May 20, 2010 Email

What's up?

Not much is new with me besides transfers and the Lord continuing to bless the area! I am in the same area for at least 5 more weeks! (I say 5 b/c this transfer is only 5 weeks long due to the Mission President change)! It's sad to see President Sonne go, but I'm excited for President Wynn to come in! You're right about our mission getting the power house people! I feel special! haha Elder Atchley went to Magna where the cloudy water is! So my new comp is Elder Hunt and he's pretty much awesome! It's kinda a big deal! This transfer is gonna be ballin! aka amazing! He played golf at BYU Hawaii! He's from Cali, Bakersfield! I'm excited to have some fun this transfer!

I'm sad that I missed the Broadway Review, but I bet things were awesome! I'm sure that L did amazing with her damaged foot! It reminds me of last year when I was trying to dance and things after surgery and that was fun!

I went to the Temple today for the first time in a month and it felt so good to be back! I missed it a lot! I put L's name on the prayer roll along with Uncle Steve and some others.

haha Kayla's funny! I bet she's loving it in Fiji except for the mosquitoes! and the roaches. and a few more things! I wish I could read her updates, too! You should copy/paste them and send them to me!

Congrats to Jennie and Robert for the 2 new additions that will soon be joining their family!

Thanks for letting me know about Tara Schlappi. I'll be praying for her and her family!

I hope work continues to be exciting and fun, Mom! I especially like how you know who is going on their missions and getting married and stuff b/c they come to you!

Congrats to David, Keaton, and Chaz on their mission calls! They'll love being missionaries. It's the best!

So today we played the license plate game driving around where you punch someone if it's a double letter or number or a sandwich letter or number like 4k4 or an out of state license plate!

Mike's baptism is planned for June 20 at 6:00! Fun stuff! And we are also baptizing someone named Aiko on June 5! She's 10 and is finally able to be baptized now! She's been going to church her whole life and is just able to be baptized now! so plan on that one, too!

Love you!
Elder Partridge!

May 12, 2010 Email

He LOVES this stuff!

Six month mark tie burning

Elder Perry and Elder Partridge
(Sorry it's blurry. He liked B's pink tie!)

Not a normal sight in SLC

Elder Partridge and Elder Oaks

B being B

Hey, it's me again!

It was fun and weird to talk to you guys on Mother's Day! Mostly weird because it was just a little chunk out of the day when we talked, and everything else that day was just normal, unlike the Christmas call home where it's not a normal day of doing missionary work! I hoped you'd like the Lion House Cook Book, Mom! There's nothing specific that stood out to me, EVERYTHING looked amazing! So you guys can try some stuff and let me know what your favorite things are! I knew you'd like the pics I sent, too!

I thought it was funny when you answered the phone in Relief Society and didn't recognize my voice! and then it got better when you started crying!

Congrats to Rhett and Mandy on the new baby boy! That's pretty sweet that it's on the same day as Brad's birthday! Sounds like Steve's doing better! I'll keep praying for him! It definitely works!

I can't go swimming (Not like the Great Salt Lake is even tempting to get near). But still! That's pretty legit that K went to the beach in Fiji the day she got there!

Dad sounds like "the man" going to all these different cities for conferences and what not! Have a blast in NY papasito!

PE was fun! L will enjoy that for summer school! Unless her foot gets in the way! But that's good that she'll stay busy!

So about Mike's baptism this weekend; it's a funny story and it's pretty awesome! So I've learned from experience to be very very clear when I give commitments, because Mike thought that we asked him to go and watch a baptism, not be the one getting baptized! So he won't be getting baptized this weekend. But the really cool news is that the only reason why he won't be getting baptized this weekend is b/c it's coming up too quick to invite all the family and set everything up for the program. Besides that, he has a testimony already that the church is true, and is very excited to get baptized! We just want to make sure everything is as perfect as it can be and so does he!

Another cool story! We added a girl named Megan yesterday! We went to visit a family and talked to them about who they know that would want to meet with us! (Like we've done with a lot of other families)! But Something cool I just put together is that we did a special lesson when we talked to the family that we had just been trained on that day by our Zone Leaders. The lesson idea came from President Atkinson in the mission presidency! We were promised a blessing for using our trainings the day we receive them and because we were willing to apply it that day, the promise was fulfilled! And we are planning on adding someone tomorrow and Saturday as well! Which is ridiculously phenomenal for this area! The Lord is definitely preparing the hearts of many, blessing the area, and giving an unquenchable fiery attitude of missionary work to the members in the area! It's also incredible to see that as the members show their faith and invite others, they are able to see the miracles also!

The dinner with Elder and Sister Clayton went really well! We just talked about missionary work the whole time as well as the normal questions: Where are you from, how big are your families, etc. The spiritual thought went really well at the end as well! They said we prepared well!

Time is going so so fast! I'm glad I'm doing well here in this area, too, because it is extremely hard! Something interesting I learned about the area last night is that in one ward, there are over 30 returned mission presidents! OVER 30! That's a lot!! Crazy!

I'm excited to hear about Holden and Willie! And it was great to hear about the rest of the guys! I can't believe how long I've been out! I'm not even really considered a young missionary anymore! That's crazy! I still feel newish! Fortunately I don't show many of the rookie habits any more either. But don't get me wrong, there's still a ton that I have to work on!

That's kinda funny that you're running my Facebook a little! ha

Yay St. Joe's Rehab! Fun/not so fun memories there! Good to hear you saw some of my old friends there!

It's a little trippy to hear about all the boys in the ward getting ready for their missions!

"Don't wink at the cute girls! :)" haha you know I can't help it! haha inside joke; kinda. Not really cuz it's my face!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Partridge!

Mother's Day Phone Call

What a great Mother's Day I had!!!

We had no idea what time Elder B was going to call. All I knew was that we'd told him when NOT to call because of church. For the first time EVER I took my phone to church with me to get updates on my brother who is in ICU at the hospital. We were in Relief Society and I'd just finished texting my niece about the status of her dad when I received a phone call from an 801 area code. I panicked thinking something had happened to my brother. I pushed the button to answer the phone, then answered when I got into the hall. It was a male voice that I thought may be my nephew, but as we talked for a few more seconds, I realized it was Elder B!!!!!!! I can't believe I didn't recognize his voice...it was lower. I didn't know that was even possible! I didn't scream really loud, but I definitely let out a little squeal! It was almost time for church to end and there were people in the hall, so I held up the phone and they all said hi to B. :) I got a phone number where we could call him back, grabbed L out of R.S., found W in the other foyer, and we headed home to call him back.

We were able to talk to him for quite awhile and heard all about his area. He's really enjoying where he's at, even though it's a lot different from where he spent his first six months. He's meeting many new people and still learning a lot. He and his companion are over 12 different wards! That seems almost impossible to me! He said Sundays aren't bad because they just go from one Sacrament Meeting to the next and go to as many as they can.

He's planning on getting a cactus garden in the next little while so he can have a bit of home with him there. His health is good and he and his companion, Elder Atchley, go running about every-other morning to try and stay in shape. I didn't think it was possible, but he has gained about 10 pounds, which he needed to do.

He's not homesick at all, which I'm grateful for. He loves the area, the people he serves and teaches, and loves serving our Heavenly Father. It was a GREAT Mother's Day present! Only 7 more months until the next phone call!!!

May 5, 2010 Email

Hey, Happy Cinco de Mayo!! Ay Ay!!!

I bet K's really excited for Fiji! I'm really excited for her! I know she'll enjoy it (I know I would). But I get to enjoy my mish right now instead! Sounds busy getting her ready to go. Reminds me of getting me ready for the mish! Crazy times!

I can't wait to go to the Temples in AZ after the mission. I'm especially excited to be able to see the chandelier in the Gila Valley Temple.

That's sweet to hear Eric's going through the temple on Saturday! I remember my first time going through! Sad that I can't be there, but one day. Congrats Big E!

Good to hear about all the guys taking off! Sounds like things are gonna be busy with farewells and everything else that's happening! Good luck to Pete! When you say this Sunday-as in Mother's Day? And for Joe and Lucas the 30th of which month? May? Where is Daniel going? Good to hear Willie made it to Russia! He's gonna do amazing! Good to get an update on Holden, too! I bet he's baptizing like crazy!

We talk to Cy sometimes at the Top Stop where he works and we saw Elder and Sister Oaks driving down the street yesterday. Mike is still solid! We're going to go to the Joseph Smith movie with him tomorrow night! I'm psyched! We found Mike through the members of the ward! Just another witness that working with members is the best way to do missionary work NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE!!! We had an amazing companionship study that morning (the first of many to come b/c of the amazing training we got at zone conference). We were walking to an appointment when we got a random call from the Fenton's in one of the wards. She said one of their friends is married to a member and their friend is Catholic and is interested in learning more about the church. So we set up an appointment for about a week later! Then the morning of the appointment we came up with an inspired lesson plan and the lesson was very powerful and we put him on date for baptism!

You and Sister Kerr are funny! I do have a pretty cool story about my surgery and recovery, not gonna lie. You probably tell the story better than I do though. You remember more about it! I am definitely blessed to be on a mission though!

This is a pretty long letter, but that's ok! haha

That's too bad that L can't perform in the Broadway Concert, but cool that she'll be able to run her own light show! That's cool! I'll be excited to see it in a couple years! b/c I know you'll film it. haha!

I had a fun experience yesterday with a young man about to leave on his mission! He went around with us all day to live the life of a missionary and pretty much everything he did reminded me of Elder Gardner! It brought back some crazy, fun memories!

Thanks for everything!

Love you guys!

Elder Partridge!