Uncertain Confirmations....

Well transfer calls are in and I'm staying in the Deepy Creeky. My new companion is Elder Lagace. (La-goss-e) He is a cool kid from what i have heard and know about him. I Believe he came out like 4.5 months ago. So not too old of a guy but should be good if they want me with him. Elder Barr is not happy and he is heading off the south side of Richmond over by my first area. he also wanted to have me ask if y'all know anybody that is into anime. its Japanese animation. like Pokemon stuff. he is really into it and wants to talk to some people about it. So if anyone you know is into it and wants to distract a missionary with it then please write to britian@myldsmail.net. Alright i asked it. He keeps trying to buy shirts and what not from Hot Topic and sees nothing wrong with walking into that store. Yeah i can't even look at that store without getting this terrible feeling let alone walk in. He needs to learn to focus on missionary work. I'm glad he is going to be going somewhere where he can grow. Its been a tough 2 transfers with him. I'm not sure if I have seen the blessings yet but one day. I hope. if not then oh well. I hope he at least had fun.

Ralph's baptism went really well! He was excited to see me and Elder Hall there. He was there with me in Ahoskie teaching Ralph. It was odd to see the Ahoskie members again. they were nice to see which was a good change. We did not leave on the best of notes. Long story. But things are good now. Don't worry i got a baptism picture with him so we are safe.

Well we have two main gatores right now.
Sherri- we "soft committed" them for baptism. We did not set a specific date but we did ask them, "if you found all this to be true, (BOM, Joseph Smith, the LDS Church) would you be baptized into the church?" she said yes! so that is good news. they plan on coming to church next next week. they are going out of town for vacation for Christmas.
Cornelius- super great guy. He says his testimony grows in leaps and bounds every time we go over. We have an appt today so pray for luck. We talked abut baptism with him last time briefly. he was bordering it years ago but didn't. So we explained the authority and he liked it. So we shall see today. we are hoping to set him for next month!

Its soo odd to think that in 2009, i will smell AZ air once more. I do not like that idea very much at all. I hope to move back home once I've spent sufficient amounts of time in AZ. my future home probably lies in VA. sorry to disappoint anyone. But I'm looking forward to calls. Well kinda, ill try to be excited about them. they are distracting. so no me gusta but ill do them because we are supposed to. We can get 40 total minutes each to both families! 10 min increase! So lets keep obedient and stick to that ok? OK. i WILL hang up on anyone who tries to keep me over my limit. I fear God more than mom. I hope to call to mom and Mike's house at about 10am y'alls time. then dad and Jacque's house about 40 mins. afterward. so go where you want. but equal time among sisters means 5 mins each. so fight it out and talk on the 25th. :)
love to all y'all
Elder Malone
p.s. thank you sooooo much for everyone's packages and letters gifts and pictures. as well as support and testimonies. I look forward to writing back to almost everyone. if not this week then next.

The Lord's will be done...

Our main family, the Kings, are sure enough moving to PA on the 8th if i did not already mention it. They were supposed to come to church this past Sunday and next and then would be qualified for baptism into the Lord's Church. We actually got special permission from the President himself for it. Sure enough, the morning comes and a call comes saying that things were not going to work out for them to come to church. It was tough to handle but we know that things are better this way. They can now be taught and baptized in Lancaster where they will be needed. we are not so rushed to teach them and and they are less-stressed. But man, they were soo close.AND Amy, the mom, asked me to baptize her! My first baptism! Stolen by Lancaster Elders. Nevertheless, the Lord's will be done...

We are still coming along well with all our other investigators. Not too many leads yet, but i realize that I am more of a sower and not a reaper. Which is nice, because I dont like to be grimm. Pun intended. So I do my part in the field of reaping and planting seeds for future Elders/ Sisters. I know its what Im supposed to do. There is a reason why I struggle with teaching.

Great news! My Zone Leader Elder Hess, the man, got special permission for me to attend Raplh Hewitts baptism! Normally you have to have an investigator to go. But they said whether or not I have one, i can go! I was soo happy when I found that out. Apparently, Ralph actually emailed me and told me to find someone or else. :) I didnt get the email (mysteriously) but i can go!So I will try to bring a guy named Vincent Brown who is just like Ralph. But im really excited. Its the 13th! And thus we see how Elder Malone is a sower and not a reaper. I was to find him and not to baptize him. Plus the Lord in His infinte wisdom and kindness has set it up for me to be here...the area right next to Ralph's, for the baptism! The Lord's will be done...

I know that Elder Barr has a good heart. Its His wisdom that Im with him. Its the Lord's blessing for this companion that I get to see Ralph baptized. I love the Lord. I hope yall do too.

Continue to seek His blessings everyday.
Elder Malone

Miracles Among Miracles...

Well to be to the point ponder on that topic. We were out of miles last month for the last half almost. So as Elder Barr complained about it we biked all month. Well, if we were not biking, then we would not have met a girl named Ashley who we stopped along the way to talk to. She told us to go see her mom just a few streets over. So we did. She was not home, so we tried a few times later. We not only made contact with her mom Amy, but also her friend Sherri. Both women are incredibly faithful and very much aware of God in their lives. Amy was actually moving to Lancaster, PA this Sat. But sure enough, for some reason, she is not leaving now till the 8th! So she told us that she will attend church and her whole family too! They are about 5 people strong...possibly more too. and Sherri is coming as well with her son. Amy actually recieved some anti literature a few days after we taught her and she didnt believe it. So she asked us about it and we explained it. Sure enough. testimony strengthened we moved on. She actually convinced her husband that we are not bad and now he is hogging a BOM. We had to give them another one so she could read it! Miracles among miracles.

Karen as well is totally awesome. She only has to take down her Catholic decorating plates and she will become a member. No doubt in my mind. We stopped by to return her tupperware that she gave us food in and she mentioned how she was having some really tough times in the family. Her husband is deployed and all. So we talked to her about how the BOM can answer the great questons of the soul. then we left her with some scriptures to read and pray about. She plans on doing it this weekend once things settle down. We actually went by again the next night by mistake and she invited us right in. Sure enough as we left and realized that we meant to go to Karen Dayton, a member not Karen the investigator we laughed about it. She then said, well God knew that I needed you tonight. We just saw her the last night! WOW.. is all i really had to say. Who knew but God. Miracles among Miracles.

There are thousands more I can say, but right now i thank you for your prayers. Miracles occur and continue to sweeten the work.
Much love to all yall. Elder Malone

A sound understanding...

Some times in life we realize that we are completely wrong. This is a lesson learned multiple times. Especially as a missionary and dealing with stubborn companions. But the best part is having a companion that understands the process of growth and the building of ones character. Elder Barr and I have had some really good fights lately. Sorry to say that I almost lost my patient with him. Luckily though he had the phone so I couldnt call President and ask for an Emergency Transfer(ET). We worked through it and kinda fixed the problems. The thing I realized is that I expect too much from others sometimes. I am able to perform to a level that he cannot in some areas. He is able to perform to a level incomparable to me as well. So I cannot expect him to be a morning AND evening person as I fully am. Sure people get tired. Since I usually do not, its difficult for to understand why he does. But the Good Lord has opened my eyes due to my prayers and helped me see that his best is his best. It may not be my best but its his best. Thats all the Lord requires and thats all I can require as well.

In better news, a man that I found and taught in Ahoskie named Ralph Hewitt is getting the plunge on December 13th! We found him almost a year ago come January. How incredible is that? That is right before transfers too so if we get an investigator, we can go! What a marvelous blessing it would be to see him get baptized. A man that I knew as a greenie, getting baptized while im still out here in my prime of my mission! The Lord knows me and that I wanted to see him baptized. I sure am. There are reasons why he is getting baptized now and not earlier. The current missionaries told me and I respect that. But he still said that he loved listening and learning from us. Also the friendships that he developed. I too am grateful for that.

Well its 35 degrees and Elder Malone is loving every moment! It actually "snowed" yesterday too! Like 12 flakes but hey, 12 is better than, what is it yall have? like 80 degrees. Oh yeah go East Coast!

We met an amazinly prepared lady on sat evening. Her name is Sheri and she loves the Lord. She has seen way more than I ever thought someone could and she still has faith that its part of a plan for her. Plus, she is looking forward with faith for the next trial to come! We invited her to Enrichment last night and she was soo ready to go! But her car was not quite fixed so she had to cancel. We could have gotten her a ride but when we went by to have her follow us, she was gone. :( Super Sad day. but we did get the Aguiar girls to go. The mom and her daughter. they had a nice time. The daughter in general found good friends and wants to come back! So hopefully she can get involved in mutual.

I love the church. get em once and they are as good as gold!
God Bless us all.
Elder Malone
p.s. yes even Obama