Boxing Day

Dear Family,

Well I really do not have a whole lot to say today, but for the sake of your blog I will say a little, please feel free to add anything from the phone call that you feel is appropriate.  First Sunday in the field was pretty weird everybody in the ward wanted to come and introduce themselves.  It is impossible to remember, or even attempt to all of the names of the ward members. We have great support here from the members, they feed us every night. I haven't eaten a dinner in our apartment yet.

We have a couple of investigators in our investigator pool. This week we spent some time going through the books of old investigators and tracking some of them down.  I had a really neat experience this week. We were out trying to talk to people, we stopped at one house and as we were getting out of the car I had the impression that someone at that house was prepared to hear the gospel.  We spoke to  a woman at the door, we have an appointment to go back and see her on Thursday this week.

Our investigator Ron was at church yesterday, but he always comes. He is struggling to quit smoking and is pretty convinced that he can't do it. He knows the church is true, but hasn't been able to quit yet. I hope that we can get some inspiration to help him quit smoking.

I have really enjoyed my time here so far, and I almost have a whole week under my belt.  Cotton wood is a tiny little town, it has a really cool Historic Downtown section, but tell you the truth it is just really old.  There is tons of fields, and farmland, etc.  And the houses in town seem to be pretty spread out.  I have set foot on two or three sidewalks because mostly it is just dirt on the side of the road.

We are working in Cottonwood, but we actually live in Andersen which is about 4 miles away. 

In our apartment we have my companion Elder Thompson and myself, plus the zone leader and his companion. The ZL is Elder Thompson's Dad, so that makes him my grandpa, they told me to call his companion Grandma!

Sorry that isn't much family,  next week I will give you more to work with. 

Also after a get moved out of Cottonwood, or away from Elder Thompson, we need to think about purchasing a GPS,  apparently Utah missionaries cannot find their way around in California, so please price them out if you have time.

Ya, I know that there is other things, but I can't remember, so it will have to wait... do you need extra postage to Canada?  Also... We got a bunch of presents, I got a blanket, a green tie, some brown socks, a plethora of candy, and another stocking, and a pocket knife!

 Well I had better head out, I love you all so much, and next week I will try harder to write personal emails, and a better family one. For the sake of the blog, use some of what we talked about on Christmas.  I love you all, but I am the Lord's for now.

Elder Ellsworth

3 Nephi 5 :13

Christmas!!!

We received this email this evening from a member in California. Don't know why Elder Ellsworth is not in missionary clothes, but he looks like he is enjoying himself!

We enjoyed our call today. Nick is serving in Cottonwood, California about 20 miles from Redding. He sounds very happy! He wanted me to express his thanks to those of you who sent letters (and gifts) for Christmas. He will be sending personal thanks soon, but explained that their time on P-day is short so it may take some time to get all his letters written.


Now for the email:

Dear Parents,

My name is Eric Hogan, and your sons are at my house this Christmas day.  I would like to tell you what wonderful young men you have raised.  I am a Major in the Army Reserve, just recently home from Iraq, and I know something of longing to be home during the holidays.  I have deployed twice now, and perhaps this makes me more sensitive to how you must feel.  As you can see from the
pictures, your boys are enjoying themselves, and will definitely not go hungry today.  There will be lots to eat, home made pies, and every other confection you can think of.  My wife Patty and I really appreciate the opportunity to serve your boys.  We are so proud of them, and are very thankful for the spirit that they bring into our home.  I especially appreciate the example they set for my two boys.

 Eric L. Hogan

Airport

Nick called this morning from the airport. We had a 4 minute conversation. Great to hear from him, wished we had more time to talk! We received the following email this evening:

I am alive, and now in California, I was allowed to email you so I just have a short one.  Today was crazy, I woke up 15 minutes before, I was supposed to be leaving.  Threw my stuff together, and left.  Met 8 elders who were all in the same district all going to my mission.  Talked to a lady on the airplane, she didn't accept a BOM, landed in Cali.  Met the Mission president, went to this Stake Center, and finally had my first meal.  Now I am about to go and meet my very first companion.  Love you lots. Sorry my phonecall this morning was very short, I think that I get an hour Christmas day.  HUGS and KISSES

 

Elder Ellsworth

Leaving the MTC

This week's email was very brief. Nick leaves the MTC tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to a phone call from the airport.
This is all he wrote this week:

I am definately leaving the MTC on a high note.  This last week has been a lot better.  This morning I got up at  4:20 in the morning to see my Comp. and roommates off to Dallas.  It was actually really hard to say goodbye, they are like my brothers, and I was sad to let them go.  We had four more elder's leave at 6:00 this morning and I saw them off too.  Then I went back to sleep for a while with the four other left.  I leave tomorrow at 8.  I was made the district leader because Elder Hansen left this morning. 
Well I love you lots.!

Elder Ellsworth's address in California is:
8583 Watt Ave.
Antelope, Ca, 95843

That is the mission home address. We will post his apartment address when we get it.
Thanks to everyone for you love and support. Nick is excited to get to California and get to work

Liz

Week 2

Dear Famiy,

Oh the ways the Lord works.  It always feels like I am learning a lot, but then my teachers talk and I realize how much I have to learn!  I am trying to learn, but it is so hard. We have MDT (missionary directed time) for a couple of hours everyday. It seems that there is so much to learn.

I have felt somewhat overwhelmed this week, I did however have a couple of bright spots in the past week.  First I got my Travel Itinerary, I fly out next Tuesday, the 21st of December. 

Second Elder Chantry and I taught a real investigator this week, his name is Steven he is 11 years old, and I was able to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon that I purchased at the bookstore. I look forward to more experiences of teaching real investigators!

We went to the temple again today, that is always a great experience!

I love getting letters... more than emails.  I sent letters to Ian, Isaac, Emily, and Matt Scherbel coming to the house this week.  Please get Matt's letter to him.  I love you so much mom thank you for everything.

Hopefully I will have more time to write next week,
Love Elder Ellsworth

Nick's first email

Elder Ellsworth and Elder Chantry

Elder Ellsworth with Sister and Elder Ellsworth

Dear Family,
I have had an emotional couple of days.  I don't really know how to explain the MTC. They throw so much knowledge at you so stinking fast I makes my head spin.  The first day that we arrived we met with our first investigator, that was heart pounding of course it was an investigator with a nametag pretty similar to mine and Elder Chantry, but still I was super nervous.  They have cameras in one of the centers that we can use so we knew that our teacher could watch.

Well I have only a short time to write about 30 minutes so I will just go fast.  I have two teachers both attend BYU and both have returned from missions English speaking in the US in the last two years.  Brother Wall is an amazing teacher, and I am pretty sure that he see's right into all of our souls.  He went to the Seattle Washington Mission and returned a year ago.  He has red hair and holy cow does he have a testimony, he also has a huge knowledge of the gospel to go along with it.  Sister Eyre is about twenty five and she returned from the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Mission about a year and a half ago, she is a whole lot more spunky then Brother Wall but she still can teach like nothing I have ever seen.  She is also super pretty and we just love her to death.

Since arriving we have spent about nine hours per day in a classroom that is about twelve foot by ten foot big.  With 13 Elder's trying to learn the gospel, and with a crappy air conditioning that just seems to put out white noise that distracts me really bad and it gets super hot so you have to turn on this fan that makes the noise almost unbearable.  But other that that it is great! ;)  We spend about three to four hours with Brother Wall and I think about 2-3 with Sister Eyre. They bless me with the testimonies that they have,  they actually make all of us feel a little crappy about ourselves when we do a bad job and they follow it up by making one of us pretend like we are an investigator they just nail it.  Elder Chantry said after one such experience with Sister Eyre he said that he wanted to get baptized again.  They are such a blessing I just hope that I can be worthy and open to take in their lessons, and follow their teachings, and become a good servant unto the lord.  I can't stop silently thinking about trying to work at the MTC after I return, I think that I would love it.

Elder Chantry is a blessing, he was about 348 pounds before he put in his mission papers.  He was told that he needed to 35 pounds before they would let him serve, he ended up losing about 70 pounds.  He is a big fellow, probably my height or a little taller, he has the best sense of Humor that I have ever seen. He can make the entire class laugh and he does multiple times a day.  He is from 14 miles out of Sacramento, and he is just barely out of my mission boundaries, in his free time he likes to pan for gold, play football, and he really likes to play call of duty.

In my letter I express some worries that I have had and still have, but please do not worry about me I am loving it here at the MTC.  On Sunday we walked around the temple, and had such a great and spiritual time.  Today was P-day and we were allowed to go and do a temple session this morning, it was so great to see my entire district, and attend the temple with me, it was a blessing for me.

Please send letters, I never did realize how important they are, holy cow every time the mail comes, I just hope that I get one or more.  I always feel a little bad when others get stuff and I don't.  I have received one letter and I was so happy, it almost killed me trying to wait until the evening to read it.  I feel bad for the missionaries that have to stay hear for so long. 9-12 weeks I think would kill me I feel so blessed that I only have 3 but I am sure that I will wish to be back as soon as I get out there.

  Elder Chantry and myself have had the opportunity to teach a progressive investigator this past week twice now.  His name is nick, he is a teacher here but it is still cool to have a semi-realistic experience.  He has gone to church now, and also has agreed to start reading the BOM and also to pray every night.  Well I only have 3 minutes left I love you all so much, and a really look forward to receiving those letters.
Love,
 Elder Ellsworth

The Book of Three

The tag line is because this is the thrid to last weekly email. Scary.
First of all, Mom, I want to apologize, I won't be sending pictures home today. :( I had a late night last night, and I was really tired leaving the house and left the camera and stuff at home. However next week I'll be sure to remember and send home pictures from the Ellis Island trip and the temple trip.

It's a little weird this week that you are the only one I'm sending the email to. Normally I send the weekly email to yours, Dad's and Nick's email addresses, but since they're off camping I guess you're the only one to send it to this week.

As the final weeks of my mission come closer I still can't quite wraop my head around the fact that I'm almost going home. I've loved my time here in New Jersey, it's been really cool. I have seen a lot of lives changed, and I've loved it a lot. I am detirmined to work hard these last few weeks and go out with a bang.

This week was a really interesting/tough week though. There were conferences all week, training for the leadership, and so we were in a threesome all weeks with Elder Godfrey. I felt really bad for Elder Yates, though. It's tough enough killing a companion, but being all week with 2 departing missionaries, I imagine it was hard for him. We tried to not be trunky and all that, but I think we still were a little. The week was tough, too because the three of us had to work both areas, and unfirtunately we worked in the Heights area more than ours, so our numbers weren't so good this week, but at the same time we did see some miracles.

We set two baptismal dates this week. One of them was Joseph. We sat down last night and I asked him what was holding him back. He said he doesn't know enough. We talked about it a little, and we encouraged him and bore testimony. We set him with a date for August 8th. He is still a little shaky about being baptized, but I know that as he prepares for that date, he'll feel the help of the Lord. I have faith he'll be baptized on that day.

The other date we set was with Katherine. She didn't come to church yesterday, she was babysitting. We are going over today, though. On thursday we set her with a date for the 15th of August. She is really awesome, and things are going well with her. After church we went over to her house to see what was up, she told us to come by today, so we have an appointment tonight at 5:00. I am really excited.

Samuel is also making progress, but slowly. I know he'll be baptized someday, but not while I am here. He's a great guy, and he understands that where he's at is not where he wants to be. Yesterday he shared something interesting with us. On Saturday we had a ward barbeque. Samual came and he had a lot of fun, but then he went out partying that night. He said that the party wasn't worth it at all. We talked about it, and he definitely preferred the barbeque. He wants to change his life, but it'll be difficult he says. This Saturday we have a talent show activity, and we invited him to come to that activity instead of going out dancing. He said he would, and he wanted to.

This week I got my travel plans. I remember that in the MTC when we got our flight info we wree so excited. I'm not excited about this at all. But here's basically how it'll go down.
I leave the Newark International Airport at 10:30 am on August 16th. from there I fly to Atlanta, and I have an hour layover. From there I fly from Atlanta to Salt Lake, and my flight is supposed to arrive in Salt Lake at 4:30 P.M. That's the plan anyways... I'm thinking about purchasing some phone cards before I leave and so I can make some calls in the airport. I don't know what I'll do in the layover in Atlanta for an hour.

By the way, I got the package this week with the Meds. Thank you so much for helping me out with that. Hopefully I can get back to sleeping right and not be so tired all the time. Missionary work is definitely more difficult when you're not sleeping properly.

Also, today I am going to pull out a little more money from my savings. I hate to keep nickel and diming my savings, but I need some money to send some more stuff home, also I think I need a few bucks for the temple trip on Wedneday as well. I want to thank you and Dad for all the help financially you have given me while I've been out here. I couldn't do it without your help. I
Well, I gotta go. I'm almost out of time. I hope that everyone has fun on the trips and I hope Nick gets his mission call soon. It's making me nervous...
Love you,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Penultimate P-day

Okay, first of all, here are some picture from the Statue.
The first picture is myself and Elder Godfrey at the top of the pedestal. In the background you can see New Jersey on the Left side and New York on the Right side. The next picture is me in front of the statue, and the last picture is the entire group of departing missionaries.

This week we also went to the temple for our departing trip. I forgot my camera, unfortunately. On the temple trip we had some interesting adventures as well. After the session we had a meeting with a member of the temple presidency. It was really awesome. I learned a lot. After we left the temple we had lunch in the releif society room of the chapel on the third floor. After lunch we went back to the van, only to find that the garage where we left it had left the lights on, and they wanted to charge $20 to jump it. I was their fault, though, so they gave us a jump, and we got on our way. We drove for a while, and then the van dies again. We tried for about 10 minutes unsuccessfully to flag someone down to give us a jump, and finally someone helped us out. It was interesting to say the least. After we got the car jumped again we were waiting for the other van, and president Bahr told me to pull the van up a few feet out of the intersection. (I had been in the drivers seat revving the engine so it could charge the battery a little.) It was the first I've driven a car in 20 months! I was excited.

Side note, I am a little nervous about driving when I get home. I haven't driven in about 20 months or so, I may need to re-learn how to drive.

After that we got on our way, and that was it. We got home safe and sound, though very late...
Tomorrow we have transfers. Neither Elder Yates or I are leaving the area, though we still have no idea what IS happening. I don't know if it'll ne just us and they'll combine areas when I leave or if we'll be in a threesome for almost 2 weeks. Tommorow is transfer conference. At transfer conference tommorow I'll give my "departing testimony", I'm not sure at all what to say... Then I spend the night in the mission home with the other departing missionaries, and then come back to Jersey City on Wednesday.

I still can't beleive that I'm going home in 2 weeks. It's so crazy. I've become so used to the life of a missionary, and I don't know what it will be like to leave it. I think I'm more scared to go home than I was to leave on a mission.

I mean, there is a lot of mixed feelings about it. I am really excited to see you again. I've missed you all so much. And I know that it's time to get on with my life, time to go to college and so forth, but at the same time, it's so hard to leave the people here in New Jersey. I've gotten to know so many people, and grown to love them, it'll be hard to leave.

This week has been a rough week, but we ended it well. We had an activity that I've been working hard to plan that happened on Saturday. It went really well, although it killed most of Saturday setting up and preparing. Yesterday was a really good day. We brought a member named Deybi with us to visit Samuel and Joseph, and it was the perfect choice. Deybi and Samuel clicked instantly, it was a really good apppointment. I know Samuel will get baptized, I'd say in no more than 2 or 3 months more. Joseph is not sure about baptism, I would love to see him get baptized before I leave, but I don't want to push him too hard, because if he gets baptised out of pressure, than it doesn't mean anything.

Quick note: This week and next week I'm going to be sending some stuff home, and I am going to need to cut down on space and weight in my luggage. There'll be some packages coming your way.

Also, I would like to know when I am going to give my homecoming talk and what the topic is, I think you mentioned that you knew a few weeks ago. I also want to give Elder Barker a heads up, he told me he wants to come to it.

I love you so much and miss you all. I'm glad that Dad and Nick got home safe and sound from the trip, and it sounds like it was a blast. I hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth.

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

We just got back from the Trip. It was awesome. I didn't expect us to get here on time, but we got back in perfect timing. The trip was awesome. We were able to go up to the top of the base of the statue, but not to the crown. It was an awesome trip. I took a lot of pictures, but unfortunately I don't have the little thing to send pics, so I will send some next week.
While I was at Ellis Island I looked at the bog wall that they have of names of Immigrants that went through Ellis Island, I round a couple of Ellsworth Names on the wall, and even a couple of Strachan names (though I'm sure they aren't our family since Mom is from Canada and all that.) It was awesome. Next week on Wednesday we go to the temple, our departing temple trip, I am really excited for that.

I'll say though, the trip did make me a little trunky... Especially since almost everyone on the trip are going home in 2 weeks there was a lot of talk of home, girls, what we'll do after the mission etc. I go home in about 4 weeks, 2 weeks after they do. It was good though. I know a lot of the Elders that were on the trip. It was a huge group, too. We had about 15 of us, 5 from the Cherry Hill mission who recently joined our mission. I would love to go to the crown someday, but I don't know when I'll be back this way. I still hope to return to New Jersey in December, Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to go then.

This week has been a little slow. We are making progress. It's always a little tough when you get a new companion and you have to lead the area until he gets to know it. It's been interesting so far, but I know that we will do well. Joseph finally got back last night. We have been keeping in contact with him via text for the last week, but it was really awesome to see him again. He still is unsure about baptism. We asked him to pray about it, and to let us know. We hope and pray that he will feel like he gets an answer and desires to get baptized.

This week we had a really awesome investigator come to church for the first
time. Her name is Katherine. We have taught her the first two lessons. Tommorow we are going to teach her a third and try and set her with a baptismal date. We are really excited for her. I hope that she will get baptized before I go.

I hope that Nick gets his mission call this week. I know the suspense has been killing me! I can't imagine how he's feeling right now. Hopefully he'll get it soon, and everything will work out. Maybe it's taking a while because he's just so amazing they can't decide which mission needs him more!

I also wanted to say that I am uber-jealous about the West Coast Trail trip. I wish I could go, but then again, I'm needed here still. (could they delay it a few weeks.... haha...) I hope that they have a good time and that Uncle Cliff can go. Hopefully Sidney gets better soon.
Umm in other news, Things are continuiing as normal. I am looking forward to my birthday. Dolores said that we need to go over and celebrate my birthday. I'm excited. I just need to make sure not to visit any Mexican's on my birthday. In Mexico there is a tradition that they will give you a cake and you need to take a bite out of the middle of the cake, and then when you bend down to take the bite, they shove your face into the cake. I've never seen it done, but I've seen some pictures of when it's been done. Also Elder Godfrey and I are planning to go out to eat at some point in the day, we have the same Birthday.

I already have a bunc of stuff I need to send home. The next couple weeks will be busy P-days for me, slowly start to pack up/send home/throw away stuff.
I love the time I've had here in NJ! I know that NJ will always have a special place in my heart. I know that this is the true church!
I hope that everyone has a good week. I know for sure that next weeks email will be on time. I promise I'll send pics next week from my trip today. I love and miss you all a ton.
Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth.

New companion.....possibly last companion!

On Wednesday we had an all mission conference which also included a mini-transfers. My new companion is Elder Yates. He is from Miles City Montana. He is a really cool Elder. He is one of the missionaries that came in from the Cherry Hill mission. His last area was Long Branch, which is where Elder Larsen just went. Elder Yates may be my last companion as well. On the 4th of August we have transfers, and they will most likely put us in a three-some for the last 2 weeks or they will just have some areas combine when Elder Godfrey and I go home. Either way.

This week has been a little rough and stressful for me. I am now in charge of the area basically, and my companion doesn't know anything about the area yet, so planning is completely up to me. I've been in this situation before, but it's still stressful when it happens. I also haven't been sleeping very well, which hasn't been helping at all.

That's a bummer that Nick hasn't got his call yet. Hopefully he gets it this week. I know that during the summer the number of misionaries entering the MTC and also submitting papers goes up considerably, so perhaps that is one reason it is taking a while. I hope, though, that he gets it this week. I know that when I was waiting for my call the suspense was almost unbearable.

Also, I'm sorry to hear that Ian broke his arm again. Hopefully he heals soon. And I am also really excited for Em getting Peanut back. I am excited to meet this dog.

We are doing well in the area. This week was a little slow, first off Elder Larsen saying goodbye, then the conference, and then showing Elder Yates the area so he could get to know everything. Hopefully this week things will pick up.

In other news this week Joseph's baptismal date fell through. He went on vacation last week and isn't getting back until Next Monday. So we won't even be able to visit him at all this week. However, on the positive side of things, we'll be able to focus a lot on Samuel. He has come really far in the last few weeks, hopefully soon we'll be able to commit him to baptism. He has already made some big changes in his life, and I know that he can continue to improve his life, and he'll want to be baptized. I just hope that happens before I go home.

We also have another investigator who is doing really well. Her name is Katherine. She is Dominican. She said she would come to church yesterday, but she didn't come. She has accepted a baptismal invitation, and is praying about a date. We just need to get her to come to church, and I know she'll be baptized.

Things are going really well right now in this area. I love this area so much. I have grown to love the people so much. This is a great area to be my last area. The ward here is really strong as well.

Next week I do not know if or when I'll be able to check or send an email. Next Monday I have the departing trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. So, I have no idea what time we'll be gettin back from that. If I don't get back on time Monday I'll do it on Tuesday sometime.

Also, here are a couple of pictures.

The first one is a picture of me in missionary clothes. I hope this is what Dad was looking for.

The other one is Elder Larsen with Samuel and Dolores. Dolores was really sad that Elder Larsen left. She cried. She was happy to meet my new companion as well though. This picture is from Tuesday when we went to say goodbye.

I love you all and hope you have a good week this week. I hope Ian recovers quickly and Nick gets his call. I hope everyone is having a great summer, and I can't wait to see you again.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

4th of July and transfers.....

This week has been amazing. Because the 4th was on a Sunday, we were not allowed to go to fireworks on the 4th, but we went last night to Summit (in the short hills area) and watched the show they put on there. It was awesome, I took some cool pictures, but I forgot my camera today so I can't send any pics today...

Yesterday also officially marks 6 weeks remaining. After todays email there are only 5 more weekly emails left, I can't believe it. On Sunday we got the transfer news, President Bahr called and told Elder Larsen that he is leaving, and he will be a district leader down in a place called Long Branch, apparently down in the new southern part of the mission. Tomorrow we have a all mission conference to welcome the new missionaries to our mission, and to have as well "mini-transfers" where Elder Larsen and I will be split apart, and I will get a new companion. Next week I will have the news of who. I am so grateful to have been with Elder Larsen. He is an amazing missionary, I have learned so much from him. He is the companion I've been with the longest on my mission, it has been great, we are sad to be splitting up, but I am also excited to see who my new companion will be.

I'm glad to hear that the 4th went well. The Canada Day party sounds like it was a blast. I am so excited to hear that Nick got the Melchizedek Priesthood. It will be a really great blessing in his life. I think it would be awesome to go with Nick to the temple, I hope he gets his call soon.

I'm glad to hear Great Grandpa Smith is doing well. I feel bad though, I've really failed at writing him. I think I've only written him once on my mission. As a matter of fact, I really have done terribly at writing any extended family, most P-days there is no time to write letters. I hope to be able to write a few letters next week, but I really haven't done very well when it comes to writing anyone. Thankfully there is the blog so everyone can at least read how I'm doing...

This week was amazing, we saw so many miracles. Just one that I briefly wanted to share, on Sunday we were a long distance away, but we had planned to be on the other side of our area, so we decided to follow our plans rather than just tract in the area where we were, so we went to try and stop by some potentials, and we saw this lady on the stairs in front of her apartment, so we went to go talk to her. We had met her a few weeks before, helping her to carry her groceries home, but she rents out a small room in an apartment, so she had told us we really couldn't come and visit her. Well, we saw her outside and so we sat down on the stairs and taught her a lesson on her stairs. It was really powerful. She is really prepared. We have another appointment to visit with her outside on Saturday again and she told us she really wants to come to church next Sunday. It was really cool, she is super prepared. Her name was Magdalena.

Things are going well here, I am so excited for this area. We are still hoping to get Joseph baptized soon, but we need to let him take his time. I feel we've been pushing him too much, and he need to take this at his own pace. I have faith he'll get baptized, but at his pace, not ours.

That's about all the news from this week. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I hope that things continue to go well. Have fun at camp Dad and Ian! And I hope that camp is going well for Nick. I hope to hear from you again next week.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

The foot........

Dear Family,

When Sister Bahr called me with the insurance information, I figured that that would be one of the fist questions in the email, So here is the story of what happened to my foot.

We were coming out of an appointment, and the lady had given us her keys so we could lock the deadbolt behind us, afterwards we were to toss the keys up onto her balcony, but she is really old, and had recently had surgery on her foot, so I was trying to hand the keys to her. I climbed up on top of the iron fence to hand her the keys, and when I handed them to her the pointy part of the fence punctured my shoe and into my foot. There was a man who lived next door who took us to the hospital, and they checked it out for me, and then gave me some Medication and sent me on my way.

I've attached a couple of pictures, they are of my shoe and my sock I took these pictures when I went to the hospital on Tuesday. I've been doing alright, it looks like it's mostly healed. And I thought I would make it through unscathed.

Other than that I've been doing well. On Thursday I spoke with president Bahr. It was actually kind of funny, he started off asking me how my foot was doing, then after a few minutes he said "Well, that's not why I'm calling". What he really wanted to ask me was about my departure date. He had heard about the confusion about which date it was and he wanted to set with me the date for sure. It was a hard decision, but I decided to come home one week earlier for a couple of reasons, 1) I have been feeling a little nervous about only having 1 week to prepare for school and stuff, so the extra time to adjust will be nice. 2) I would be the only one flying home on the 23rd, but there are 3 other missionaries flying home on the 16th. I had been thinking about it for a while, so when president Bahr called me he said that there had been an error in the office and my date was moved to the 16th, but he said if I wanted I could keep it there or move it to the 23rd. We talked about it for a while and I decided to keep it on the 16th. It's crazy to think that I'm going home in 7 weeks.

Elder Larsen and I are doing well. My accident this week slowed us down a little bit, but we still had a good week. We've been working a lot with the recent converts, we have quite a few in our area. We still have baptismal dates with Joseph and Samuel, but we need to work with them and make sure they go through.

I'm glad everything is going well. I know Em's probably disappointed but excited that she gets to keep Peanut. I hope that Nick gets his mission call this week. I know that wherever he goes, it is where the Lord needs him. For the record, I was a little disappointed myself when I read I was going to New Jersey, but I have loved it so much!!! The mission is a wonderful thing!!!!

I love you all and miss you so much. Thank you for the help you have given me as I have been out here. I hope you all have a good week.

Love

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Mission Combination....

It was really good to talk to you yesterday. I'm sorry that Em wasn't there, but I hope she had a good time at Disneyland nonetheless.

This morning we received the transfer fax. Neither Elder Larsen or I are leaving, as a matter of fact, the only one leaving in our Zone is Elder McBroom. However, it will be shortlived. On the 7th of July we are having a mission conference again and mini transfers, because the mission is combining with the Cherry Hill mission. So basically madness is coming up. We recently found out that the Zone 3 Zone leaders area is now no longer a Zone leader area, and that Possibly Zones 1 2 and 3 will be combined into 2 Zones. Elder Larsen will more than likely be leaving in a few weeks, but for now we are staying together.

Things are going well, nothing too new recently. Of course, we just spoke yesterday, so not much has happened since then other than transfer news. I'm doing well, I was really glad to speak to you all. I can't express in words how happy and excited I am that Nick is going on his mission soon. I'll be excitedly awaiting news of his mission call.

I'm trying to remember if there was anything I was going to mention in the call but forgot... I did mention the garments, thank you for taking care of that for me.

Um... what else, I think that was everything... I hope everyone has a good summer, Summer here has been so hot, and very humid. It's really quite nasty weather.

Well, I hope everything is going well. I haven't received your email yet, but I'm going to wrap up this email for now and I will write again in a few minutes, I want to send a few pictures.

Love

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Okay, I just got your email. I loved talking to everyone, and I hope that everyone is doing well. I hope Nick has a good time at camp. I hope he gets his mission call sooner rather than later.

I also missed talking to Em, I hope she has a lot of fun, though. I'm glad Mom and Em had such a great time at Girls camp. Sounds like it was great.

I'm so excited for Grandma and Grampa. That is really exciting they're going on another mission. We have quite a few senior couples in our mission and they all love it so much.

Have fun in Canada next month. Sounds like the summer is going to be a bit crazy. I know it'll be awesome, though.

Ok. Here are some pics like I promised.

The first one is a hilarious little "Park" in our area. The name is Brett Triangle, as written on the sign in the background. We thought it was a little Ironic, escpeically since the sign in the foreground calls it a park, and says no Alchoholic beverages, and there is a beer bottle on the ground near my companion.

The second picture is from a barbeque that one of the Bayonne Elders Recent Converts had. Dolores and Jospeh came, Dolores doesn't like pictures very much, so the pic was a little funny.

Well, that's all the news for now, Hope you have a great week,. It was great to talk to you, and I hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Dia de los Padres + fotos

I'm also really excited to talk to everyone on Father's Day. I think it's really ironic how that worked out. I hope everything goes well with Nick's papers. I'm also really excited to hear that he is getting his Patriarchal blessing. It has really been a big blessing for me in my life!

This week has been good. We've been working hard to try and find new investigators, that is our biggest struggle right now. We've also been working with Joseph, and he is doing well. He is currently set for the 11th of July, but we are trying to move him back to the end of this month.

Brian got confirmed yesterday. This week we had to go over and explain that his step-dad could not perform the confirmation, and so Elder Larsen did it. It went really well. They are a great family.

The first Picture is from Brian's baptism. Myself, Elder Larsen Brian, and his parents. Brian was excited to get baptized, and the service went really well.

The second Picture is of Juan Hiraldo and Margie, his daughter. Margie went back to the DR this week, she flew home on Saturday. She was such a big help as we taught Juan about the gospel, she has been a huge help. He has been progressing really well. He's been getting a lot of support from the ward. The hardet part is that he is partly deaf, so he can't hear well in class, etc.

This last week went well. On saturday we went to Bayonne to a barbeque that Elder Wray and Elder Rosas' recent convert was doing. Dolores and Joseph were there. Also there were a lot of the youth from our ward. It was good to see that Joseph has been making good friends with the youth.

This week we found this really cool guy named Deryl. He is from Peru. We were ringing the buzzers of a building to try and get in to talk to people. He let us in and we talked in his hallway for about 10 to 15 minutes, He is really interested, we are going back today.

Thank you so much for helping me out with everything. Also, I don't know if I mentioned it, but I am out of medication. Please send me some more. This'll be the last refill I'll need.

I can't believe how fast time has been flying. I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that I am going home in about 10 weeks. My companion, other missionaries and even members keep teasing me about that.

Transfers are coming up next Tuesday. However, things'll get interesting because the Cherry Hill mission is combining with us on the 1st of July. So there will be transfers this next week, and then tranfers on the first of July.

This week we have all mission conference on Thursday. It'll be really cool. This week'll be crazy, though. We have the temple trip potentially on Wednesday, the conference on Thursday, and then Weekly planning and deep clean on Friday. It'll be intense.

I love you all so much, I can't wait to talk to you in a week.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Priesthood....

I'm glad to hear that every one is doing well. I know that summers are sometimes the most hectic time of the year. I hope everyone has a great time this summer.

As for summer, here it's been ridiculously hot recently. We come home at the end of the day so incredibly sweaty. It's been fun, though.

I'm glad to hear that Nick will be seeing the stake president Tomorrow, I hope that the papers get submitted, I'm excited to talk to everyone, hopefully he has his call by then...

Everything is goin well for me here. On sunday we had a baptism. Brian Arias, the 9 year-old we've been working with, got baptized. His step-father, brother Correa, received the Aaronic priesthood Yesterday during the third hour, Elder Larsen gave it to him. Then after church he baptized is step-son. It was really good for that family, he really needed to get the priesthood. Our next goal is to help them prepare to go to the temple and get sealed as a family.

Also on Sunday Juan Hiraldo got the Aaronic priesthood. It was really good. I have really gained an appreciation for the priesthood as I've been on my mission, and Sunday made me reflect on that a little more. It is the power to bless lives, and to bring salvation to God's children. I am so glad that I grew up in a home where there was the priesthood, and where I had a father who was a righteous priesthood holder, I know it was a great blessing for all of us, and I am grateful.

In other news, we should be having a baptism next week, but it's starting to look a little doubtful. Joseph was really excited last week, and he said he had gotten an answer, and on Tuesday he was also still excited. However, on Friday when we went over doubt had crept in. We simply encouraged him to pray about it, and if he still didn't feel ready on Tuesday when we came over we'd move his date. I trust, though that he'll get an answer.

Um, in other news, we are doing well. However, we do need to find some more new investigators, we've been baptizing all our good investigators. We have another guy set with a date, but he is going to go to the english ward, so we need to pass him off to the other Elders.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well, I've been doing great, and I love missionary work. I'm so grateful for all the prayers and support. I love you all so much.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Great Week!

I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well. Good luck with the end of the school year. As far as calling home goes, I'm not exactly sure what I want to do either. I would like to be on the phone when Nick opens his call, but I have no idea when that will happen, so I'm a little in the dark right now. We have interviews with President Bahr this week and I'll ask him about it. From my understanding the call home can be any time, but it's usually on Mother's day, but I can wait as long as necessary by the rules. I'll ask president.

Also, quick note, next week email will have to be on Tuesday, the Library will be closed for Memorial day.

This week was absolutely amazing, even with Zone conferences this week and service and a ward activity on Saturday, we still taught a lot of lessons
.

The area is doing well. On June 6th we have a baptism planned, Brian, a 9 year-old kid. I have certainly learned a lot about trying to teach simply working with Brian, trying to break the gospel down simply enough that a 9 year-old can understand is pretty difficult for me. I need to improve my teaching apparently. We are also getting close to setting a date with Joseph, Dolores' son, but we do see a potential challenge upcoming with trying to get his Mother's permission to baptize him. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, though, we first need to get him committed to being baptized.

With Brian we are also trying to get his Father the Aaronic Priesthood so he can baptize his son. We committed him to get interviewed by the Bishop this Wednesday, hopefully he can receive the Aaronic Priesthood either this Sunday or next. We have been trying to work with the family so they will be a strong family and can go to the temple together in a year.

Yesterday we had an amazing miracle. We went to try and stop by this former investigator, and were on the doorstep on the side of the building (he lived in the basement). And this other man walks up to the door, and just looks at us with the most confused look. He seemed like he was gathering his thoughts to say something, and I said hi, and introduced us as missionaries. We said that we were looking for Bismark, and asked if he knew him. He said that was his roommate. We asked him his name he said "Jairo" I started to explain to him our message (the usual street contact-type deal) and he said "Excuse me.." and in my mind I thought he was about to give us an excuse like "I already have a church" or something like that but he said "Excuse me, could we go inside first." We went in and taught him one of the most spiritual first lessons I have taught my entire mission.

He told us just before we met him he was with some friends, and they were drinking, and started poking fun at him, and said some offensive things, so he left, he doesn't like to drink. He said that on the way home he had been praying and asking God to give him strength, and help to resist temptation. When he got home there we were (hence the look of confusion, it was just too perfect of a situation). We explained the Book of Mormon, how that it can be that source of strength he was praying for, and how the Restoration of the gospel and the true church can give him more direction. It was one of the most miraculous experiences of my mission so far. The spirit was so strong and I know he felt it. He accepted a soft baptismal invite, and we are going to walk with him to church on Sunday. It was absolutely remarkable.

I hope Nick gets his mission call soon. I know that the mission will be a choice experience for him. I have had so many experiences that have shaped and changed me. When I came on a mission I didn't exactly have an "amazing" testimony, but it has grown so much, and I know, independent of anyone else, and without a shadow of a doubt that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that the church is restored. I have seen that message change lives here, and it has truly changed me.

In other news I got an email from Daniel Barker (trainer) today. He is getting married on June 12th! I can't believe it! He said he wants to come to my homecoming talk, and to let him know when it would be, to which I thought, "I don't even want to think about a homecoming talk." Yesterday about 10:00 at night it hit me that I go home in 3 months, I didn't get a very good sleep last night. I have so much more I need to accomplish, and time is so short. I'm grateful for the support that you have been for me, both physically and emotionally. I am looking forward to talking to you. (hopefully sooner rather than later) but whenever it is, I'm not too worried about it.

Good luck with the end of school. Soon it will be time to relax during summer break. I love you all so much and miss you. I'll write again on next Tuesday.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

May 17th

Things are going well. Yesterday Dolores got confirmed. It went well, Elder Larsen performed the ordinance. Unfortunately none of her family we able to come. She is really excited, and she is doing awesome. On Tuesday she is hosting a family home evening at her house, and she invited everyone that went to the one a few weeks ago at another members house. We are really excited for her, she needs to get a calling soon.

Last week I had forgotten my camera and stuff, so this week I am including pictures from her baptism.

The first one is with all the family. I don't know the lady and little girl on the left, but then comes Joseph, Samuel(Dolores' son), Dolores, Myself, and then Joe (Dolores' other son and Joseph's father).

The second pic is just Elder Larsen and myself with Dolores.

We currently have two baptismal dates. We have one set for the 6th of June, his name is Brian. He is 9 years old. Both his parents are members. We are trying to get his father prepared to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood to baptize his son on that date. We have an appointment tonight we are looking forward to. We are going to talk about family prayer, family scripture study and family home evening as ways to strengthen their family.

Our other baptismal date is Cesar, on the 13th of June. He is an older Dominican man who used to be a pretty ligit musician, but now he can't play anymore because he had a stroke. Things are going well, he has been progressing, on Thursday we are going to take him on a tour of the church.

We are also hoping to set Joseph (Dolores' grandson) with a baptismal date soon. We committed him to pray and ask God if he should be baptized on the 13th or the 20th of June. Things are going well here. I am really excited for what is coming up.

I hope Nick gets his papers submitted soon. Hopefully he can see the stake president soon. I try not to think about it, but I am excited to talk to you all, I hope sooner rather than later. Hopefully he gets his call within the month.

Hopefully everyone does well in school. Good luck with the end of the year. I, personally am looking forward to summer. Last summer was amazing, up in Union City, and now I'm not too far away. I know we are going to see a lot of success these last few months.

Last night as I was up late sleepless I was reading through my old journal entries. It was really interesting to me reading about these old things. Some of them seem like it was so long ago, but others feel like it was only yesterday. Time flies by so fast.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I miss you all a ton, and love you all. Good luck!

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Baptisms and Transfers.....

Transfers are Tomorrow, but the good news is that neither Elder Larsen nor I are getting transferred. We'll be here together for at least one more transfer. (June 22) this transfer has just flown by, it seems like just yesterday I was packing my bags and leaving WNY. Elder Larsen and I have been tearing things up here in Jersey City.

Yesterday we had a baptism!!!! However, today I forgot the stuff to transfer pics, so I don't have pictures for you this week, but next week I will send you pictures. I baptized Dolores yesterday, it went well. the water was a tad warm and a little too low, so it almost was really bad, but it went well. Both her sons came to the baptism, They really felt the spirit.

The area is going well right now. We just baptized two really great people. Now we are going to focus on working with Dolores' family and get them baptized as well. Samuel, her son, is getting close. He has a lot of things he would need to give up if he were to get baptized, and he doesn't see that happening. However, the fact that he came to church yesterday was a big step. hopefully he'll be able to keep coming and feel the spirit and make that change in his life. Joseph, the grandson, is also progressing well, we are hoping to get him baptized soon. He has expressed desires to get baptized, and even said he's thought about serving a mission, we will need to get permission from his Mom to baptize him, however, he lives in the heights with her, but we always teach him at Dolores' house.

Juan is also doing well. He got confirmed yesterday. The bishopric had forgotten or did not know, and so as he was announcing that we were going to do the sacrament I started hand signaling him from the congregation. I performed the confirmation. It went well. He really felt the spirit, we are starting to teach him the new member lessons, so that he can remain a strong member of the church.

I know that the church us true. I love being a missionary. The other night I was having a hard time sleeping, so I got up and started reading my journal and writing to get a few things off my mind. I started writing a sort of abridged journal and I was writing about the MTC. I was thinking about that first day, where they used to take you into a big room, and watch a teary-eyed video, and then families go out one door and missionaries out the other. I made the comment that "I had no idea when I walked through that door how much my life was going to change" My mission has truly changed me. I have seen how the gospel changes others lives and in the course, my life has been changed.

Yesterday I completed my goal I set for baptisms I wanted to have in my mission. My goal was 10. Now I have had 10 people I have taught and was there when they got baptized. I have done some thinking over the last few days, and I want to reset my goal, because I still have a few months left. My new goal is 15. I have a goal to get 5 more people to the waters of baptism before I go home. I pray that God will help me accomplish that goal.

I'm glad that everyone is doing well. I'm really excited to be able to talk to everyone in a few weeks. I was a little bummed last night not calling home, but it was definitely a sacrifice I was willing to make, I know how important it is to Nick, and I also really want to be on the phone when he opens it. I'm glad that President allowed me to do it. Hopefully he gets his papers sooner rather than later. I'm so excited, I remember how nervous I was waiting for my mission call to come. I still hold to my guess being Greece. That would, however make calling home a little complicated.... But , wherever he gets called to go, it'll be where the Lord wants him to go.

I'm glad to hear as well that Em did well on her test. Hopefully she finishes out the school year strong.

I can't believe that Ian will be going to Jr. High next year! time has flown, I can't believe how much things have changed since I've been gone.

I love you all so much, and I hope Mom had a good Mother's Day. I hope everyone does well this week and things go well for you. I love you all so much and I am grateful for your support and your prayers.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Baptism....

Yesterday we had a baptism, the first baptism of this area!!! Also, the first Dominican I have baptized on my mission!

The baptismal service went really well. It was a little long, though. He was super excited to get baptized. Another cool thing that occurred from the baptism is that Dolores stayed, and she absolutely loved it! She is completely set to get baptized this next Sunday, we just need to plan everything now. We are going over again tonight to visit her. Things are going really well, and we are definitely seeing the miracles from our hard work.

Ok, picture time! The first picture is of Juan's baptism. The photographer who took the picture with my camera caught me with my eyes closed. From left to right: Elder Larsen (my comp), Juan's son, also named Juan (he's from boston, and he came and baptized his dad), Juan senior (He's usually a very happy guy, but every time the camera comes out he puts on this grumpy old man face) and of course myself (in case you were wondering).

I'm glad to hear that everything is going well for you. I'm glad to hear the bathroom is all fixed now from the flood. Hopefully there isn't another incident like that.

Thank you dad for the money. Today I went and bought new pants and a couple ties. Thank you for helping me out. Today when we get home I'll be throwing away a couple of pairs of pants that are a little trashed. One of them I've had my entire mission and have worn pretty frequently, they've lasted me pretty well, but they are a little torn up. The other pair I was given in Union City, but I had a run in with a fence and the fence won. Also, good news! I discovered today shopping for pants that I am a 36 inch waist! That's 2 inches smaller than the pants I bought before my mission! I'm shrinking!!

I'm really excited for Nick. I hope everything goes well with his papers. I am very excited to be on a the phone when he opens it.... My prediction is he will go to Athens Greece. I was reading a few weeks ago a small article in the Liahona about church history in Greece, and I got the feeling that Nick is going there. I think that'd be really cool!

Ok. The second picture included is of my district right now. From Left to Right: Elder Larsen, Elder Ellsworth (me), Elder Wray (MTC district), Elder Rosas (Elder Wray is training him this transfer, Elder Godfrey (Also from MTC distict), and Elder McBroom (My old comp.)

We took this picture to put on the missionary board here in the church as well as pictures of all the baptisms here in the ward.

Quick note involving baptisms, I must say that the ward here has the nicest water heating system I've seen on my mission. They have two small automatic heaters that instantly heat up the water, rather than a boiler, so it'll pump out water at the same temperature and pace the entire time and gets filled up with perfect water in about an hour and a half. It was really cool. It was definitely a lot less of a headache than Jeyckof's baptism in WNY when the water heater broke. Fun times.

I want to apologize if this email is a little sporatic.

I love being in New Jersey. It is so different. Living in the city is pretty crazy, people's lives are completely different to the life I am used to. Everything is so fast paced here. Also, here in Jersey City it is so diverse. There are tons of people from India, from Africa, we've met a couple of Egyptians the other day, Spanish people, black people, just a huge melting pot. It's incredible. Although I do miss the great view of New York City we had in WNY, most of the places we work in the only thing we can see is downtown Jersey City. I haven't yet been to the waters edge here.

I love you all so much, I can't wait to talk to you in person, hopefully Nick gets his call sooner rather than later. I am so excited fro him. I would trade places in an instant, be about to go out to the mission than about to go home. I tell the young missionaries all the time, " Elder, I wish I was in your place, I'd trade you in a heartbeat. " I love missionary work.

I love you, I'll write again next week.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Birthday Buttermilk

Okay, at first the tagline may seem a little strange, but I'll explain. Today is my companions birthday, and I wanted to do something for him. So, I decided to go with the Ellsworth family tradition of making pancakes with Mom's buttermilk syrup and strawberries and whipped cream. It was really cool, he wasn't expecting it at all. It was really cool. The syrup was really good, everyone loved it a ton. I remember a few months ago making a comment to Sister Bahr about it and she said "That doesn't make any sense, how can you make syrup with Buttermilk?" But, I made it and it was delicious.

As for the Mothers Day call, I am more than happy to wait until later to call home. I don't think it'll be a distraction for me. I remember that my first call home I was waiting in anticipation for weeks, and thinking about it all the time, but now the call home is just part of the plan, waiting a couple more weeks I am completely willing to do. I really want to be on the phone as well as Nick opens his call. My biggest question is what does Mom think about it because after all, Mother's day is her special day. As for me, I'm fine with waiting, just let me know next week what the plan is, if he does start the papers this week, then I'll definitely wait.

This week has been crazy for us! When we got home on Sunday and added up everything, I have honestly no idea how we did as much as we did. These last two days have been especially crazy, we've been running around like no other.

This week we had Zone conferences. Elder Pearson from the first quorum of the Seventy came to our mission on a mission tour, and he taught us in Zone conference. He taught us a lot about how to be a better missionary. One thing that really stuck out to me. He talked about how our Identity is everything. We need to set aside who we were to become who we need to be. We need to become missionaries, not just 20 year old guys on a mission. He said our Identity detirmines our behavior, Attitude and rules, which determine our Actions, which in turn detirmine our Reality. If we change our Identity we change our Reality. Also he talked about being bold in inviting and bringing the Spirit. This week we've already seen a lot of miracles. That same night we set Dolores with a baptismal date for the 9th of May.

Another really cool miracle we saw this week. Last Sunday we met this guy named Juan who just came to church with his daughter, who is visiting from the DR. He told us he really wants to get baptized. We have gone over almost every single day this week and taught him. He is really cool Dominican guy, he's pretty old, and is partly deaf, so we have to almost yell while we have been teaching him. He is getting baptized this Sunday!!! On tuesday when we went over we met his son, who lives in Boston, who is going to baptize him. It was really cool, I know that the Lord has blessed us a lot in this area.

As for making me "Trunky" You're not, so don't worry about it. I just try not to think about it much, and when I do it's more of a "I only have 4 months left, I need to use what little time I have well" type of thing, I think it's more of a motivation than a distraction, really. I think that this will likely be my last area, so I need to do my best here and leave an impression, make the ward better, make the work better. and I feel like I've been doing well at that. I've only been here a month and we are already having a baptism. I know that it is because we are working hard and keeping ourselves focused so we can bring the spirit, that's why the Lord blessed us to teach Juan.

The picture is myself with Moises Galicia from Union City. Last week in my email I told about him coming with us to Dolores' house last week. After we left Dolores' house we took this picture, kind of another goodbye you could say. I think it's also a cool picture. The large buildings in the background is not New York, it is actually downtown Jersey City, which is in our area still. It was cool. He is off at BYU Idaho right now, and will be leaving on his mission hopefully in July or August.

I hope that this week goes well for you. I hope you get feeling better. Good luck with the end of the school year, Mom, I hope that things go well. I love you all so much, and I am excited to talk to you all soon. Let me know what's up next week. Thanks for always being a support to me here.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

An email of the weekly sort...

This week has been really good. I'm glad to hear that everything and everyone is alright, though it sounds like you've all had quite an adventure this week. I hope everything in the house gets fixed up alright.

This week we had interviews with the mission president. They were good, this time he did it a little different, and we had interviews in our apartment. It was really cool. They came over and did the interviews here. At the interview I got two things finalized and worked out with pres.

1) my departure date is officially and finalized to be August 23rd. It is a Monday. That morning Pres and sister Bahr will pick me up directly from the apartment to take me to the airport. It's still a ways away, I still have 4 months left of the mission. I am excited, and I'm glad to have everything figured out. I'm registered for classes, and I have my departure date figured out, so now I don't have to worry about it, and I can focus on the work for the last bit.

2) I asked President, and he said I could delay my Mother's Day call so I can be on the phone when Nick opens his call. I did some basic math, and my guess is that he'll get his call before the 23rd of May. I looked back in my old journals, and I got my call pretty much exactly 2 weeks after I completed and filled out my papers My guess is that it would come on a Wednesday, because when I got mine it came on Wednesday. We just need to work it out through email what day I'm going to call. President said it still needs to be a Sunday evening, so let me know what you think, if I should do that or just call home on Mothers day and you tell me where he is going via email when he opens his call. I would think that after he gets his papers submitted to expect the misson call to come 2 weeks later, and on that Sunday evening call home, just let me know what you think.

This week has been good. We are getting close to having a baptism. Dolores is progressing a lot, but she is still not wanting to commit to a baptismal date. We went by Yesterday after church. Moises from the Union City ward came with us.

Well, here's what happened. Moises showed up at the chapel yesterday, he was there to have his last interview with President Drussell to finish up his mission papers, so I was talking with him, and I asked him if he would like to come out with us to an appointment, so he did. It was really cool, he has a very strong testimony, he really touched Samuel (Dolores' son). Moises today left to go back to BYU Idaho for another trimester and then he'll leave on his mission right afterward, so I don't know if I'll see him again. I gave him my contact information, I definitely need to keep in touch with him.

Dolores is doing really well though, We tried to commit her yesterday to get baptized on the 1st of May, but she thinks its too soon. She wants to get baptized, and she absolutely loves to church, but she is a little hesitant to do it right now.

This week we have zone conference. It will be really great. Elder Pearson of the first quorum of the seventy will be here on a mission tour. I am really excited. He was supposed to come back in February, but due to a really bad winter storm he had to postpone his trip. I am really excited for the opportunity to learn. I love Zone Conferences, they are always an opportunity to learn and grow, what can I do better.

I am so excited for this area. At interviews president Bahr kind of hinted that this will be my last area. He said that I was here "to gather up a few more sheaves on your way out" I know that we will have some baptisms, and see some success here in the area. We have a lot of investigators that are really cool.

I have been so blessed as I've been here on my mission. I have definitely changed a lot. I feel I'm a more mature, responsible person, and I am a lot happier.

One thing I remember as a kid, and something that always inspired me to serve a mission was something that Dad used to tell me. He used to tell me that a lot of the man he is came from his mission, or something along those lines. The same is definitely true for me. I know that my mission has changed me forever.

I love you guys so much, and I hope that everything goes well. Nick, Em and Ian, good luck in school. Mom and Dad, good luck in work and with the house, I'm glad the damage wasn't worse. I hope that doesn't happen again.

I love you, and miss you. I'm looking forward to calling home, just let me know what you thing about calling home a little later.

Can't wait to hear from you next week.

Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Jersey City

This week has been pretty good. My new area is pretty crazy big, though. We recently bought bus passes, and we are slowly peicing together the bus routes. A couple of months ago, there was a threesome in the area, so they did not buy buss passes that month, and the Elders in the area just didn't buy them again since, and so the verbal tradition and knowledge of the buss routes has been lost through the ages, so we are starting from ground zero. We have been picking up bus schedules where we can, and I am slowly marking a route map of the area for future generations.

My companion is pretty cool, He is from Washington. He came out to the mission last July. He was trained by Elder Ward the transfer Elder Ward and I split. I was in the same district as him for 2 transfers, so I know him fairly well already. He is a really great missionary. He has been in the area for 3 months already, and for the most part I just follow his lead, I really don't know my way around yet.

Other interesting note. Elder McBroom is my district leader. Also, Elders Wray and Godfrey (from my MTC district) are also in the same district. We all know eachother really well, so it's a lot of fun. Elder Godfrey and I have had 2 common areas, we both served in WNY and in Rockland county, though at different times, Elder Wray also served in WNY. But both of them served in the 60-70 area.

Things area going well. There is this awesome lady named Dolores we are teaching. She is from Ecuador. She came to church Yesterday and she loved it. We are trying to get her to get baptized this month. She has desires to, but I think she has some doubts. One of the sisters commented to me that Dolores was worried, because she didn't know what to say to her church why she didn't go yesterday. We have another appointment on Tuesday, and we'll see how that goes. She made us some delicious Ceviche last time we went over.

I love this ward. Yesterday when Dolores came, there were so many sisters and members fellowshipping her and saying hi, After the meetings, one of the members asked me for Dolores' phone number so she could call her and invite her to a family home evening at her house, and to invite and encourage her to come to church. It was really cool. I know that Dolores will get baptized soon.

This week has been pretty cool, I'm still trying to get the hang of the area, but it's going well. On Saturday we had the opportunity to help and serve the bishop of the ward. We spent a couple of hours painting a railing, and then the bishop made us some burgers.
OK. Here are a couple of pic's, it's been a while since I sent pictures, so here goes.
The first picture is a really cool panorama I took on my last day in West New York. It was reallly foggy that day, and you could not see the Hudson because of the fog, or the sky. The effect being that there was fog above and below the view of the city, so I had to get a picture.
The second picture is from the event I was just describing. The painting. In this pic are Elder Larsen (my comp) and Elder McBroom (my old comp) painting at the bishops house, and the third picture is the bishop while he was cooking the burgers.
I hope that everything goes well for you. I wish you all the best of luck in everything! I'm glad to hear that the trip to Italy went well, and I hope everyone else had fun in Canada (or at school.) I love you all and miss you so much!
Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Transfers....

Now I am here in Jersey City. Things are going good. My new companion is Elder Larsen. He is from Washington. The area is probably the biggest walking area in the mission. We are doing well, we have some really cool investigators. I am very excited. It is more than likely that I will finish my mission here.

Today I got on and finished up my registration. Melanie got on and registered on Saturday, and today I got on and finished up a few details, so I am set. I am registered for 16 hours next Semester. I am excited. I can't beleive that school is right around the corner.

In other news, things are going well in this area. I haven't had a chance to meet all the investigators yet, Elder Larsen said that they are hard to get a hold of, some of them, and we have a diofficult time getting appointments. The ones that I have met are super awesome, there are a lot of prepared people here.

Of course, it's also tough because this week being General Conference, I didn't get to meet tons of members on Sunday, but from what I am told, the ward here is really big.

Speaking of General Conference, it was amazing. I loved it so much. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. Priesthood session was spectacular. Several of the talks about missionary work made me think about Nick and Ian, how much of a blessing being a missionary has been for me, and how much it will positively effect them as well. As Elder Rasburn spoke about the inspired process of choosing where missionaries should go, I recieved an even stronger testimony of that my mission call was of God, and that New Jersey is where I need to be. I also know in the same way that President Bahr is inspired to choose where we are transferred, and thus, I am where I need to be right now, to bless these people.

Our area is huge. We cover Journal Square, Downtown, and almost touching the Heights of Jersey City. If you want that to make sense, maybe you can look up a map of Jersey City, but anyways... it is a big area. We recently bought buss passes so we can make our work a little easier. I am excited, things are looking up here in the area.

President Bahr promised us that with faith and prayer every single missionary will get a baptism this month. I am excited. I am not sure who yet, but we will get a baptism in April. It'll be amazing. Elder Larsen tells me we have a lot of really awesome people, but we just need to get appointments and get members out with us.

I love you all so much, and I hope that things go well in Italy. Thank you for helping me out with everything, all the support. Thanks also for the cookies. They were delicious.
I love you and miss you tons!
Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Transfers.....The end of the Crusade

I am so excited right now. When I read the email from Nick tears came to my eyes. I really feel overjoyed with the news.

This week has been a little tough for us, but we've been hanging in there. Things are really looking up for this area, though. We have a baptism scheduled for this upcoming Sunday, as well as a baptism for the 25th of April. I'm really bummed that I am leaving, West New York and the people I have come to know here have really taken a very special place in my heart. However, I know that the Lord has work for me to do in a new area, and I am ready to serve. "I'll go where you want me to go, Dear Lord"
So, yes, we got the transfer news last night, and the time has come for me to leave West New York.

These last two transfers have been a huge challenge for me. More mentally and emotionally than anything else. Finally the sleep issues are starting to get resolved, and in my next area I will be able to hit the ground running without the burden of extreme exhaustion that I've had here. I've tried my best to work through it, but it has most certainly been an uphill battle these last few months, but I made it through. I feel like the Lord has blessed me and that He is pleased with me. He has certainly been testing me these last few months, and I pray I have proven faithful.

I am so glad for the time I have been in West New York. This has been the area I've been in the longest on my mission, and will be the longest. It has been a huge blessing, I have learned so much from many of the people I've taught and worked with, I've learned a lot about enduring trials and overcoming discouragement, and how to be a leader. I certainly hope that I can take the lessons I have learned here to my next area and work hard to bring about the Lords work.
I know that this is the Lord's work, and I know that He guides us. I love being a missionary.

Today we are going to make some stops and say goodbye to some of the members. It is really hard for me to leave this area. However, at the same time, I'm excited for what lies ahead. This area has certainly been an area full of growth, personally. I have really learned to overcome my weaknesses, and how to overcome discouragement. The sleep problems have also taught me a lot about preserverance (spelling?)

Also, President Bahr called me last night to tell me I'm being released as District Leader. I've learned a lot from that opportunity as well, from being a district leader. I probably will not have more leadership in my mission, but it was a good opportunity to learn and grow.

Also, I may be heading to my last area. I'm not sure, but either the next area will be my last area or I will have one more afterwards. I only have 5 months left, so who knows where I'll go or be. As the hymn says "I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord."

I love you all so much, and I hope things continue to go well for you. Good luck in Italy, I am sooooo jealous. I hope everyone else has fun in Canada. Again, I am a little jealous. Do you know what? I have never even met Elsie. They have sent me pictures, I need to meet her at some point when I get home... but anyways.

I love you!

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Mom's note: Elder Ellsworth did not know where he was being transferred to when he wrote. They don't tell them until the conference the next day.
Also, for those of you who don't know who Elsie is, she is my brother, John's adorable little girl. She is nearly 3 but Isaac has never seen her.

Crazy Day

Today has been a little crazy. We had a choir practice in Caldwell, and then we played sports down there, and went to the office, we are barely starting on our P-day stuff. It was a lot of fun, but I don't think it was worth it, as we now don't have time to finish everything we need to do.

This week has been good we are starting to get everything turned around a little bit. I'm still extremely exhausted all the time, but I am doing a little better. I got the package you sent recently. Unfortunately the earplugs didn't work, so I'm still on the couch. But I'm doing alright.

In other news. Right now we have 2 baptismal dates. We have this awesome investigator named Carlos. We've been teaching him for about 2 or 3 weeks. He has a baptismal date for the 4th of April, either before conference or in between sessions. We also finally got a hold again of Javier and set him with a date for the 25th of April. Things are going well.

Also, quick note, Transfers will be in one week from tomorrow, so do not send anything to the house address, I may not get it for a while if it gets there late, it would probably be better to send all the mail through the mission office for this week.

I love you all so much and i hope that things go well for you, I'm sorry this email is a little short, but I promise I will write more next week. I'm going to get those glasses ordered today, and hopefully everything will work out better now with the sleeping, I hope so.

By next email I should have the information about whether or not I'm getting transferred, I'm pretty sure that I'll be leaving West New York, I've been here for quite a while.

Love,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

March 15

On Saturday we got hit with a very bad storm. Huge amounts of wind and rain. Elder Butler and I were in most of the day, as we were already sick, and didn't want to get worse. The three times we left the house to go to appointments we came back absolutely soaked. On Sunday we still had a lot of wind, but not as much rain, and it is still raining a little bit today. It's been a little crazy with the weather, but we're managing.

Things are still a little slow in the area, but we are doing well. hopefully once I start sleeping I'll be able to focus and work better and we can get things going more in the area. This week the Ward Mission leader wants to organize a "blitz" of our area with the members and missionaries to get the work jump-started. Hopefully it helps a lot.

This week we got an awesome new investigator. His name is Carlos. On Tuesday I went on exchange with Elder Hoover, and we taught him at the church. Last Sunday he had just shown up, and Elder Hoover and Elder Ward set up an appointment with him. We taught him the message of the Restoration, and at the end of the lesson he gave the closing prayer. In his closing prayer he thanked God for sending the prophet Joseph Smith! He also accepted a soft baptismal invite! I know that soon we'll be able to set him with a baptismal date. We have an appointment today at 6:00.

Sorry that this email is a little short. We have a guy coming to fix our telephone line for our fax machine, and we need to be there between 1 and 5. hopefully he comes earlier so we have time to do stuff.

I love you all so much, I hope you have a great week. I'll send a snail mail letter today as well, I have something I need to send to you.

Love you,

Elder Isaac Ellsworth

Rough week but moving forward with faith

This last week has been a pretty rough week. More than anything the biggest problem remains that I am not sleeping at night. I have been so exhausted, I'm still hanging in there, but the going has been a little rough because of the insomnia.

This week has also been a little rough, and more than a little discouraging, we spent 13 and a half hours this week looking for people, most of it knocking doors and stopping by less actives on the ward list and former investigators, but we found no new people to teach. We even began with a fast last Sunday and asked the Lord to bless us that we could find 6 new investigators this last week, and we found none. Which makes me wonder, what is it that we are doing wrong to not allow Heavenly Father to answer that prayer. One thing is that we have not been opening our mouths and contacting everyone as we should be.

Saturday and Sunday, however, gave me a lot of new hope for the area. I've been feeling a little depressed lately, partly because things are going really rough in the area, but mostly because I am so tired all the time. By Saturday I had just about lost all hope, That evening, however, we had a missionary fireside aimed at helping encourage the youth to serve missions. Brother Mathusek from the stake high council, who had recently returned from being a mission president in Atlanta, Georgia, was there as one of the principle speakers. During his talk he also mentioned the environment of the spirit and the miracles that Missionaries live in and see, and it was inspiring.

During the rest of the meeting I sat next to him and Translated to Engligh for him (he doesn't speak Spanish) and in the middle he stopped me and whispered into my ear. "Sometimes in Missionary work you have to go throught the grime, and the sludge, before you can really appreciate the wonderful experiences you can have. Once you make it throught those, the Lord can bless you, and when you look on those times in the future, they will still be joyful." or something along those lines, and that really stuck out to me. Yesterday Brother Mathusek also came to our ward and gave a lesson in third hour encouraging all the members to do missionary work, and it was an amazing lesson. I came out of there really inspired.

When I got home that day I said a prayer. I asked for forgiveness in not opening my mouth, and I promised him, I told the Lord that I was going to go out that day and talk to 10 people about the book of Mormon. and I asked Him to put someone in our path that would be prepared to hear the gospel. The 7th person I talked to was very interested and we have an appointment to go by on Friday. It was a miracle. Several others accepted pass-along cards and said that they'd call the number. I know that the Lord is in this work.

Um, in other news, I finally got the holds removed from BYU. Last week I wrote them an email asking them what else I lacked, but they wrote me back telling me they removed the holds. I now have my registration priority date, April 2, to register for Fall semester. Again, thank you dad for taking care of that for me. Now things are smoothed out, and I can register. I can't believe ( still ) that it is already time to start thinking about college. Although it is not my number one priority, missionary work is.

Also, In 2 days I hit my 18 month mark. I am so old.
Ok. Here are three pictures.
The first one is of my companion Elder Butler. There is also a story behind this picture. The lady in the background is Sister Bernal. We stopped by the laundromat to set up an appointment, and while there she made a joke about Elder Butlers last name, and so we gave him a white towel and had him pose like a butler, it was pretty funny, as you can see sister Bernal was laughing pretty hard.

The second picture is of our new apartment on Moving day. It was a little rough, it took us about a week to get fully moved in, but the apartment is looking great right now.

The third picture is me. I have this really thick tie, and I wanted to see how thick I could make the knot, and as you can see, the knot is really thick. But the tie is really short. Elder Butler said it looks like how Tongans tie their ties. It made me laugh. I have one more picture I want to send, but I will have to write another email to do it.
I love you all and miss you so much. I hope you are doing well, and I can't wait hear from you again next week.
Love,
Elder Isaac Ellsworth