Excerpt from Josh's email September 23- Lately i have had a lot of things on my mind. Mostly about my Patriarchal blessing. It's kinda crazy. It blows my mind how real it all is.  I have been reading the scriptures a lot too. I have been cooking a little lately. I made Biscuits and gravy the other night and i made a turkey the week before. It was really great! We have been teaching a couple people but they have things that keep holding them back from baptism. It's hard to see. It's life though. We all have things that we struggle with, we aren't perfect and we won't be perfect in this life. That is why our Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that it is real and isn't just something that is nice to talk about. I wish i could do more to show my gratitude for it. I have been reading a lot in this thing called the GKLM Atonement Packet which is something our mission president put together for all of the missionaries. It's basically a bunch of talks and things that talk about the atonement. Did I tell you all to read 2 Nephi 4? I love that chapter. It's so great. There is just so much good stuff in the Book of Mormon!! I could sit here all day long and just tell you some of my favorite scriptures and why they are important to me and hopefully someday i will actually get to do that. That's what we can do the first night i'm back. I love the scriptures and knowing what a difference they can make in our lives and everyone's life if we are just willing to study, learn and apply what we learn from the scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:14-15 I believe talks about what the scriptures are for. To become wise unto salvation. We know Salvation cometh only through our Savior Jesus Christ, and his Gospel. We read in 2 Nephi 31 what his gospel includes. Faith, Repentance, Baptism for the remission of sins, Receiveing the gift of the Holy Ghost, And last Enduring to the End. 2 Nephi 31:20. I love the scriptures, and i have learned so much from them. I have also started reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. It's a super good book. I love to study the life of the savior. When we do, we can build a stronger relationship with him. I am so very grateful for my mission. I take it for granted and sometimes i wish i was at home, but i know where i am supposed to be. Sometimes i think i don't want to come home. Sounds crazy but I know i am going to miss it when i have to leave. The time that we have to serve the lord, as it says in the white handbook, is extremely short. At first i didn't really think so. but now i totally understand. 2 years is such a short amount of time. I am almost half way and it kinda scares me. I know the Lord is shaping me to become the person he needs me to be. I hope that i will be able and willing to continually do what the lord wants me to do. I love the Gospel and I love and am so grateful to be on a mission. I love you! :)

September 21-I really liked this talk a lot and i wanted you all, if you haven't already, to read Mikes talk he gave in stake conference. It truly is amazing how the Lord works within us and uses us to bless the lives of others. Here is a story from the talk.

Grandma Self -Visiting Teacher

I remember the first time my Mom was called as a visiting teacher.  We lived on a farm in an area between two small towns, Romney and Springfield, West Virginia. There were 27 members in our area so Dad would hold home Sunday School for our family and the other members who lived nearby.  The closest Branch of the church was in Cumberland, Maryland about 25 miles away. One day a sister came from the branch of the church in Cumberland to call my mom to be a visiting teacher.  She was assigned  to visit several sisters in our area.   My mom had never driven a car and Dad took the only car we had to work each day so it would not be possible for her to drive to deliver the messages in person. 

At that time the Relief Society sisters received a magazine each month called the Relief Society Magazine which included the message they were to share each month.  Since Mom had many chores to do each day on the farm and six children to take care of, it was always later in the evening when she would find the time to sit down and begin to write out by hand the entire message to send to one of the sisters on her list.  Since she had 4 or 5 sisters to contact it would mean she would sit for long periods for several nights writing out each message in its entirety.  There was only one 40 watt bulb on the ceiling in each room.  I can remember the difficulty she had reading the small print in the little magazine. 

One of the messages she mailed each month went to the home of a sister whose husband would not allow her to have any contact with the church.  She was not even permitted to say the name of the church to anyone or to speak of it.  She could not mention the name of God or Jesus Christ.  So this sister had requested her message be sent to her next door neighbor who would keep the message for her and would let her read it in her home.  Years passed and my mom continued to send her message to her neighbor not knowing if it was ever read. 

It was about 40 years later that Mom learned the rest of the story.  She acquired a book called “The History of the Church in West Virginia”.  One day as we were reading the book together we read a story of a woman who could not have any reminders of religion in her home.  The story was told by her son.  He said his mother was a very good woman who never used bad language, was patient, never drank coffee or used any substances.  He said she was good to her neighbors and loving to her family and she respected her husband’s wishes and never mentioned God nor religion.  After she and her husband died the next door neighbor shared with the son the story of how each month a letter would come from a woman over near Romney.  She would give the letter to his Mom and she would read and reread the messages.  This woman did not know the name of the church or the woman who sent them.

The son said he began to look for the church that had meant so much to his mother.  He went from church to church trying to find the one.  One day in his search for her religion he went into a church and as the congregation began to sing he immediately recognized the music.  It was the same piece his mother played on her piano.  He had asked her many times what it was because when she played it, she played it with so much feeling, but she would just smile at him.  He said as he listened to the music in the church the spirit came over him so strong that tears flowed down his face as he realized he had found something that has meant so much to his Mother.  The hymn was “Come Come Ye Saints” a hymn he found out could only be found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Her son became a member of the church that meant so much to her.

Now 40 plus years later, my Mother sat with tears streaming down her cheeks as she realized how much her sacrifice in writing out those messages, when she was tired, and in dim lighting, had meant in bringing  a bright ray of light into the life of this good woman. 

Brothers and Sisters we answer the Savior one sheep or lamb at a time.  

Excerpt from Josh's email Sept. 9- I have been reading Jesus the Christ i just started it the other day.I'm on chapter 4. It's really good. I was reading somewhere that we need to study the life of Jesus Christ so i decided that was a good way to do it. I have also been reading the Book of Mormon as always. I love the Book of Mormon. It's got so many great things in it. Just all the scriptures there are a lot of good things. My scripture i wrote in my planner for this transfer is Ephesians 6:12. It's a really good one. I have a testimony of that for sure. That's why i have been trying to strengthen my testimony, because that is the armor that is what gives us strength, Sister Sheppard sent me something too that helped it was about testimony and how we need to use it or we will lose it. In preach my gospel it talks about our testimony builds a protection or armor around us, which is so true. I know that as we are obedient to the commandments of the lord we are blessed and we become free. I have been pretty busy lately. We have a lot of work to do here. We need to go contacting and also tracting more.  Next month i will be gone 1 year! Pretty nuts! It really goes by so fast i can't even believe it! I have learned and grown so much on my mission. 

 Excerpt from Josh's email September 3-This Thursday we get to go to the temple! The mission has been really good. It is hard at times but i know it will all be worth it in the end. We have a lot of people that we are starting to teach.  I enjoy it. I feel like I am converting myself more than i'm helping others a lot of the time. It's good though. 

Excerpt from Josh's letter August 26th-Quite a bit has happened this week that we are really excited about. We have been working with the ward a lot more lately and trying to earn their trust more. We have been meeting with a lot of members and a lot of them have been giving us solid refferals. We have contacted and set up times to come see them. One of which is a family from Congo. They are such nice people. It is a Part Member family. The oldest sister is a member and her son is also a member. The rest of the family are not members. Two of her sisters now have baptism dates for next  month. They are great people, one is 14 and the other is 17. Our other investigator with a baptism date is in her 30's. She is a really nice lady. She just recently lost her 6 year old son in a car accident and we read from the Book of Mormon with her in Alma 7:11-13 and told her Christ knows what she is going through. It brought a lot of comfort to her and we have been teaching her and she has a baptism date in September.

The work is starting to pick up a little bit. We are excited. It's always better when you have something to do. I like to stay busy, keeps me out of trouble. Well I'm glad everything is going well back home.  I Love and Miss you all! I will talk to you next week :) I love you!

Excerpt from Josh's letter August 19-Hey! So lately my companion and i have been super busy!! Like it's nuts! We have had tons of meetings to go to and i have to always prepare trainings and things and it's crazy! We have found a lot of really cool people lately. It's been really cool! Missionary work is just really amazing to see the lords hand in it is truly amazing! I ate a burger the other day at Meadowthorpe Cafe that consisted of an egg, a doughnut, and bacon. It was super good it's called a spalding burger.  I haven't been reading as much from the Book of Mormon as i used to. I am in Jacob though. I'm on the really long chapter in Jacob. It's really good though. The more I read it the more i get from it. Daniel Wrote me an Email that was really nice to hear from him! I love hearing from you all. It's week 5 in the transfer now so next week i get the call to find out everyone's fate. I'm pretty sure i am staying. Oh I stained a deck the other day and mowed this ladies lawn for her. I told you all that i fixed the shifter cable for a lady the other day. That was really neat because she was just right there in the middle of the road right after we got down teaching a lesson. Did i tell you all that i gave a talk in sacrament the other week? I had to give a talk on the Commandments Lesson 4 in preach my gospel it was really good. Giving talks now isn't a scary thing at all it's really normal actually.I don't freak out as much as i did. I remember the one thing i didn't really wanna do was give my farewell talk.Now i don't even mind it. I give a training every week in district meeting which i really enjoy. I get to teach and also learn at the same time. I really like it, it's a lot of fun. We have some people that we are teaching. If people would just experiment as it says in Alma 32 they would come to know that it is true. Everyone that has ever done it with true intent has come to know that it is true. I wish everyone would just read and pray and know that it is true. It all makes sense. The mission is a really interesting time of life. I don't even know how to explain it. I have literally been set apart from the world and it's a crazy thing. The adversary works on the righteous harder and harder because if he can get to us he can get to everyone. He is just as real as God is. I've been reading my patriarchal blessing a lot and it's really, really interesting. I love it. It is another testimony to me that the church is true, I know it is, and i will never be able to deny it. My mission so far has shaped me into a different person, for the better. It has helped me more than i think i have helped others.  I wish i would have listened more.  I was like Laman and Lemuel even after seeing miracles i still didn't hold strong, but now like Alma the younger i have been made strong, and have become a tool in the lords hands, maybe a dull tool but hopefully someday a sharper one. But i love my mission. At times i get frustrated with it  but all in all i don't think i would have ever learned the things that i know now if it weren't for my mission. I am so grateful for it and for the opportunity to serve the lord. I know when the time comes to come home i will be happy to go home but also sad that i will no longer wear the distinct black name tag. But i will forever be a missionary. I love you guys!

Excerpt from Josh's email August 13- We have had a lot of really good meetings lately. Two members of the seventy came out and spoke to us. I have had a lot of meetings that i have been attending now that i am in leadership. It's kinda crazy but it's a lot of fun. I really enjoyed hearing what they had to say. Oh i got a shoulder bag so you don't need to get me one. One of the members here gave it to me. We were cleaning out his garage and he said i could have it ,it was cool! It's from Italy he got it in the 60's. It's pretty great! Oh i gave a talk in sacrament the other day on the commandments. It was good. We all spoke on the missionary lessons. It was really good. It really is going by fast we are already into week four of the transfer! kinda blows my mind! I love you!

Excerpt from Josh's email Aug. 5-HEY! I can't believe school starts soon!! it's insane! I know we are all getting older never younger. I can't believe i have been gone almost a year already... it's just flying by! The work is going we are in rebuild mode right now. We are working on finding more people and i am really focusing on getting my district to hit the standard for the key indicators. It's going pretty good! Since i have been here the numbers are going up so that makes me happy! I also really enjoy giving trainings for district meeting every week it's really nice. I like it! It's been a lot of fun lately! The other day I fixed a lady's car. It was really neat. The lord put her there so i could help her. Her shifter cable came off so she couldn't shift gears and i was able to fix it for her in a few min. It was really neat. I can't wait for Christmas so i can actually talk to you all again :) I will talk to you next week Love you! :)

Excerpt from Josh's email July 29-The work is going a little slow here but it should pick up soon. We just have to go out and start finding new people to teach! It's a little stressful being the district leader. It puts a lot of pressure on me to get things done and be the example. I have to lead by example is the biggest thing. It's good though i really enjoy it! I'm having fun. I'm learning a ton of stuff and I have kinda turned into a "clean" person haha like i really like stuff clean. 

Excerpt from Josh's email July 22:Hey sorry i really don't have a lot of time today i am super super busy with everything that has been happening. The baptism was soooooooooooo good!! I was super happy with it!! I will send you all some pictures and everything soon! Also I am getting TRANSFERRED! I will be finishing a greenie's training, He has only been out 6 weeks! I will also be serving as district leader. Kinda over whelming but the lord doesn't call the qualified he qualifies the called so we will see how this all works out :) I'm glad y'all are doing well and I love and miss you! I will hopefully catch up next week! :) Love you! :)

Excerpt from Josh's email July 15:  I'm glad everything is going pretty good out there! Everything here is going pretty good! We are having a baptism this next Sunday which i am soooooo excited for!!! She is so legit!! I'm glad i got my white tie too because she asked me to perform the baptism. I will send you all pictures and stuff and probably tell you a lot more next week. Also this Saturday i will find out what is happening, it's a 95% chance i am moving so just so you know and let everyone else know.

It's funny how all of that stuff works. How everything just fits together a lot of the time. The lord does know what he's doing. He does what is best for us, not exactly what we think is best for us.

Excerpt from June 17-Let me just tell you how my Sunday went haha, So we both woke up we both showered and we hurried out the door. We drove to the church which is about 25 miles away we got there and we were one of the first ones there. We had to be there for our meeting with the other elders and the ward mission leader at 9 and we had to make some copies of stuff. So we did all that and Carla got to church and the people that she is living with Nanna and Pappa (that's what we call them) and Morgan their granddaughter showed up to be there for the baptism. So anyways they hung out while we were at our meeting and then we took Pappa with us to Priesthood and Carla took Nanna to relief society. So we are kinda teaching them a little bit well one thing they have a problem with is when churches preach tithing. Because they make it sound like they are just preaching for the money. Well you'll never guess what the lesson in Elders quorm was on.. haha It was on Tithing.  At the end of the lesson pappa asked a bunch of questions and shared his view on it and we helped him understand that it isn't about the money. so anyways that was interesting then we went to gospel principles where Elder Lowe(he's a cool dude, him and i went to middle school together haha!) He gave the lesson in Gospel Principles on the Holy Ghost and that was good. We then went to sacrament meeting.. It was good and after the sacrament we are supposed to go and fill the font. well... Elder Gaither and I spaced it and sat and listened to one of the women in the ward give a talk, The thought popped into my head "Who is going to go fill the font idiot" haha I'm glad the Holy Ghost was there to remind me that Elder Gaither and I are supposed to fill the font. We almost forgot! That's the fastest i have ever filled a font. We had just the perfect amount of time. I turned it on full blast and made sure it was full. Then Sacrament ended and we were having the baptism right after sacrament. Elder Gaither and Carla got changed and then we took pictures then we started the service. It went really really well, better than i had expected. The ward members were involved and it was wonderful. The Spirit was so strong there. The talks were wonderful, Elder Gaither Performed the Ordinance and then I confirmed her. The Spirit was so strong there. The words Came to me and came right out of my mouth. I truly was only the instrument in God's hands. It was amazing. Then Carla got up to bear her testimony. It made me Cry, even thinking about it now i start to tear up. She stood up there and she started off without saying anything and started to cry. Carla's Dad was a member of the church and she didn't have a great relationship with him while he was here on earth. What a wonderful gift she was able to give to both of her Fathers, Her earthly father that had passed on and her Heavenly Father. She bore her testimony and it was wonderful, It was an amazing experience. Out of all of the stress i felt the whole week didn't even compare to the Joy and happiness i felt after Carla's baptism. It was worth it. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the power that conversion has on people. It truly helps people. We take it for granted, and we shouldn't. The Gospel is true and it isn't something that we just talk about and just go through the motions. It has power behind it. The Power of God. I'm so very grateful that I was able to be able to a part of that experience!

Baptism

 Excerpt form June 10th: So this past little while has been super busy! We have been teaching a lot of people. We are having a Baptism this sunday to start off the transfer and then we should be having at least one more baptism at the end of the transfer. Possibly two more we will see! We are super excited! It's been going really well though! I've basically finsihed the Book of Mormon for the second time, which is good! I love the Book of Mormon there is so much good stuff in there. We just have to look for it and apply it in our lives. It's been getting pretty warm out here lately, OH!! Guess what since it's been getting warmer the lightning bugs came out!! it's super awesome! They are cool little things. they are super easy to catch! I caught one and then let it loose in the apartment lol! I have a bunch of pictures of it.

Companion

New Companion a little bit ago.

                                                              Last day before transfers!

Excerpt for Josh's email ApriI 29, 2013: I have been thinking a lot lately, and have kind of realized throughout my life I really don't know what I've been doing.  I have just been going through the motions of life. It's kind of weird. Now that I am out here I have learned so much about myself that I didn't know before. It's kind of scary. It's weird to think about. i don't think I understood quite fully how important the gospel is  and how real it is. It's not something we are to just do. It is something we are supposed to live. Something that we have t do in our own hearts. It does us no good if we are just going to church and doing the things we are asked or told to do, we have to want to do those things. I can't wait for the day that I can come home and apply these things in my everyday normal life. I am so very grateful that I am here. It was a hard and still is a hard road to get to where I am and the road hasn't ended yet. We have to continue in doing good and living the gospel to truly succeed. Life is all about self -mastery and overcoming the natural man and the influence of the adversary. I really liked the talk in conference that talked about the tools that Satan will use against us. He uses the one thing that he doesn't have to literally destroy us. It is crazy!! Satan can't destroy us only we can. We have to continually do good in all things in action and thought and in our hearts so we can overcome and conquer all things. Life is not easy  and it never will be. We just need to do the best that we can. We need to live the gospel. We also need to warn our brothers and sisters of the danger. Like it says in D&C 88:81 I believe. I am so grateful that I made it here. I hope I can continue in the things I have learned here on my mission for the rest of my life. I hope I can continually have opportunities to share it with others so they can have the same blessings that we have here in this life and in the life after. I am so very grateful for the gospel in my life and for this opportunity I have to be set apart from the world to take time away to open my eyes more fully to see the truthfulness of the gospel. I love you all so much! :)

Excerpt from Josh's email April 22, 2013: Hey i just wanted to email you all and let you all know that we had a baptism yesterday! It was awesome! we were super excited for her! I got the opportunity to give the talk on the Holy Ghost which i thought went pretty good! It was super cool to see her progression and to hear her bear her testimony. It was really cool. We also got to be the witnesses. The work has been going pretty good lately. we have a couple more people that we are going to start teaching and hopefully will help them progress towards baptism! I'm super excited. Also transfers are coming up and i will most likely be staying Elder Carly though will probably end up leaving :/ sad day. we had a really good system goin but it's always good to switch things up a bit but anyways I will send you all pictures :) Love you guys!

Excerpt from Josh's email April 15, 2013: Things are going pretty alright. It's kind of rough at times.The adversary has been working hard on me lately, Putting thoughts of fear and doubt into my mind but Im trying to rely on the lord more and read the scriptures more which is going well. We have a baptism coming up on Sunday which should be awesome.We are excited about that. We have some new people that we have found that will hopefully start to progress and then we have a couple that we are working with trying to help them receive and answer that they need to be baptized and then we are also going to start working on a lot of less actives and part member families that the bishop wants us to specifically work with. But it's been going pretty good.

Excerpt from Josh's email April 2, 2013:Hey! yeah Easter was good. I got the letter and pictures yesterday which was nice :) haha Yesterday we didn't email because we were in Lexington having a zone p-day. I got really wore out. I haven't run around and played like that in a really long time. It was a lot of fun. I have been so busy lately. It's insane! I have been able to read a lot lately though. I have been reading a lot more from the Book of Mormon which is really cool. I want to get a lot more familiar with all of the stories so that I can explain and share them easier with people. I really enjoy reading the scriptures. I think I might be ill... haha I told Geeb that I quit soda and he said "who are you and what have you done with my nephew?" lol I am a lot different now I feel sort of different. More like I am the same person, but with a lot more spiritual drive to better myself because that's what the lord wants us to do. I have been a lot more healthy lately. I have been drinking Orange juice a lot and have been getting a lot of good exercise it's been really good! I am gaining muscle. My one suit doesn't hardly really fit me haha. My arms are just getting too big! haha. Man my mission has taught me a lot of useful stuff, like washing the dishes right after I'm done using them. It makes them a heck of a lot easier to clean! haha I'm a lot more organized and clean too. It's kind of weird... It's pretty crazy. Well I have to hurry and go but I will email you all next week. Tell dad I said hi and love him and tell the rest of the family I love and miss them. I will talk to you all next week! Love you!

Excerpt from Josh's letter March 25, 2013

Hey!

It's been a while since I typed out an email to you all. I have sooooo much to tell you and I hope I don’t forget anything. Well first I want to tell you something pretty cool that I found out. Well last night we went to The Greens home for dinner. They cooked Lemon chicken piscada for me for my birthday and also made teri maszu (yeah I don't speak Italian). Well that was really cool, but we were talking and bishop Green was talking about his mission and all the water falls and cool stuff and how he "didn't" go swimming  but anyways he said he went to Guam and I was like hey! That's cool! My uncle served in Guam! Then he said in Pompeii? And I said yes!! And he asked when and I had no idea then I remembered it was around the time of 9/11 and he was like I came home in 2011!  I must know who he is! And I told him and he said he knew who Geeb was! Super cool! I have a Pompayan message for him Let’s see.... Well the Shepard’s sent me something which was super nice of them. They sent me the talk that has been going through my mind for a while now. The one by Jeffery R Holland about how missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap expense. So that was really cool Tell them thank you for me please! :) I don't know if I told you all or not but I quit drinking soda. It's been good for me haha. I've been trying to stay a lot healthier lately, even though we live off of stovetop rice and hamburger helper hahahaha It's been good though. We have been working really hard lately trying to find new people. It's been kind of hard. It's always hard to find new people to teach. We have a couple really awesome investigators that I am really really excited about! I really hope I will be here to see them enter into baptism. I have been learning a ton!! I've been reading a ton too! I am on Mosiah 16 right now and I finished all of D&C and am on JS-Matthew in the Pearl of Great Price. I am going to start knocking out the Old and New Testament(pray for me) It's been super cool! I am so so excited for general conference to see what the Prophet and Apostles have to say. I look forward to General Conference now for a completely different reason haha. I’m pretty excited about my birthday this year too. It's weird though, I can't believe I am going to be 20 years old! That's insane! I'm glad you told Brother Curry that it's my birthday Tuesday, His wife is going to bring us a huge breakfast casserole! I'm really excited for that!! :) I have a challenge for you all too that Brother Curry(our ward mission leader) gave to all of us. He asks us What is the significance of Dueteronmy. 4:29? There are two key words in there and another one that I really, really like is Alma 7:11-13 and the question that goes with that is how do we limit the atonement? I really like those scriptures they are really good! well anyways I will write more next week I love and miss you all! :)

Excerpt from Josh's letter March 18, 2013:Hey guys! I'm doing pretty good, I don't have much time I wish I did! It's kind of frustrating at times because I have so much I need to say and don’t have the time to do it. I got my email from Caroline which was cool she talked a lot about section 88:73 I was telling grandma and grandpa about it was really good! Right now out here we are getting a TON of rain!! It has been raining pretty heavily since last night and we have flash flood warnings so that's been interesting. President said we can now email our friends which is awesome .I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully  I can get a couple of the other ones on missions and more active in church. The work has been going alright here. It has been kind of slow lately. It's going to be real slow this week because it's spring break on a college campus haha. I'm almost done with D&C! I'm on section 128 and I’m on Mosiah 9 which is pretty sweet! I have been learning a ton! I love you guys!!

Excerpt from Josh's email March 11, 201: Everything is going pretty well here. I am glad to hear that things are going well at home. I can't believe it's already march. Time just flies right by me now. I have know idea how but it does. We have some really cool investigators that we are teaching. Hopefully we can get them into the font soon I've been reading a lot and marking a lot in my scriptures. It's been really good! I am on D&C 103 and Mosiah 6 right now. It's awesome! I love studying the scriptures. I find such peace in it. It is rough at times out here. It's so weird just the concept of being a missionary. Leaving home for two years and talking to strangers about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's kind of strange from other peoples points of view but it’s awesome. I’m learning a lot out here and am being tested ALOT out here. It is insane! I don't even know what normal life is like. It's super weird when you start singing hymns instead of songs on the radio and start reading scriptures instead of magazines and start teaching people about Jesus instead of hanging out with friends, and your prize possessions go from a car and cell phone to scriptures and notes. Missionary life is a different culture, but I love it. It is so nice to be here having the experiences that I am. I don’t know where I would be if I weren’t here in Kentucky. I'll try to write more next week too. I love you all! :)

Helping people move.

Excerpt from Josh's email March 4, 2013: Hey guys! I've had a pretty crazy week! This past week we were out of town from Thursday to Sunday! it was crazy! we went and stayed in Mt sterling then went to zone conference out in Lexington then we went back to Mt sterling that night and then we went to mission conference in Louisville where we got to hear from two apostles and hear from a couple from the 70! It was way cool! The Louisville Temple president and his wife were there as well. It was awesome!! Elder Perry and Elder Cook were the two apostles it was so cool! We got to go up and shake all of their hands and meet them! It was so nice to hear from them. I took a bunch of notes which I don't have with me right now but basically we had the whole mission there about 180 missionaries crammed into the chapel. You know it's crazy when the apostles say that they have never been to such a small meeting in their life were there are two apostles in one location. It was awesome! They talked on missionary work of course and talked about the influx of missionaries. They talked about how we will hit around 60k this month and then by august we will have around 90k!! That's insane!! They talked to us about our responsibility as missionaries right now and what a special opportunity it is to be a part of all of this. Something that really stood out to me was they said from their own mouths that the lord is hastening his work, which is something I have been pondering and reading a lot about in the D&C. Section 88:73 especially. That really stood out to me when I read that. That times is now. What a blessing and privilege it is to be serving the lord at this time. I'm loving it! With everything happening in the church all of the changes the church is making is the lord hastening his work. It's so cool!! But anyways our mission conference was good :) I got to see all of the other Elders I have gotten to work with. It was awesome! Elder Rollins told me that a guy got baptized the day before! I was so stoked! He was one of the only people Elder Rollins and I were teaching before I got transferred so that was awesome to hear! I got to see all my buddies from the MTC except one of the elders that went home. It was sad to hear but it was an awesome conference. After that we went out to eat a MiMi's cafe! It was super good! Make sure you tell mike I had the chicken gumbo again! I remember when mike took me out to Mimi's because we were going to have faijitas and my braces hurt so he took me there. haha also I want you to ask Caroline if she can type up the story about the patriarchal blessing. Anyways we went there to eat with our zone leaders and then we went back to Lexington to stay with them because we had stake conference where elder Clayton spoke about the same thing as the mission conference basically which was super awesome. After stake conference on Sunday we went home finally! It was pretty crazy being out of town for that long. We haven't had much time to do much work. Sunday night was pretty good for us though we went out and tried the best we could to have some numbers to report. It has been awesome out here so far. There are ups and downs but it's all good. Brother Gardener, he's cool. He is a cheerleader and so is his wife at the University here., He went to Chicago on his mission and he said that his mission was the best and worst two years of his life, and some days that is so true haha. Elder Perry was talking to us a lot about authority and priesthood keys which was pretty cool and he also talked about the lord hastening his work now with the influx and growth of the church from converts because of the new missions and new missionaries and all this the younger missionaries will have to start doing things a lot sooner like training and leadership and all that so I thought that was cool and also the growth of members in the church will increase dramatically because of converts and Return missionaries getting married and bringing up families in the gospel! It's super cool to hear that come from an apostle I love you all! Stay safe!

Excerpt from Josh's email February 25, 2013:Thanks for the letters. I always enjoy reading letters. I think it's funny that Megan(my sister) misses me so much. Every time she writes anything to me it's always, "I can't wait until you get home". I miss her a lot. I miss you all a lot.

Josh was transferred last minute and since he was moving and didn’t have much space he didn’t take much food with him from his prior place. At his new place they didn’t have much food at the time, they were out of money on their cards and Josh’s debit cards didn’t reach him because he was unexpectedly transferred and his cards went to his prior address. This is what he is talking about in this next section.

Anyways I am so glad that I have my cards now! I don't know if I told you all the story already about how we didn't have much food so we were basically just eating whatever we could find in the house but anyways we prayed and asked Heavenly Father to bless us that we might have food and the very next day we went to go do service which we do at a place called christian social services which is basically like a DI and all we do is move boxes around. They also do food. That day was the day for their food delivery. So we helped unload all of that and they had so much FOOD! and so they said we could all take a box of food! We had so much food! We had a bunch of bread! like Criossaunts, french baquetts, Ciabatta bread, all kinds of stuff! It was an answer to our prayers! Anyways that was super cool. My testimony grew a little. The lord really does hear and answer our prayers!

Every transfer I have been putting scriptures on the first page of my planner and last transfers scripture was Romans 8:18, this transfers scripture is Proverbs 23:7. They are both really good scriptures. I want you all to watch the mormon messages, Earthly Father and Heavenly Father is a really good one and also Mountains to climb and Sanctify ourselves. Those are three I watched the other day and I really liked them especially the Father one. That one is probably my favorite. All of the Mormon Messages are really good. I haven't seen a bad one yet. I wish I could watch them more often. Tell Everyone I Love and Miss them. I love you all!

p.s. Tell Megan(My sister) That I can't wait to come home and see her and that I love and Miss her and tell her thank you for her letter.
Also tell Jessie Not to be stupid and break her foot anymore. She gets her cast off tomorrow I believe that's cool. I wish I could have been there to sign it haha!
Tell Daniel I also love and miss him too.
Tell Dad to be careful with work and that I love and miss him.
Mom I also Love and miss you and I appreciate all of the letters and all that you has ever done for me! :)
Love You All!

Josh and his new companion

Excerpt from Josh's email February 19
Hey guys! It's been super crazy lately. I got transferred to Morehead Kentucky. It's a pretty sweet little town. It's basically just a town with a College campus on it. It's pretty cool. Elder Carly is my new companion. He's pretty cool. We've got a lot of investigators. It’s going pretty good I really like Morehead. It's a pretty cool little town. The people here are so cool and nice too. It's kind of crazy moving areas because once you get used to an area and know it pretty well they move you. It's alright though keeps life interesting. Everything has been going good. We are going to have apostles come to our mission to talk which will be cool. We are going to be getting a ton of missionaries soon. This next transfer is a short transfer it's only five weeks. We are going to be getting a ton of sister missionaries in the future transfers. It's going to be really interesting to see what happens with our mission.To see what happens with everything. My birthday is coming up too. It's crazy! I won't be a teenager anymore haha. The mission is a great experience. It's been a lot of fun so far. It really goes by fast too. I can't believe it's been this long already! It's awesome here. I love and miss you all!

Excerpt from Josh's email February 11, 2013
I am staying in New Albany! I am not getting transferred this transfer. It's been pretty good here. Just doing the work day after day. We have one investigator with a Baptismal date right now and we are going to start teaching his girlfriend today so that's good. Hopefully they will both increase their desires to know so that they will want to know if it is true and they can both get baptized. I don't know if I told you already but I started re-reading to Book of Mormon. I am in 2 Nephi now. It's super good! The more I read it the more I understand and want to learn more. It's really cool. I actually enjoy reading the scriptures and things related to the gospel like talks and things like that. I also just started reading the Doctrine and Covenants not too long ago. I am on section 58 now. I got a letter from Geeb and Tiff the other day. Tell them thank you please :) I really like the words of wisdom I get that have been passed along to me. "Work Hard, Pray Always, and Enjoy!" I really like that. I have heard that a lot in the past week or two from a lot of you and I really like that. I wrote it down multiple places like my planner and white handbook. It is sooooo true! It has helped me out a lot this past little while. Especially when I start missing home and when it gets rough I just always remember that. Working hard helps keep my mind off of home. It keeps me focused on what I really need to be doing and it makes the time go by faster. Prayer is huge! Through prayer we can literally converse with our father in heaven! It is an amazing thing! We can receive help and guidance and personal Revelation that can bring greater knowledge, faith, and comfort. I Love prayer! I think it is in Alma 34:17-27 Pray always! I really love it. I think about that a lot and how real prayer is. Sincere prayer is what is most important. I like how it talks about praying always and pouring out our soul unto our heavenly father for anything and everything we need. It is also important to pray for thanks to thank him for all that he does for us. Oh something kind of cool a missionary in one of the other wards in our building came home the other day and so a tradition that they do here is everyone that has served a mission comes to church that first Sunday they are home with their tags on!! I thought that was way cool! I want to do that when I come home I think that'd be awesome! It's so cool to see pretty much everyone walking around the church with a name tag on. Tell everyone I love and miss them all! I Love you guys!

Exceprt for Josh's email February 4, 2013
Things have been going pretty alright here. I have been learning to rely on the lord A LOT and receiving a lot of personal revelation. I just started reading the Book of Mormon again and also just started reading the Doctrine & Covenants. I'm on 1 Nephi chapter 4 in the Book of Mormon and on section like 43 in the D&C. It's been going good. I actually kind of like reading now. Only about the gospel though. I don't think I will EVER just pick up a story or novel and just read it for "fun" haha. I have been reading from the missionary library a little bit. I want to read all of this stuff at least once while I am on my mission. There is so much information that can help us in our lives. I have a lot of stuff I can read from! Our search for happiness, Jesus the Christ, Preach my gospel, Book of Mormon, The old and new testament of the bible, the D&C, Pearl of Great Price, true to the faith., After I read the Doctrine &Covenants I am planning on reading the Pearl of Great Price. But yeah I like reading and studying the gospel :) Another thing I have come to know is how the Higher law for us as missionaries and obedience really does matter. There really is a reason for it. Some of the missionaries here don't really understand that. I know that if we are obedient than we will have success, if we aren't exactly obedient no matter how good of a missionary or teacher or whatever we are then we won’t have success. Also, when there is contention we do not have the spirit with us and we cannot work. We have to be obedient to have the spirit to be with us. The spirit of contention is not of God like it says in Nephi. It is of the devil. Those days are hard when tension builds for one stupid reason or another when we are around contention the spirit tends to leave us, and then we can't teach by the spirit. Those days are hard, and those days are the days that I pray the most. I know Our Heavenly Father is there and that he loves us, otherwise there is no way I would ever make it through my mission. There are always ups and downs no matter where we are in life and that is part of life. Our heavenly father throws us curve balls sometimes to see if we can hit it. I know however that the lord chastens us so that we can learn, grow, and progress. That is our purpose in life. When we come to understand that that is when all of the experiences in life good or bad begin to sometimes make sense. The lord has been wanting me to learn patience for a VERY long time. I still haven't mastered it but I am working on it. It's so nice to be able to converse with the lord and to learn the things that he would have us know so that we can learn grow and progress to eventually, in the end, receive the gift of Eternal life and return to their presence. 2 Nephi 31:20 is a really good scripture I love the promise in there. At times it is so hard to see the big picture of things and understand why certain things happen in the present time, but I know that it is because Our Heavenly Father wants us to Learn Grow and Progress through those things. Everything happens for a reason. In every instance in life there is a lesson to be learned. The trick is learning what that lesson is through guidance from our Heavenly Father. If we humbly seek answers to life’s questions and trials and if the lord wants us to know he will tell us. Sometimes the lord doesn't tell us right away why things happen or the purpose or lesson behind them, sometimes the answers come later in life. I love seeking personal revelation. That is probably one of my most favorite parts of the gospel. Sometimes it is a little scary or nerve racking to know what our Heavenly Father has in store for us. I know that the future is going to be... Very interesting. I really don't know what the lord has in store. All I know is that if I continue doing what I'm doing then I will be ready and know what Heavenly Father wants me to do. I love being a Tool in the master’s hands, it's such a neat experience. It is hard but it's worth it when you see it change other’s lives. It is so hard for me to see others happy with their families, starting families and things and at times I get distracted by that aspect. but I know someday the lord will bless me with that opportunity to be with my family again, and to start my own family. I know that at this time in my life the lord is shaping and molding me to be a kingdom builder. I don't know what that entails but I know that's what the lord is doing. I am so very grateful to be a part of his plan right now, out here serving him. I struggle sometimes to remember the big picture but I know that in the end it will be worth it. I have been studying a lot in PMG the Christ-like Attributes. I love studying this section. I have learned a lot from that. I love Charity, I think that has to be my favorite one. I love being able to serve people it's such a good feeling knowing you're helping someone out. Like I said I am working on Patience, and I'm learning more about hope and faith. It's so nice to learn more about it and then to apply it and then see how it benefits our lives. Anyways sorry to leave you with a novel haha I love you all so very Much and I miss you too! I am so very grateful to be out here serving the lord! I'm super excited to see everyone else going out to serve, I can't wait to hear how everyone is doing!

Excerpt from Josh's email January 22, 2013.
Stuff has been pretty good lately. We recently had two baptisms which was awesome. I got to do one of the confirmations. Pretty sweet! We've been doing alright. We don’t have hardly any investigators. It's hard to stay busy when no one wants to listen because they have "been saved already". At times it's frustrating but I just keep pushing along. We have been doing a lot of tracting and stuff like that trying to find people that want to just listen to us. It's been pretty good though. It is like a roller coaster, sometimes I feel like I’m doing really good with teaching and things and other times I feel like I'm not. I've been studying a lot! I'm learning so much more about that gospel that I know I had been taught but just didn't comprehend. I have learned soooo many things about the gospel that make me want to be better in my own life like after my mission and while on my mission. It's crazy how the time just flies by! I've been out here now for about 3 months. I can't believe it! Also Ben comes home soon! That's crazy! My birthday is coming up soon too! I can't believe I'm going to be 20. It's crazy! It goes by quick! It's been so cold here in Indiana.It's weird one day it'll be really cold and the next it'll be pretty warm. It's crazy! The work has been going good. Just trying to find more people to teach. We've been able to get meals in members homes more now because the bishop didn't know we weren’t getting fed at night. Now we have a couple a week. It's super interesting out here. It’s amazing how the gospel helps us have a better way of living.

Excerpt from Josh's email January 7, 2013
Everything here has been going alright. We are trying to get on a more regular schedule now that the holidays are over. it's been working pretty well. I am learning a lot from my own personal study and experiences. I feel like normal life will be so much easier now haha. The Mission is hard at times, It challenges me with many different things. We have been doing a lot of tracting lately since we don't have a very large teaching pool. We use the prayer approach a lot and pray with a lot of different people. We invite the spirit and bless the home and the family and afterwards we talk a little bit more and ask if we can come back and share a message about Jesus Christ and about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. It works really well. People out here are super interested to let us come in and offer a pray with them. It amazes me sometimes home many people have faith that there is a god and that Jesus Christ is the Savior. It almost makes our job easier since they already believe. That hard part is helping them know that the gospel that we offer is true. We do that by inviting them to pray and read the Book of Mormon. It's simple. In the Introduction of the Book of Mormon it talks about that if they come to know that the Book of Mormon is true then that means Joseph Smith is a prophet, that the priesthood was restored to the earth, that Jesus Christ is our savior and that the church of Jesus Christ is his true church. You can read it it's really cool. We also show them the scripture in Moroni, Moroni 10:3-5. Basically if we have faith in Christ, if we have a sincere heart, and have real intent to know then we can know by the power of the Holy Ghost. I think that is the most powerful thing. I've been reading my patriachal blessing a lot and every time i read it i find more things about it that make sense or that i learn from it. One thing I know though is that these are the last days. I know that the world is going to get worse and worse and i know everyone says that but i just feel that it's getting closer. I know we need to prepare ourselves the best that we can to be ready for anything that can happen. Prepare Physically and Spiritually as well. And as much as i might talk about home or how much i miss you guys, or anything really I want you to always remember this, I Know this is where i am supposed to be. I think the mission is doing more good for me than i am doing for it really, but i love it. I am so glad i made this decision. i know that this is where i am supposed to be, The lord wants me here, he needs me here. I havent yet seen a miracle come to pass from my doing but i know this is where he wants me. I know i made the right decision. I have learned to love the work, as much as i say i miss home or anything doesn't take away from the fact that i am Serving the lord. I wouldn't change anything. I have learned so much already and i know that it never will get easier but it will always be worth it and that the sufferings of this time do not compare to the glory that we can find within us. anyways i will email you guys again soon.

Excerpt from Josh's email January 2, 2013: I'm glad we all made it through 2012 lol! It's been pretty good so far. I've learned from my mission already that I will be a missionary for the rest of my life. I think of so many people now that are back home that i wish i would have shared the gospel with more. I also know when i am home i want to help the missionaries and go teaching with them and things like that. I really enjoy it. The hardest part of being a missionary is knowing that the gospel can help someone but they deny it. If people would just soften their hearts and open their minds they would understand the importance of it and the blessings that they can receive. It truly does bring true happiness into people’s lives just by living the gospel. We can overcome anything with the gospel. It truly is amazing. I know it can help people feel more pure, true happiness in their lives, and I want to share that with others. The world is a scary messed up place. I can't even imagine what it would be like without the gospel. I Love the gospel and the blessings of happiness, joy, peace, and comfort I have felt from it. I finished the Book of Mormon the other day. It is an amazing book! It is amazing to know that through a 14 year old boy Jesus Christ restored it to the earth for us! It's awesome! I love finding scriptures that I can apply directly to situations I am facing. It's so cool! I have so much stuff I want to read and learn from! I understand things so much more when I Read Study and Mark them. I love learning about the gospel. I wish I had more time to study! I've been writing in my journal a lot! I think I only have missed like 2 days, and that was in the MTC. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like to see you guys all again. I'm super excited for that day. I am loving it here though. At times I get discouraged but I just have to build myself back up by studying and reading and praying. I know that if I can bring happiness to at least one person, I have done my job. The more the better but I know I will do whatever the lord wants. I hope everything there is good. The mission is the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life so far. It is Exhausting! I am constantly tired! I am drained ALL the time! In our bathroom in the shower written on the wall we have written "it will never get easier, but it will always be worth it" I like that a lot because it's so true! I know it's hard but I can't imagine not doing this. I have learned so much it's crazy! And I'm still learning! I think in my next email I will try to send you some of my favorite scriptures. there are a few I really like. I really like Romans 8:18, 3 Nephi 11, 2 Nephi 31, Alma 36, and Moroni 10:3-5. Those are a couple right off the top of my head that I really like. Another funny one that I like which is funny because it's true/ words of advice is Proverbs 21:19 I wanna say and verse 9 I believe. If you look at the cross references in the foot notes they're pretty good. another one.. James 1:5-6 is good, Ephesians 6:12 is one I found today I really like. Those are just a couple off the top of my head that I either use a lot or that I really like. That's what I love about the scriptures is that there are so many different really good scriptures and we can apply them to ourselves. Especially from the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon was written specifically for us in these the latter days! How cool is that, that ancient people long ago were told by God to keep a record for us!? I think that is really cool! I hope The Kravers Krew is doing good! I hope Joyce is doing good.

District meeting.

From a letter Josh sent his Aunt Caroline dated December 10, 2012: "Thanks for the letter! I love getting mail. The mission is really good, of course, I miss home every now and then but mostly just the convenience in communication. I do know this church is true. I have had many spiritual experiences in my life some big and some small but no matter the size the source of them is always the same. I know God answers our prayers. I know he loves us and I know he knows the true desires of our hearts, there is no pretending. He is real! I am so very blessed and so very grateful for everything I have been given, especially the family I have been blessed with. I never realized the true importance of families until I left on my mission. I am so grateful our whole family is involved in the church and know the truthfulness of it. I'm so very grateful for my true friends also. They are like family to me. I am so grateful for everyone keeping me focused on preparing for my mission. I am so excited to be an example to everyone that looks up to me. I am grateful to be that example. Just as Christ was an example for the people, I can be an example also. Another thing I have found to know on my mission is how much I love learning about the scriptures. I wish I had more time to study them. I love learning about the gospel. I always want to learn more! A chapter I really like is Alma 36. I have felt that exact same war in my life and have felt the love of the savior. Another scripture I like is Romans 8:18. This scripture was shared with me by a teacher at the MTC. He walked by the classroom where I was and started down the stairs. A few seconds later he came back. I didn't know him. He wasn't my teacher but he said, "the spirit prompted me to come back here and share this scipture with you. I don't know why I was prompted but when the spirit tells me to do things I do it. I tell my students to do that so why shouldn't I? I am glad he did; whenever things get hard or stressful or when I begin to miss home I think of this scripture. I have already seen blessings come from my mission and they keep coming. I know this is where I am supposed to be serving the Lord. I'm not just doing this for myself I am doing it for the Lord. I am giving him my time and myself so that I may be a tool in the carpenter's hand. The blessings are a by product of all of this, I am doing this because I love my family and I know I can be with them forever, and I want everyone to know that as well. I want to get one of those fancy stone etched things in my house that says missionaries leave their families for 2 years so that other families can be together for eternity. Another thing I have learned on my mission is how badly I want to get married in the temple and start my own family. I am so excited for that day I can take a young daughter of God to the temple. That is my ultimate goal right now. Of course mission first, then that. I know the church is true, the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and that God lives and hears our prayers. I know Jesus Christ died and atoned for our sins so that we may return to live with him someday. I know families can and will be together forever."

Helping decorate a Christmas tree.