing me. I look forward to hearing from you. I am trying to be good about writing, but it can be tough.  I am definitely planning some Christmas cards, so I may be asking for some addresses soon.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

The Busiest Week Ever....

Dear family,
 
I will give you an idea of our week.  Monday-Meeting with the mission department; Tuesday-Work day' Wedensday-Temple day' Thursday-Work day' Friday-Zone leader council; Saturday-Conference; Sunday-Conference and Outgoing fireside.
 
Despite all of the meetings and commitments, we are happy.  We especially enjoyed our trip to the temple on Wednesday.  The member that gave us the ride is the former bishop of the Los Alamitos ward. He was just called as the second counselor in the Oakland Temple Presidency.  I may have mentioned before that Maria Franco chose him to be her "Padrino" (look that one up, some traditions die hard) and baptize her. 
 
Luckily, this upcoming week is calmer.  We are focussing on teaching members to generate referrals. All of the members want to do missionary work, but sometimes don't know how. Our plan is to build their confidence in us by teaching them the missionary lessons. As they see that we are good teachers, we will see success. It is one of the best ways to do missionary work and see success. 
 
I am planning on returning to the Morgan Hill Zone this next weekend for the baptism of Jesus Leon.  I am iterested to see what how Elder Smoot is going to perform the ordinance. Jesus suffered an insdustrial accident a while back and has four pins goming out of his leg.  I am sure that there is some way they can manage the baptism.
 
All in all, our work is progressing well. We are happy and see the work improving.  We are talking to everyone because we know that there are brothers and sisters ready to recieve the gospel.  Sometime they call us(Dina), sometimes we find them changing tires(Jose Luis), and other times they don't even know that they are looking(Maria Franco).  I have yet to find two investigators the exact same way. As we open our mouths, something unique about our message is carried to their hearts through the spirit.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Un devocional magnifico!!!

Dear Family,
 
Last night was our stake missionary devotional with Elder Robert Packer, the area authority for the mission.  He talked about simple ways that members can invite their friends and do missionary work. I liked a lot of the points. 
 
One thing we can do to be better missionaries is invite our friends to church. 50% of all that come to church end up getting baptized.  80% that attend baptismal services get baptized.  We can invite our friends to these and other activities.  17% of all that get a tour of our church buildings get baptized. By inviting our friends to simple activities we can break down the stereotypes and open their minds to what we believe. 
 
Another thing he talked about was the way that we can turn comments into invitations.  For example, a coworker challenges that "you have too many rules in your church."  A simple way you can share the gospel is by inviting him to check out your mormon.org profile or by inviting him to a ward activity where he can meet about 300 people that are happy to explain why they like living those rules.
 
We are really hoping to use the devotional's momentum to carry the work forward in the San Jose South Zone. It was an awesome experience.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger
 
PS Happy Birthday Mom.  I hope you have something fun planned. 

Exchange City !!!

Dear family,
 
This week has been one of my busiest exchange weeks of my mission.  I don't mind exchanges too much, but I always find it hard to leave my area.  It's a stewardship thing.  Between all of the exchanges we have been super busy.  We are working to teach twenty lessons a week.  We haven't gotten there yet, but have lots of plans to make it happen this upcoming week.
 
The San Jose South activity committee did a super cool harvest fair this last Saturday.  It involved a talent show, booths, contests, and lots of corndogs.  It was a really great opportunity to talk to the members and get to know them a little better.  From what I hear, it was much better than the BYU-Utah game.  I am glad I wasn't in Provo to witness the massacre.
 
At the fair, I ran into Rob Petersen.  I now understand why Dad felt short in high school.  I don't know how we got to the topic, but somehow Rob and I ended up talking about some high school prank involving black powder and a battery. It was nice to run into someone who knows the family. 
 
We have been very pleased with the work we have been doing lately in the ward.  We are still working to increase our teaching pool, but we are begining to put the ward mission process in place.  It is amazing how quickly things are beggining to happen.  All it needed was a little nudge in the right direction. I think our work will take off very soon.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Miracles Happen !!!

Dear family,
 
I will admit that this week hasn't been the easiest in my mission.  Elder Manning and I have felt like we have been swamped with leadership responsibilities and haven't had the time we want or need to devote to the area.  Nevertheless, we pushed on and tried to do the very best we could.  One of our goals was to contact twenty people a day.  It took a lot of work and led to some interesting experiences to write in our journals. 
 
The miracle happened when a man we had contacted came to church with his member friend.  There was nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about the contact, but something led him to talk about it to his friend. She made mention that she was moving into the Los Alamitos ward and invited him to come with her to church this Sunday. 
 
 He accepted the invitation and came to church.  As we got to know Gonzalo and his friend Priscilla, we learned that he had been a day away from getting baptized two years ago.  He called it off on the day of his baptism. Some members remember him and confirmed everything he said.  After church we gave him a tour of the building and showed him the baptismal font.  We even invited him to be baptized.  He said that he would need a refresher on the missionary lessons before he could give us a definite answer, but was excited to meet with us again. 
 
What started off as a mediocre week turned into a pretty awesome week of miracles.  I have seen miracles come from street contacts before, including baptisms, but love to receive confirmation that what we are doing is the right course. 
 
Even better still, Elder Manning and I made ourselves a deal that if we contacted 140 people this week, we would get frozen yogurt.  I think 141 counts, so tonight is frozen yogurt night. We expect all of our missionaries to contact twenty people daily.  If we are to have that expectation, we have to lead by example.  We look forward to hearing similar stories from other companionships in the zone.
 
I hope Mom's first seminary lesson went well.  I wake up at 6:25 and wonder where she is in her lesson.  I am so glad that missionaries don't have to get up for seminary.  I don't think I could do it.  I get eight hours of sleep nightly, but still feel exhausted.  I think it is the spiritual aspect of missionary work.  It is possible to be spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally worn out.  I think I have experienced all four at some point in my mission. I even think there have been times when I have experienced all four at once. However, everything we do makes it worth it.  In Moroni 6, we learn that everything we do in the church is to help others experience the blessings of the gospel.  There really is no other reason to go to church.  Everything else is secondary. It is a simple principle, but one we must always keep in mind.  The biggest obstacle we see in some wards and ward councils is a forgetfulness in regards to the real reason we go to church and participate in the gospel.  Everything is centered on following the Savior. That makes everything we do as missionaries worth it.  We follow him through the tough times too.  It is the tough times that let us know how good the good times really are.
 
Love,
 
 
Elder Badger

Go, Go, Go

Dear family,
 
I am liking my new area. It is an adjustment being back in a ward.  It is a new experience to not know everybody on the ward roster. I am working as hard as I can to learn everybody's names.  I forgot what it feals like to be new in an area.  I want to learn my area and get to know those with whom I will be working as soon as possible.
 
We are definitely at a finding stage.  It was something we were fasting for.  We were very pleased with the results of our fast.  At sacrament meeting, a part-member family showed up and brought their non-member parents and grandparents as well.  We are hoping to talk to the member tonight to see what he wants us to do and to encourage him to keep inviting. 
 
The San Jose South zone is doing well.  It is weird, but we they have always been neck and neck with the Morgan Hill zone for leading the mission.  We are hoping that the changes we have brought to both zones will lead them better for the long term.
We are also looking at how we can implement ward mission plans in the wards that have been struggling to get a grasp on the work.  It is going to be a key step as we work to push the mission to 100 baptisms a month before the end of the year.
 
This last friday was our zone leader council.  A great deal of time was spent discussing finding.  Of all of the things we do, finding seems to be the limiting factor for our success as missionaries.  As we become better at finding through members, we will find more opportunites to teach and share the gospel with the our brothers and sisters here in the Bay area.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

A New Area... San Jose South !!!

Dear Family,
 
I have been transferred to the San Jose South zone. I am very excited for the work we have coming up soon.  I am with Elder Manning. He is from Kansas.  He entered the mission one transfer after me.  We are very excited to do some very good work. I already know several of the members in this area because of associations through Elder Smoot.  In fact, the former bishop of the Los Alimitos ward baptized Maria Franco.
 
Our zone is quite large and very much on top of missionary work.  I look forward to working with the stake president, President Green. I have been told that I can learn a ton from him.
 
I am excited to be serving in a ward.  This will provide a lot of resources to help us as we work to build the Lord's Kingdom in San Jose.
 
These last few days have been tough for me.  I have really grown to love the people in the Gavilan Branch.  I will miss them a great deal. I worked harder in Gilroy than I had ever worked before.  I feel like I put everything I had into the work.  I hope to be returning for several baptisms soon.  It was also tough to have to leave Elder Smoot.  We really worked well together. He was one of my favorite companions.
 
I hope everything is well as you prepare for school and start your classes.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger

Another Wonderful Week !!!

Dear family,
I hope this letter finds you all well once again.  The work continues to move forward and we love it.  We couldn’t be happier.
Last Friday was our big missionary activity in the branch.  We had organized a movie night to give the members an opportunity to share the gospel with their friends.  It was a great success.  There were more nonmembers in attendance than members.  Everyone brought a dessert, a soda, or popcorn.  No one went away hungry or disappointed.  All of the nonmembers really like the movie, the Testaments.  As a result we had over ten nonmembers at our sacrament meeting.  We are hoping to teach some of these families in the upcoming week.
Elder Smoot and I have really been trying to set an example to the zone by talking to everyone.  Our goal last week was to make twenty contacts a day.  We were contacting machines.  Although it isn’t our most effective finding method it has been a great way to show our faith that there are people prepared to receive us.  It seems like the rest of our work went better as a result.  We even had a reward predetermined if we achieved it.  Luckily, we were able to reward ourselves by going to breakfast on P-day at OD’s (think over-dose).  It’s the place where the locals eat.  I tried a plate called “the sink.”  I think this gives you an idea of the size.  They had to roll us out.  We really like achieving our goals.
Also, we have been working a lot with the stake over the last week to help streamline the work with the ward council. On Sunday, we provided training in a meeting with all of the ward mission leaders and the stake presidency.  We walked through the ward mission process step by step.  We were very grateful to the Gavilan Branch for allowing us to have put a lot of these steps in practice months ago.  These changes have really helped our work to move forward with greater speed.  The objective is to apply the things that we have learned to other wards in the stake.
 
Love,
 
Elder Badger