Thanks to Everybody

Dear Mom and everyone else,

First I would like to thank eveybody for all their encouragement these past few weeks. I have loved reading mission stories from all my aunts and cousins that have had similar experiences. Last week when I was feeling down, I tried making a list of all the people that have helped make me who I am today. All the people that given the opportunity, I would call great. After writing names for a good long while I looked at how many names that I had and realized that I hadn´t even come close to finishing. I can´t remember the number that did have a the time, but I added on and as the number grew I grew more and more amazed at the wonderful people that I have been blessed to have around me.

At the beginning of the mission, I remember when thinking about "Awesome" people that I knew, I had the list slimmed down to immediate family, the youth leaders in the ward, the preists quorum, and a couple of friends from school. As I go on, I have looked at different things I do and think, "Hey I learned that one from... or from...." I realize now that it wasn´t just a few people that changed my life in big ways. It was the people that changed the small things that gave me the strength to change the big things. Every day it seems like I think of someone new that helped me a long time ago, or even some random guy at the movie theatre telling me to keep smiling.

I look back and realize that it wasn´t just chance that I got put in Brother Smith´s seminary class, or it wasn´t just chance that I brothers with David Archuleta on trek, and it wasn´t just chance that I got called to this mission, and it wasn´t just chance that I was put with Elder Ellett as my MTC companion. You guys don´t know him or the other elders from the MTC, but I tell you that they are some of my closest friends and Elder Ellett is just someone you´ll have to meet when we get back. I know that it wasn´t just chance that Brad Johnson was in Oklahoma with me, or that Chris, Ryan, Grant, Adam, Andrew, James, Austin, etc. Were in the same priests quorum as me, or that Tim, Mike, Verl, and Jeff, etc were our leaders. I know it wasn´t just chance that I have the aunts and uncles and cousins I have. I know for a fact, and with absolutely no room for doubt that it wasn´t just chance that I have the brothers, sisters and grand-grandparents that I have. And I am abosutley astounded at the wonderful, genuine, great, helpful...I´m running out of space....parents that I have. Everyday I see more and more parents that don´t care, or don´t know how to care for the kids. And everyday I grow more thankful for the parents that God allowed me to have. When people ask me how I know there is a God, I don´t start by looking at the trees or the rivers or the animals anymore. I start by telling them about my family, my friends, and my leaders. I love you all, and I thank everyone of you for every little thing you did or me to help grow. I agree with Elder Simper that I can´t think of how I would have deserved it. I can´t even dream of how I could deserve people like you, I guess the Lord you that I would need you instead.

Thank you all, I love you and I thank you,

Sincerely,

Elder Travis Neiswender

Here's to Mom and Dad

Dear Mom, and everyone else,

Well, things are getting better, then they get worse, then they get better, then they get worse...aka...We have an awsome lesson where we both use each other and support each others ideas and teachings and have an awesome spirit, then he takes us to the cooks house and has the cooks daughter apply some random cream on his face, for about fifteen minutes. Luckily, President Veirs was at our zone meeting the next day, so I pulled him aside and talked to him. I love that man, he has a way of inpiring patcience that I didn't think possible. Then the next day, we have another awesome, the guy understood everything and accepted baptism right there in the first visit, then the next day we go back to the cooks house in the early evening, and while we eat, the members put on Rambo 4!!!! I eat fast so we can split, but Marcia eats nice and slow and laughs at everytime somebody gets killed saying it's good learn about that kind genecide kind of stuff that really happens. The real kicker about it all, nobody understood any of the words in the movie but me, they were all just watching it to see different ways that Rambo could kill a man and how much blood the producers could fit in. And it wasn't just the adults that watched with their undevided attention, it was the kids that were 6 years old and younger! And the people here wonder why there are so many gangs and murders in this country.

The whole time they had the movie playing, I just sat there looking at the floor thinking about how great my parents had raised me. I'm 19 (holy crap almost 20) and I'm pretty sure that my mom and dad would still be mad at me for seeing movies like that. There were always times back home when I was younger, that I would think to myself, "Oh I'm old and mature enough to see this movie or go to this party or do this thing or that thing." Then I would get mad when mom would say no because I wasn't old enough. I can't remember who it was that gave these next two quotes, but the first one helped me avoid bad movies and situations when friends would invite me to suchthings. I think it was Elder Nelson, who when his kids or grand kids wanted to take him to see a certain questionable movie, his reply to them as their father or grandfather was, "No, I don't think that I am mature enough to see that movie":) And then in this conference somebody gave a talk about how the Lord knows what he wants us to be and that is why he cuts us down, so that we can grow better. So I quote the words of that inspired messege of God. Mom, Dad, "Thanks for loving me enough to cut me down." I know I didn't always make it easy, but I thanks you for putting up with me and always being there to help me. The family here in Honduras is of little more importance than financial support. I consider myself extremely blessed to have been sent to a family with loving parents such as you. Thanks again for everything. I love you Mom and Dad.

And I love the rest of you too everyone. All of you have helped me become who I am today, and in no way can I deny it. The other day I tried making a list of all the people that have helped me for the better, and I just didn't have room on the paper for all the names. I love you all and thank you all for being wonderful parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephew, cousins, leaders, and friends.

Love,

Elder Neiswender

Thanks

Dear mom and everyone else,

First off thanks for all your tips and pointers on how to deal with my comp. Things have been better this week. Yes I am with him for another transfer. This is his last transfer in the mission. I have already learned that there isn´t much you can do to change the mindset of "dying" companion. My first companion finished his mission the one change I was with him. Luckily he had the mindset to work hard and end strong, which we did. Elder Marcia seems to have the mindset of already having completed the mission and it´s coasting time. Try as I might, I can´t change that. All I can do is try my best to accept it and do my best not to copy that trait. Thanks dad for your emails of ideas. I would love to have insights from Tim that you emailed me about. What you said in your last email really helped. About picking the battles that I really wanted to fight and letting the rest of the things that are not a direct hinderence to the work roll off. Well I´ve been trying that this week and it´s been working like a charm. We still talk very little, but at least the feelings of anger have been disapating. Being the sports lover that I am and having plenty of time to think to myself I named this technique the pick 'n' roll (not origional I know). But I decided that everytime he does something little that I don´t like or that isn´t quite in harmony with the mission rules, if it is not something that I want to have a fight over, I just roll my shoulders back and tell myself to let it roll off:) That first day I rolled my shoulders a lot, but things have been getting better:)

Cool experience of the week: so we had a baptism this weekend (cool yes, but not the cool story), and to get to the church to baptize we take a bus for about 30 minutes. On the way back from the baptism, the mom of the youth we baptized, who is not a member but supports her son, sat next to me on the bus. We talked a while about the atonement and everything about forgiveness and the great gift that we have. Then I asked her if she would like a Book of Mormon. She told me that she had already read part of the copy that we gave her son. Then she tells me "The weird thing is, is the part of that book that I read...that night I dreamt it." Ok if that´s not an awesome sign that the Book of Mormon is true I don´t know what is. I wish I could have dreams of the Book of Mormon! We kept talking for a while about everything. There was a cool spirit in that little piece of the bus that day. I am confident that she felt it, now I just hope that she can have the courage to act on it.

Well, that´s about it for this week. I love you all have hope you all have the best week ever!

Love,

Elder Neiswender

Jerusalem!!

Dear Mom and everyone else,

First, can I just say that conference was AWESOME!!! We Americans got to watch it in English. Saturday we got to sit and watch it on a TV. Sunday, we got confined to a computer that had interrupted signals, but we got to watch it none the less. Yes dad, all the elders in the zone know that you are in the choir now, because whenever they showed you, I jumped up and told them "That´s my dad!" By the end of conference they were able to pick you out for themselves:)

Now for the funny part of conference. So Sunday All of the Americans were in there sitting in the small room watching it on a computer. The internet signal wasn´t very good so it kept cutting in and out at certain parts and every time it cut out we would joke around and say that whoever was speaking just announced and introduced the three Nephites or some random 2nd coming prophey like building the temples or sending the prophets to Jerusalem lol. Well when President Monson got up and gave his talk, Sunday morning we all listened intently to his talk of temples and how important they were. Then he mentioned one temple in particular, and we all focused 100%. He said it was in a city over 2,500 years old. We all looked at each other in disbelief. Then he said it was a city where the apostles walked, and we all got ready for earth shattering news. Then right as he said the name of the city, of course, the internet signal skipped for about five seconds. We all five of us jumped up and started shouting, ¨¨Jerusalem!¨ and, "Oh wow the end is close!" We all sat in disbelief and amazement. Then about a minute later we realized that he was talking about Italy, and not Isreal. Finally we realized that he was talking about the Rome, Italy temple, and not the temple in Jerusalem. Awesome, yes. Big step for the kingdom of God, yes. Little bit of a let down, just a little. lol. But we all have it straightened out now. It reminded me of when we were watching the BYU UCLA bowl game a few years ago. The score 17-16 BYU, time left: about 3 or 4 seconds.We were watching it on tivo so we were a few seconds behind real time. UCLA goes for a game winning, chip-shot field goal. They snap the ball, the kicker goes to kick the ball aaaannnnddddd......something happens to the cable and cuts out the play! Next thing we see are people storming the field. We missed BYU block the feild goal! Dang technology. OH well life goes on.

Yes mom, I did get the package:) I can finally show the other elders my family now:) Oh and yes I did use my debit carda while ago. Sorry, I was kind of bad about answering that question. Things are going well. I found out that I get another 6 weeks with my companion. We´ll see what happens and make the best of it:)

I love you all, thanks dad for your email. I´ll try it out and hope it works!

Love,

Elder Neiswender