6/14/09
This week Daniel hits his half way point in his mission.

Last week Daniel was transfered from Johnstown to Middletown. Middletown is a community of about 10,000 people located about 15 miles southeast of Harrisburg. In his first e-mail from his new home he did not give us any information about the place or his new companion. That is at least partially because the computer he had to use at the local library caused him some problems and he did not have time to complete a longer e-mail. He did say he will be riding his bike in this area. The area is hilly so this caused him some concern with his asthma.

This is a small world and church. While in Johnstown Daniel got to know one of the families in that ward. It turned out that the wife in the family is from Mesa and has a sister who works for the City of Mesa. They really enjoyed getting to know Daniel and said he is doing a good job as a missionary.

5/18/09 E-mail

Daniel did not have much to say in his e-mail on May 18. He has learned a little more about the change to the Pittsburg mission. For transfers they sometimes use Greyhound buses, so they are just limited to their suitcases to pack their clothes and things. He has been using an extra tub, so he will likely be sending some things home. The 18th was his 20th birthday. He and his companion were going to go golfing for their P-day.

5/11/09 update

Yesterday was Mother's Day so we got to enjoy a wonderful call from Daniel. He is doing great. He is so committed to the gospel. He encouraged us to read and study regularly from Preach My Gospel so we can be ready to go on a mission when I retire. He likes the weather warming up and being in a larger city. He got to split with the other elders in Johnstown recently. The other group is in one of the few bike areas in this mission so he finally had to ride a bike. He said the hills were killers. He would take riding a bike on flat land here in hot Mesa any day. He has found out that the Pittsburg mission has no bike areas so once they combine he may go ahead and send his bike home. He says the new ward he is in is great with lots of friendly people. They have a few people they are working with that seem to be progressing. Next Monday, May 18, is his birthday.

5/01/09 update

On April 10 Daniel and his companion got to baptize Suede. Here is a picture from that baptism.

On April 27 Daniel was transfered to Johnstown, PA. Johnstown is located in the western portion of the mission, only about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh. Johnstown is famous for its floods. This is the biggest town Daniel has served in - over 23,000. The terrain is very hilly and forested. Daniel's new companion is Elder Reese from New Mexico. Elder Reese has been out only a few month's longer than Daniel.

4/6/09 update

The big news from Daniel is that he will not be coming home from the Pennsylvania Harrisburg mission. He will be coming home from the Pennsylvania Pittsburg mission. As of July 1, when Elder Pugh, the Pennsylvania Harrisburg mission president, completes his service they will be combining the Harrisburg mission into the Pittsburg mission. That gives the mission the entire state except for the Philadelphia area. He does not know anthing else about it at this point. Daniel is looking forward to a baptism this weekend. He said he really enjoyed conference, particularly Elder Bednar's talk. He and his companion got to teach a combined RS and priesthood lesson recently on PMG. They taught how members should learn from it and use in just like the missionaries do. They have still been doing a lot of tracting, but do not have many people they are working with.

3/16/09

Hey-
Well, for once I'm staying in the same area and I'm still going to be with Elder Dorius which will be a lot of fun. We get the call Saturday night that tells us if we are going to stay or not. Well, did you ever get an e-mail from Sis. Epler? She was going to e-mail you and send you a picture. Well, we are still working with Suede and he is suposed to get baptized soon. We are still working out a date so that is going really well for us. I'm glad to hear that Darcy won, that is really cool. I have 66 more weeks and I'm going to be able to call home in about a month so that is cool. That is a good scripture that you used (2 Ne 2:25). We use it a lot of the time to teach people about the fall of Adam. So, how is Darcy doing? I still have not gotten a letter from the Williams which makes me said because I really want to hear from them and I want to know how they are doing and know if they are still going to church or not. Well, I will talk to you latter. Daniel

3/9/09 E-mail

Hey-
Well, did you get Sis. Epler's e-mail? That is Suede's mom. (Suede is a 13 year old young man Daniel has been teaching.) So, if you get it you know who she is. We haven't talked about getting Suede baptized just yet. We are going to wait just a little longer to talk about it with him. Well, this is the last week of the transfer and I have 67 weeks left today so that is cool. I started with 99 so I'm down almost 33 and I will have only 11 transfers to go. Pres. Pugh is back in the mission, but he only has 2 transfers left. He goes home on June 31 and we get a new mission President on July 1. We still don't know who the new president will be yet. I did get the oranges but not the grapefruit. I wouldn't send anything to the apt now just in case I get transferred next week. Just send anything to the mission office. That will be fun to see if I keep up the same pattern of getting transferred. If that is the case, I will be getting transferred and I will still have a comp for only one transfer and I will not be in a area for more than two transfers. Well, nothing really new with us. Do you remember Elder Russell, one of my companions in Waynesboro? He is now AP. I think that is it with us for right now. I love you lots and I will talk to you in almost a month. Daniel