Thanksgiving Week 18

Hey guys,

That is great that you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did as well. I have never ate so much on Thanksgiving before. We went to a family's house (the Sikora's and Hanson's) in our ward for dinner at 2. We ate dinner there at 3 in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun and we really felt like family. We then went to another family's house in the 2nd ward (the Pineda's). They had us and our roommates over for dinner at 6. So all four of us ate 2 big meals pretty much right on top of each other. After dinner with the Pineda's we all sat around singing hymns and sharing our favorite scripture. It was really neat to do that. That is awesome that you guys got to meet Aly. I can't wait to see all of her pictures.

Just yesterday we had interviews with the Mission President. He told us all that in the January transfers meeting we will be getting 25 new missionaries a net increase of 18. In March we will be getting 40 new missionaries a net increase of 32. In April we will be getting 28 a net increase of 15. Plus there are still more notices coming each day of more missionaries coming! He expects that every missionary in the field right now will be training in the next cycle or two. It is so crazy I still feel brand new and now we are being expected to train! I can't wait to see what happens and all of the changes that will be taking place though!

So last week right before Thanksgiving we had a lesson with Maria Ganley. The whole time we have been meeting with her she kept having this worry about not being able to have her occasional cup of coffee or alcohol. Before the lesson started she told us that she wouldn't be able to go without having her Tequila for Thanksgiving. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and at the end of the lesson she had absolutely no desire to drink anything alcoholic over the holiday. It was amazing to see such a change in her heart in such a short amount of time. The Holy Ghost really can work wonders! She also told us that when we first started meeting with her she was seeing a therapist every day for her depression. The therapist kept telling her that praying was nonsense and that she was just talking with herself. She stopped seeing the therapist just a few days before our lesson because she knew that she really was communicating with God and because since she has been meeting with us she is always happy and never feels depressed anymore. I love seeing the changes people are willing to make in their lives. The gospel is true and really can help anybody who will let it. Have a great week guys!

Love ya,
Elder Fuller

Staten Island Week 17

Hey guys!

So to start off with we did end up going to Staten Island on Saturday. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and forgot to take my camera. :( I did get one picture from the guy who we helped. He is the one standing next to me in the picture there are two other missionaries in the picture then the rest of the guys are from the ward I serve in. We helped that guy bust tile out of his basement. His basement was probably 40'x50' and completely tiled. Under the tile was anywhere from 1/2 an inch to 3 inches of cement. it was such hard work and we were so sore the next few days but it was so fun!!! It was crazy to see all of the damage that was done. It was so surreal to see it in person and not just see pictures.

I am going to miss spending Thanksgiving with you guys as well! It will be weird waking up in the morning and not smelling a turkey cooking. It will be weird to not watch the parade either. We will be going to two different families dinners tomorrow. The first one is the Hanson's and the Sikora's. Brother Hanson is the one in the picture that I forwarded that has his vest off and is holding it up. The Sikoras are his parents-in-law. We are going there for the afternoon. Then we are going to the Pineda's a family from the second ward (our roommates area) around 6 to eat another dinner with them. I am going to be full for days afterwards! haha I wondered the other day actually about how much milk you guys use now that I am gone. I drink a gallon by myself in a week and a half. haha

I talked with Aly today and she said she tried calling and said she talked with someone, it sounded like maybe Spencer. I can't wait to see her pictures when she gets back. I miss the mountains so much!! I know it sounds weird but I really do!

Elder Picoli and I are getting along great we continue to have some really funny moments together and some really spiritual ones as well. We finally got this family that I have been teaching since I got here to come to church. They loved it and couldn't believe they kept making excuses not to go. Our investigator Maria has made so much progress. She was seeing a therapist everyday when we first started teaching her because she had depression. The therapist kept telling her that she was crazy if she was praying because there is no way God could ever hear or communicate back with her. She told us just the other day that she has since stopped going to that therapist because she feels happier all the time now and because she knows that she isn't crazy having communication with God. It is so great getting to see how much the gospel and prayer can change a persons life.

Momma D. Thank you so much for those packages! I love getting them and it is killing me having the package with all the little gifts that I can't start opening until December! haha I can't wait to see what is inside!

I love you guys! I am THANKFUL for all everyone has done for me in my life and continues to do for me in my life. I am especially thankful for the gospel in my life. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Fuller

New York Hot Dogs Week 16

Hey guys!

Wow!!! That is a lot of snow! We got about 3 inches last Wednesday and everyone freaked out and then it was all melted by the next day. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had gotten 22 inches. haha I bet it would have been lots of fun to have that much snow to play with.

So Aly Oliva is going out to Utah by herself to check out The U and BYU then she will be going up to BYU-I she is going out for 2 weeks. She flys in on Thursday evening. I gave her the address and the house phone and told her if she needed anything she could call. She is a super nice girl. She is staying with some friends out in Utah but maybe if she calls you guys could take her out for dinner or something. Don't feel like you have to do anything though.

So my new companion Elder Picoli is awesome! We get along great (which is good because you know how well I get along with everyone, haha :P). So our third night together we ran over a possum (watch for pictures) and we have already had some other great experiences together. For example we had to drive down to Scarsdale the other day because I had to take a driving test that I took before and they lost my copy. While we were down there for the day we went to a little local restaurant that specializes in hot dogs. We got the strangest ones we could find the first one we had was called PB&J Crunch and as you can tell by the name it did have peanut butter and jelly but to top off the hot dog and give it the "crunch" they sprinkle Cap'n Crunch on it. The second one we had was S'more dawg. It was a hot dog covered in marshmallow cream, chocolate syrup, and crushed graham crackers. I know, I know, sounds disgusting right? Actually both of them were pretty good! I mean you couldn't eat them all the time but every once in a while on a special occasion they were pretty good! :)

Our investigator Maria (I'm pretty sure I have told you about her) is getting super close to accepting a baptismal date. I love working with her and I have seen her grow so much in the last 5 weeks. It would be so cool to see a second person from start to finish in accepting the gospel. I love getting to help people learn of the happiness and joy that the gospel can bring into our lives. My eyes have really been opened as to how much happiness really does come from living the gospel. I am so grateful to have it in my life!

So this coming Saturday we get to go down with the Stake here and help out I think in Staten Island. The stake is getting a couple school buses and taking a trip down there to help out and we got permission to go down with them. It will be the first real damage I will see in person. I can't wait to go help out down there. It will be a lot of fun. Our mission President is still seeing what he can do to get all of us down there for a weekend or so. I know there is a lot of people down there who are really going through a lot. I can't wait to help them out.

It sounds like you guys had a great night getting to hang out together. Keep having fun while you guys are there together because soon enough Spencer will be gone and Mikey will be off doing is own thing. haha I know you guys think it won't come soon enough but those memories of being with the family are so important. That is cool that all of those guys got there mission calls. I'm excited for all of them, especially Gilly. When I heard the change in age for girls I immediately thought of her and wondered if she would go. I know they will all love it and have a great time serving the Lord.

Tell everyone hi, and tell Uncle Erik I will try and answer some of his questions in my next email. It is hard we don't have much time to write emails or letters. I wish I could write everyone that writes me when they write me.

Love you guys tons,
Elder Fuller

Elder Nevarez last week Week 15

Hey guys,

That is crazy to hear that those guys are coming home from their missions. Both Winegar's are coming home? I know they left almost 3 months apart. That is crazy that Shane Frogley is still without power. I completely forgot that he was in that mission. Are all of the missionaries there doing alright? Today during transfers they told us that there is still a huge possibility of some of us going down either to that mission or to the South mission to help out. They said the clean up will be going on for a few months and they are trying to figure out how to tactfully get us down there to help out and find out what exactly we can do that will be most beneficial. I will let you know more as I hear about it. That is so cool that Gilly will be going on a mission! Did she turn in her papers like as soon as she found out that she could go? I'm excited for her I think she will be a fantastic missionary.

That is wonderful that all of you guys are starting to do a little better. Hopefully Mikey recuperates quickly and can get back to school soon. I'm glad the rechartering wasn't as difficult this year. With any luck they won't reject it again this year. haha I don't receive Eric's weekly letter but we have written a couple letters back and forth to each other. Neither of us could go without talking to the other.

So this past week Elder Nevarez and I worked super hard to help Elder Nevarez have a good last week. One of our newer investigators, I think I told you about her, Maria is getting really close to accepting a baptismal date. Maria is a single mom and has two sons, Gonzalo and Patrick Jr., and hopefully in the next few weeks we will start teaching Gonzalo because he is 10. His problem is he acts out a lot because he has severe ADHD and he hasn't had too much discipline since his Dad died. We met a new lady named Monica and she has been doing research on her own for a few months about the church and recently contacted us. She told us that she already wants to be baptized and wants to join the church but she said she needs to be taught everything first and she needs to move into a project house. She is just waiting on the government to finalize some things.

So I have always been terrible at remembering scriptures and where they are at and so it is hard for me to use them in lessons. The other day we were teaching Maria and during the lesson everytime she said something I immediately thought of a scripture that would apply perfectly to her situation or what she was talking about. It is amazing what the Holy Ghost can help you do if you learn to listen to it and if you are doing your part as well. It was neat to feel the Holy Ghost that strongly in my life. I love the help and guidance that we can all receive from it if we live worthy to have it in our lifes.

Is Spencer in Brother Osborne's class? I loved his class and I feel terrible for not having the time to tell him I got my mission call and see him before I left.

So my new companion is Elder Picolli. He was born and raised in Brazil until he was 17 then he moved here to the U.S. He loves to play soccer (of course) and loves playing volleyball. He is such a cool guy and I can tell we are going to get along great! I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with him.

As far as needing anything I can't really think of anything that I absolutely need.

Well I hope you guys have a great week! I'll try and enjoy this storm that is going to hit us this week. It is already snowing here because of the storm so hopefully it doesn't get too bad! I love you guys! Stay safe and have fun! :)

Elder Fuller

Hurricane Sandy Week 14

Hey guys,

So one of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 32:2-3!

So this week has been interesting. On Friday we had a ward Halloween party. It was fun to see everyone in costumes. Elder Nevarez and I made some chili to take for the pot luck dinner. We are getting pretty good at making way good food out of the most random things leftover in our apartment. I must be getting old too, after the halloween party I felt like Halloween was over and today doesn't feel at all like Halloween.

So Sunday night we got a call telling us that we had to stay inside on Monday and Tuesday and weren't allowed to go outside at all. It was SOOOOO boring!!!!!!!! The Hurricane only really damaged the city. All we got was about 3 hours of rain and some wind. There really isn't much cleanup to do where I am at so we will be back to tracting immediately. So on Monday we woke up and exercised and did our studies. We then played three rounds of Ticket to Ride and that only lasted us until noon. We ate lunch then played Mormon Mania which is the Mormon edition (non face cards) of Nerts. We played that for like 3 hours. We watched some of the Mormon messages that a member put on a DVD for us. (speaking of Mormon Messages go watch the one called The Lord's Side of the Line I was watching it and all of a sudden Brother Lomu my old seminary teacher pops up it was kind of weird). We then made the creamy potato soup that Bryce sent me (it was really good and we all loved it). We then played phase 10 for the rest of the evening the day went by so slow! On Tuesday we played Monopoly for 5 hours and sat around listening to music for a while then we got a call saying we could go out and do service. We tried finding some and couldn't. We went and had dinner with some members and the Husband cuts trees for a living. He got a call from a friend that had a tree fall on his driveway. So we went and helped him cut up this tree at 8:30 at night I'm sure the neighbors weren't too happy. haha :)

That was quite the crazy costume Michael. What else are you guys doing for Halloween? Did you guys decorate the yard at all? Did Bryce do his? So since it is our P-day and Halloween it is considered an eternal P-day. Our P-day goes until 6 and then we have to be in our apartment at 6 for the night. So once again we will be going crazy with nothing to do.

That is crazy that Elder Christofferson is coming to talk to you guys!!! I guess I'm not missing out on anything! :P He gives some amazing talks! Some advice before you go listen to him: 1- Take a dictionary 2- Be ready to pay close attention because he packs tons into what he is saying 3- Beware of that eyebrow!!! It will pierce your soul! haha

Tell everyone I am ok. Tell Joey I got his letter and am working on writing him one back. It is hard to write everybody, I haven't forgotten him though. Tell people that they can send me an email with their address and I can write them back. I love you guys hope you have a fun week ahead of you!

Love Elder Fuller

Meeting an Apostle Week 13

Hey Guys,

So this week has been AMAZING!!! On Saturday we got to go down to Scarsdale and hear from Elder D. Todd Christofferson. He walked in and the first thing he wanted to do was meet everyone and shake our hand. It was really cool that he would take the time to go around and meet all of us (there is about 150 of us). He talked a lot about how to become truly converted to the gospel and how that will help us teach a little better. He left an Apostolic blessing with us which was really neat to get a blessing from an Apostle! He is such a nice guy and super funny. He has four brothers who came with him and they all look exactly the same. After the meeting with Elder Christofferson we went out and had lunch with a bunch of the other missionaries. It was fun to hang out with everyone for a little while. In the evening we went to our investigators baptism. It was such a neat experience to see her being baptized and knowing that we were able to help her understand God's plan for her and help her make that essential covenant. On Sunday I was able to confirm her. Since that was my first time ever to be a part of a confirmation and to actually do the confirmation it was fun! I loved being able to welcome her into the church and onto the path that has been set before her. Last Wednesday for P-day we got to go do the walkway over the Hudson. It was cool to be able to see that far down the Hudson River especially since all the leaves are changing. It was really pretty.

So yesterday was Elder Nevarez's birthday. I had told all of the guys in our zone to call and text him all day because I knew it would bug him just because he is so darn humble. We had an appointment with Alicia Carballo and Brother Smith. Alicia is a member but we have been reteaching her because when she was first baptized it was only because she was converted to the missionaries. She didn't understand anything. So we got to the church for our lesson went inside to wait and Alicia calls. She tells us to wait outside in the car for her. So we are like OK? So we are waiting in the car she calls back and says I need your help picking something up but I'm not pulling in the parking lot so just follow me. So we wait for her to drive past and pull out behind her. We followed her for like 15 minutes and then she finally went to turn into a little strip mall. We started looking at the stores and we see a vitamin store (we think nah... she wouldn't need our help picking up vitamins) then we see a carpet/rug store (and we think oh boy do we have to try and fit a big roll of carpet in our little subaru) then we see a mattress store (and we go ok there is no way a mattress is fitting in here) then we see a store that sells exercise equipment (and we look at each other and go ok there is definitely no way we can fit a treadmill in either car). Thankfully she just made a U-turn and kept going. She and Brother Smith took us to a Japanese Steak House for lunch. Elder Hill and Elder Petersen (our roommates) destroyed our room. They put probably 50 balloons in it they covered everything in confetti and tinsel and threw little candy bars all over. That was just the icing on the cake for our day and all Elder Nevarez could do was laugh it was really funny to see him get so much attention. Elder Nevarez is in the city today to watch a Newsies on Broadway before he leaves. So I get to spend the day with some of the Missionaries in Connecticut. We slept at their apartment in Danbury and we are going to a members house here where he has a huge barn in his backyard that is like a Boondock's shoved inside a barn. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

 

 

I don't know if I will need a warmer coat yet or not. I still go running at 6:30 in the morning without wearing anything more than shorts and a tshirt. I will let you know though. I usually don't get cold too fast so we will have to see. The under armour and the jacket might be plenty. Thanks for sending that stuff too by the way. I got it on Saturday when we went down to the city. I also got Bryce and Crystal's package it was fun to get all the goodies. Tell them thanks a ton! All of us really loved the chocolate covered pretzels and the little chocolate ghosts.

That is wonderful to hear about Kramer Morton. If you guys see him tell him congrats for me and that I wish I could have seen it!

So the girl in the white is obviously Jen from the baptism. The other girl is Aly Oliva. There is a picture of our room trashed from yesterday and some of the pictures of the walkway over the Hudson. I'll send some more later.

Love you guys,

Elder Fuller

Baptism this Saturday Week 12

Hey Family,

We just visited the temple we didn't have time to do a session. I go to write my letters in the public library. It is closer to us than the church and we only have one key to the clerk's office and the other guys in our apartment have it because they are the zone leaders. So you guys as well as Momma D asked where I went to watch conference. We watched the first 4 sessions at the church. They had it playing over a projector in the chapel. There was just a few other people at the church with us (mostly older people who aren't too familiar with how to find it online haha). We watched the Sunday afternoon session at the Oliva's house. They fed us dinner between the sessions and then watched it together. It was weird not having a morning and afternoon session, instead we had an afternoon and evening session and then the priesthood session was late evening.

So we have been teaching Sharon Oliva. She is Aly Oliva's mom (Aly was baptized back in July). They are RLDS so they already believe everything that we do up until the time when Joseph Smith died. It is a really interesting situation. She seems to be coming around though, it is just real slow going. We are teaching Aly's cousin Jen Fish, she is 24. We started teaching Jen and now she is getting baptized on Saturday!! It is so cool to see somebody change so much! She used to be smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day and about 4 cups of coffee and she has completely quit. We are teaching Jen's boyfriend/fiancee and he is coming along pretty well. His name is Vincent and he is 34. He is Irish Catholic and his mom is a very staunch Catholic. He is scared to tell her that he is taking the lessons so that has been hindering him quite a bit. We have been teaching this guy named Carl, he is about 28. He loves coming to church with us and loves when we come over... However, setting up an appointment with him is like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands. It is near impossible and he only comes to church every other week because he feels obligated to go to his parents church as well. He loves the interaction he gets to have with our church. We started teaching a girl named Brynn she is about 25. She is the girlfriend of an extremely less active guy named Dylan. They live with Dylan's parents who are members and asked us to come start teaching Brynn. So we are working on teaching her as well as reactivating Dylan. We have also been teaching a 15 year old kid named Danny. I told you about him a little before but he is slowly progressing. He got into some trouble trespassing and we have been helping him out with finding community service. He then pulled the fire alarm in his school last week and they are still waiting for his trial to find out what his punishment will be. He is an only child and his parents just don't know what to do. It reminds me a lot of what happened with Bryce. Except for you guys had 4 other kids to deal with. I am so thankful for all that you guys did for us and how you handled everything with Bryce. I know the gospel is what kept us strong and together. It is really interesting to see another family go through some of the same stuff and how the manage and deal with things.

Mom it sounds like you are really loving your new job. That is great that you are getting to pick up a few more hours with the field trips and things. I wanted to thank you for always making me do chores and especially cleaning the bathroom. I know it sounds weird and you will probably have a heart attack reading that but its true. Elder Nevarez will usually clean up the kitchen and vacuum the living room while I clean the bathroom. It gets pretty gross with 4 guys living there. I'm glad I don't mind doing it especially because the other two that we live with will never do any chores.

Dad I am glad your surgery went well. I'm sorry to hear you are still sore from it, hopefully that goes away soon! I wanted to thank you for the example you always set for me to be a worthy priesthood holder. I always took it for granted before because it was always there.

Spencer and Michael it sounds like you are both living pretty busy lifes! I hope you guys are having fun! Keep preparing yourselves for missions. It is ABSOLUTELY worth every minute of it and no matter how ready for it you think you are you are completely wrong. haha There is so much to learn so the more you learn now the easier it will be for you when you get out here.

Bryce and Crystal I bet you guys are having fun getting ready for the baby. Crystal I'm glad you are starting to feel a little better. Bryce hopefully you can get that re-zoning stuff done soon. Then you need to take pictures of the yard with all the Halloween stuff so I can see. :)

Staci and Rob I hope you guys can keep enjoying life. It sounds like work is going pretty well for you guys. Are planning to do anything fun soon?

Momma D and family thank you so much for the package you sent! I love getting things from you guys and love getting to hear all about what you guys are up to. My roommates love all the food you send as well! :P I loved receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost haha.

So this Saturday along with the baptism we get to hear from Elder D. Todd Christofferson! I am so excited!! I can't wait to hear what he has to say to us. We were told to bring his talk with us so I assume he is going to do something with that. I will have to let you know next week.

I love all of you guys and can't wait to hear from you next week. Hopefully I answered most of your questions from the last two weeks if not just ask me again and I'll try and answer it. Stay safe and keep having fun!

Love,

Elder Fuller

Trip to Manhattan Week 11

Hey guys,

Sorry I couldn't write yesterday. We went into the city. It was so much fun! We had a member drive us down to the city and we spent all day there. We drove past the U.S.S. Intrepid which was pretty cool to see. We took a tour of the world trade center site. What an incredible place that is! The Freedom Tower they are building is way awesome. We then walked through China Town and got to see some of the craziness and business of that place. We then rode the subway downtown more and walked 5th Avenue. It was cool to see a lot of that. We walked past FAO Schwarz and went in the NBA store. We got to see the Trinity Church (yes the one from National Treasure and the little cemetery right by it that he runs through). We saw the Manhattan Temple it is cool how you can go from the loud crazy streets of Manhattan walk into the Temple and it is dead silent. It was a really fun P-Day. Sorry this letter is short I will try and answer some of your questions next week. Have fun and thanks for the love and support.

Love Elder Fuller

Ryan the Lumberjack Week 10

Hey guys,

My week was pretty good. It has been so stormy here lately! This entire week it has been raining and really windy. I never thought I would say it but I love Utah weather! haha We have been doing a lot of service stuff lately which has been really fun. We helped chop up a huge tree branch (it was bigger than the trees in the front yard) and the chainsaw that the lady had was broken so we had to use an axe. Needless to say we were both pretty sore after that one. In between rainstorms we have helped mow lawns and pick up branches that have fallen down because of the storms. It is fun to have a little break from the regular missionary work. So each week I gain some weight and then I lose some but since I have been here I have gained a solid 10 lbs and I cant seem to get back down below that. The more seasoned missionaries tell me it is pretty normal to gain about 15-40 lbs while upstate and while you are in the city it is normal to lose about that same amount. On Sunday the lady we cut the tree down for fed us dinner, she cooked these huge chicken breasts, a whole pork loin, lasagna, steamed vegetables, Caesar salad, crab salad, an Italian salad which was just olives and cheese balls soaked in oil, pickled vegetables, pie, and ice cream. Every time we would finish what was on our plate she would immediately load it up with more. We were so sick by the end. It was like 100 times worse than any thanksgiving meal! It was pretty bad, especially because she gets really offended if you try to tell her no to food.

Dad, I am sorry to hear you are in a bunch of pain. Hopefully that will go away soon but I am glad the surgery went well. That is great to hear about Kramer! If you see him tell him I say congrats and am proud of him. That is wonderful to hear Mikey ran that fast as well! I wish he would have run Alta as well to get the experience racing. It sounds like he is having fun running though. Is he thinking about running track?

How was the last day of work? Was it weird knowing that you would never go back there with that sweet purple shirt on?! haha I bet everyone there was pretty sad that you left. That's fun that you will now be free to do more stuff.

Spencer you need to stop switching jobs on me man. I'm pretty sure every week Mom tells me that you have a new job! haha I bet that will be fun working at Blimpies especially where you know half the people already and are way familiar with everything. That staff has always been pretty cool. I'm glad the pain went away pretty fast with the braces.

It sounds like both sets of grandparents are doing great! That is good to hear! So my hip gives me some pain every now and again mostly just some stiffness but nothing too serious. Elder Nevarez is a fairly good runner we run a lot slower than I normally would but that is probably better for me anyways. I know I keep asking you for more stuff but that next package you send I could really use that black jacket, the under armour as many of the long sleeve ones as you can find (there should be 3), and maybe 1 or 2 of my flannel shirts. Maybe you can put them in a space bag. You can send it by the end of October.

Thanks so much! I love you guys!

Love,
Elder Fuller

West Point Week 9

Hey Guys,

That sounds like quite the story Mom! I will have to tell the other guys that my mom has a new job as a firefighter. haha It will be weird to have you not be working at Megaplex anymore! You aren't going to know what to do when you can actually stay home all day on Halloween, or Thanksgiving, not to mention Christmas!! It sounds like you are really liking your new job! That is great, I am so happy for you! So my trip to West Point was awesome!!! The history behind that place is incredible! It was way cool to see all of these huge old buildings that almost look like the castle from Harry Potter. It has an amazing view across the Hudson. I didn't know that at one point it was actually a fort for the Military. During the Revolutionary War they had a giant chain built and strung clear across the Hudson to keep ships out. So now for the bad news.... My camera was dead when we got there so I only got one picture and it isn't even that good. I'm sure I will have a chance to go back and I will make sure to take a good battery and actually get some pictures for ya.

Mikey I am glad that you are feeling better! How is school and running going? Have you had time to do anything else fun this week?

Spencer, I hope you are having an alright day with your brand new braces on. Do they feel pretty wierd?

 

Staci and Rob that is great to hear about the new job and all the fun things you are doing. That is too bad to hear about the lockout with the NHL tho.

Bryce and Crystal I hope you keep having fun getting ready for the baby as well as Halloween. Crystal I hope Bryce hasn't gone too overboard on the Halloween decorations this year.

So this week Elder Nevarez and I decided we were sick of the mission and decided to leave it. haha Not really but we did leave the mission. There is a family that lives in a small town called Tivoli up in the very top NorthWest corner of Dutchess County. They should be in the Poughkeepsie 2nd ward but they attend our ward. It is about a 45 minute drive there and the road to get there goes through Columbia County which is in the Utica Mission. So we left our mission for about 5 minutes. :P They are such a great family though it was fun to see them. So transfers are every 6 weeks. So we had transfers meeting this morning (it is crazy to think I have already been here 6 weeks). I am staying here with Elder Nevarez for his last cycle before he goes home. One of my roommates Elder Head got transferred down to Harlem so I will have a new roommate as of this evening. I got to try fresh clams this week. They were really good. This Columbian lady made us some pasta that had 6 fresh clams sitting on top. New York pizza is way better than nasty Utah pizza as well. So I'm pretty sure I got into some poison Ivy this week. (thankfully I don't think I am allergic to it.) The other guys in the apartment have all had it before and I have the same nasty zit-looking welts they got but mine just don't each. Things have been going really well! Thanks for the package! I was really hungering animal crackers! haha Anyways I gotta run but have a great week! Love you guys!

Elder Fuller

Jello Cheesecake 8th Week

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for the package, I will probably get it this friday night. Also when you send the other package with my jacket will you send out a long sleeve under armor shirt and pants. They should be under my bed in a shoe box (I think it is an orange Nike box).

Mom that is so funny that everyone will be quitting Megaplex at the same time. They aren't going to know what to do without all of you. It sounds like all of the medical things are going pretty much the same as always. Hopefully after Dad's surgery everything will finally be all fixed and you guys can go for a few months without anything major. It sounds like you are really enjoying the new job, hopefully you will get some more hours real soon.

That is great that you got all of your budget stuff done Dad. Did you get it done earlier this year it seems like it normally takes a lot longer than that doesn't it? I'm keeping you in my prayers and hope all goes well with the surgery. It sounds like you get to have some fun just sitting around relaxing for a few days.

Mikey it sounds like you have been having way too much fun playing. I think you need to focus a little more on school. haha I never heard are you still running for the high school? and $190 what are you going to do with $190 dollars?!?!?!?! That is way too much money for you to have. You might just have to buy me something cool with all that money!! :P

Spencer, make sure you do everything you can to get your braces off as soon as possible. I found thinking about your teeth moving really helps and makes it go a lot faster. That or I just have some magical powers to make mine move faster.

As for the rest of you I don't really know what is going on in your lives. So hopefully everything is going well! haha

What did you mean they are cancelling meetings for the temple dedication. Like are they cancelling sacrament meeting? Is it just for certain stakes too? You will have to let me know how it goes.

Things here have been going really well. We were under something called a "tornado watch" the last two days. It was kind of crazy! It was raining really hard and was super windy. The work didn't stop though we were out tracting ALL day yesterday in it. It was pretty fun. We were soaked to the bone by the end of the day. We got to go to the equivalent of our 'spaghetti dinner' fundraiser. It was for the young women. They had a potato bar and a silent auction for baked goods. Elder Nevarez and I found a Jello Cheesecake mix in our apartment and made that to auction off. It actually went for $40 which was one of the higher bids on everything. Everyone in the ward felt bad for us because we are just poor missionaries. We had one couple give us $25 to buy something with and one of the members of the stake presidency said he would pay for whatever we wanted. We thought he was just kidding. We ended up buying 2 cakes. One was that orange cake that I told you about a while ago, it was sooo good!! We paid $30 for it and then bought another cake for $10 because nobody was bidding on it and one of the young men in the ward had put down 25 cents on it. We had talked with the girl who made it before the auction and she is barely becoming active again and we didn't want her to feel bad about not selling her cake. So after the guy in the stake presidency bought our stuff we gave him the $25 we had recieved and then had ANOTHER guy offer to buy all of our stuff because "we really didn't need to help out". This ward here takes way too good of care of us. I love it! I love all of you and hope everything goes well in the next week. Stay safe and Have fun!

Love you all,

Elder Fuller

West Point 7th Week

Hey Guys,

That is great that Mikey is getting so involved with things at school! That is the best thing to do. I wish I would have done even more than I had. Is he going to play with ultimate team? Is it an actual team now or is it still just a club? That is funny that he and that kid were the fastest ones. I wonder where he gets his speed? haha So is he not running for the high school?

Spencer, have fun with the braces man. They suck but they are worth it in the end. Hopefully they won't put you through too much pain. Well that's awesome that you have been looking for other jobs. Are you still working at UDK and if you get one of those other jobs will you stay at UDK as well? That's funny that it will be that cheap to fix the car and don't know why we couldn't have done it before.

Welcome home Grandpa and Grandma Fuller. I hope you had fun getting to see everybody. It sounds like you are having quite the busy week. I pray that you can get everything done you need to with as little pain as possible. haha

I am sorry you have been having the migraines Mom. That doesn't sound fun at all. Have you talked with Dr. Gorang about it yet? Hopefully they will go away real soon. How is the new job going still? That sounds like a good plan to get out of Megaplex before all of that craziness.

I'm sorry that you still aren't feeling good Dad. Hopefully they can figure out what is wrong with your gall bladder. (and hopefully it won't be something too bad or expensive) We do get the Ensigns but they come about 2 weeks later than everywhere else and I don't find much time to read other things. I will eventually get the one from conference and it will be good to read hopefully I can find some time to actually look at it.

Grandpa and Grandma Jackson how are you two doing? Are you staying healthy? Have you gone anywhere or done anything fun lately?

I have been enjoying things here so much. On Saturday we attended that baptism. It was such a good service and the two girls were so cute. They sang When I am Baptized which was fun to hear. Most of their family isn't LDS so it was a good opportunity for Elder Nevarez and Elder Head and Elder Hill (our roommates (also spanish speaking Elders)) to sit and talk with the girls family. I couldn't speak with any of them because unfortunately I don't speak any Spanish.

On Sunday, we were out doing some tracting after Church. We were walking around and were about 20 minutes away from our car. Unlike in Utah where you see a storm coming in all day and you have plenty of time before you are caught in the storm, here it is 90 degrees and sunny with not a single cloud in the sky and 15 minutes later there is no sun and massive gray clouds overhead. Needless to say we didn't have umbrellas or anything and we had to stand under some trees getting soaked for half an hour. It was pouring buckets of water. I have never ever seen it rain so hard before in my life. It was CRAZY!!

We have been teaching quite a few people lately and have been staying really busy! Elder Nevarez keeps telling me that this is the most people he has ever taught before while on his mission and he goes home in November. So it is really fun to be having this experience at the very first of my mission. I always assumed missionary work is just tracting but it is so much more and a whole lot more fun!

Mom, I could really use my other watch. It is in the window sill in my room. The one I have keeps falling apart. I am pretty sure I left my nice black jacket at home and I will need that eventually. You can wait to send that for another month though. Other than those two things I am pretty well set with everything else.

I love all of you and hope that things keep going better for all of you. I actually get to go visit West Point today with a Senior Missionary Couple who are assigned to serve there. I can't wait it sounds way awesome. I'll be sure to take some pictures for Dad and Spencer. haha Stay safe and keep working hard. Talk to ya next week.

Love ya,

Elder Fuller

6th week cooking up a storm

Hey Family,

It was great to hear from everyone. It sounds like you are all doing really good! I hope everything continues going so well. Hopefully everything will calm down at work for a little bit Dad. Thats good to hear you guys got a chance to visit Grandpa and Grandma before school started back up. Is there anything wrong with Grandma or is she just tired? It sounds like Staci and Rob are having fun buying all sorts of new things! :P How are Bryce and Crystal and the baby doing? Mikey I'm glad to hear that school has been fun for you so far. What is scripture football? I don't think I have ever heard of that.

You would be proud Mom, I haven't been eating all junk food while I'm here. We usually have oatmeal or scrambled eggs for breakfast. We do different things for lunch all the time but usually just something around the house. I made stir fry for the four of us the other day, I made macaroni salad, the chicken-bakes with the crescent rolls, and we do left-overs a bunch from the stuff people give us after having us over for dinner. The other night we had dinner at the Oliva's (Ally (the recent convert) and her mom and brother) we had these way good pineapple chicken burritos and then Ally always bakes us a bunch of dessert so she made us these cookies with butterscotch chips and crushed ruffles potato chips. It sounds really weird but they are SUPER good! We are going to a baptism this Saturday for these two 8 year old twins. We have been having family home evening with them every week because the dad split on them about a year ago. The girls are always sad because they don't have a complete family. So we have got pretty close with them and get to see them be baptized this weekend.

We went tracting the other day and met this guy named Elvin who is a born again Christian. We had been prompted to tract this street and his was the first house we went to the whole time we talked with him he was just kind of arguing with us. We set up to go back yesterday to talk with him because he still had some more questions for us. For about two weeks Elder Nevarez and I have been praying to find a family to teach. We went to teach Elvin again and he wasn't home so we went to the apartment on the top floor of the split-level house that he lives in and met this guy named Alex. He and his wife are from Honduras. He was super nice and really receptive to the things we had to say. We think he and his family might finally be the family we have been praying about finding. It is so cool to see all of our prayers being answered over time.

Tell the guys in your mission prep class Dad to really study the scriptures. Everyone always told me it would be important and I thought I knew them well enough. I didn't know anything about them!!!! I definitely wish I would have studied more. Obedience is also the key to everything out here. Last week it had been raining pretty hard all day. My other roommates were on their way home from a lesson when they got a call from a guy in need of a blessing. They only had 30 minutes before curfew and if they did it they would be about 30 minutes past curfew. They called the President and asked if they could go and he said yes. On their way home from giving this man a blessing they were driving down a pretty narrow windy road. A big truck came over a little hill and blinded them with his lights. They didn't see that the road kind of turned there and they ended up sliding off the road. The car spun around a few times and ended up going straight between a power pole and a big pine tree and getting lodged between them. The car was totaled but they were alright other than some sore muscles. I know it was because of their obedience to the rules that they were protected. Had the car been about a foot or two in either direction they would both probably be dead.

I miss all of you and keep you in my prayers. I hope everything continues going well for everybody. Talk to ya next week. Keep doing the things you know are right.

Love you all,

Elder Fuller

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Week #5

Hey Family,

Did you get my email last week? I answered a lot of this stuff there. Anyways, Elder Nevarez is such a cool guy. He is from Ranchocucamunga (spelling?) California. He played baseball throughout high school. We go running every morning and then do like push ups, situps, and pull ups. He is the youngest of 5 children and his parents are on a temple mission in Denver, Colorado. I love the ward that I am in! The people are super nice and have us over for dinner all the time. It is probably about half the size of the home ward. All of the areas in up-state (the ones everywhere but the big cities) have cars, and all of the others get transit passes to ride the bus and subway or they walk everywhere. We are teaching a 15 year old boy, Danny Sanchez, and he has accepted a commitment to be baptized the 29th of Sep. We are teaching a lady about mom's and dad's age, Sharon Oliva, her parents are RLDS (they believe the same things we do except that the prophets should be in the blood-line of Joseph Smith and they have changed so that females can hold the priesthood) so it is kind of difficult trying to teach her with her parents pressuring her to not change. Her daughter, Ally, who is my age, however, was baptized into our church and is really strong so we will see which influences her the most. We are teaching a lady is a very less active member and her husband and daughter who are not members. The mom has a smoker's hole and gets sick all the time. The dad is kind of crazy but super funny and the daughter is kind of quiet but they are both coming along pretty well, we just can't seem to get any of them to come to church. We have some other investigators but I still have yet to meet them. Every time we get an appointment with them they always end up cancelling. We ate at the Oliva's last night and had chilli cheese potatoes and salad. Ally loves to bake things and is always making up new cookies and desserts. She always makes tons and then gives us whatever we don't eat so we have a big plate of brownies, these oatmeal cinnamon cookies that are a lot like snickerdoodles, and those homemade oreo cookies but with this REALLY good peanut butter creme in the middle. I think so far my favorite meal has been these authentic enchiladas and this bundt cake that was called orange cake.

Ya I went to an instacare to get some medicine for my sinus infection. I told the Dr. I get them all the time and told her I had been fighting it for a week taking the mucinex, claritin, and fluticasone nose spray. She just started laughing and was like wow normally people won't be taking anything before hand and thats when it gets bad. She was like normally thats what I'll tell them to go start taking. She just asked me what medicine I would like and I told her the Z-pack and again she started laughing and was like "wow, you do go through this a lot, that is exactly what I would have prescribed anyways."

We had a zone conference yesterday and the mission president came and talked with everyone. He told us that he is now allowing i-pods (as long as we play them over speakers) and all of the cars have cd players so if you want you can actually just send me the cd's and maybe make a few with like some disney songs or other uplifting fun music like that. Just use your best judgement. Apparently the old mission president had also made a rule saying no one could go past 59th Street (into Times Square). He told us that we are free to go in there now and can look around. The last cycle or two that we are here (6-12 weeks) we can go see a broadway show which will be way fun! If we are ever in the city and there is a Yankees game on a Wednesday (P-days for us) in the afternoon we are able to go. It usually happens 3-4 times a season. I think that would be so cool and can't wait until I get to be in the city because we can go to the Temple once per cycle if we are there as well.

It sounds like all of you are having a lot of fun! Hopefully school starts off well for Mikey. Hopefully that new job treats Spencer well. What does MegaDyne do? and what is Spencer doing for them?

Love you all,
Elder Fuller

Ryans first real letter from Poughkeepsie

Hey Family!

It's hard to believe that I have been gone for four weeks as well! I have been having so much fun here! It is crazy how different everything is! I am serving in the Poughkeepsie 1st Ward which covers the towns of Poughkeepsie (obviously), Wappingers Falls (which is where our apartment is), Wingdale, Hopewell, Beacon, Stormville, Dover Plains, Millbrook, Poughqaug, Holmes, Pawling, and Pleasant Valley. Hardly at all the same size as our little 3 block by 2 block ward at home! haha :P My companions name is Elder Nevarez. He is such a cool guy. He is from Ranchocucamunga (spelling?) California and is going to BYU. He goes back home in November so he is a pretty seasoned missionary. It is great getting to learn so much from him! I love the spirit he brings and his enthusiasm in spreading the gospel! We are sharing an apartment with another companionship Elder Head and Elder Hill. They are both really great guys as well. I have been suffering with a sinus infection since I got here and they have all been taking care of me. Luckily, I haven't missed a day of work yet because of it. The flight out here was awesome! I have never seen so many trees in my life! It is crazy! The upstate part of New York is so beautiful and green!

I love the people in the ward here. It is strange going to a ward only half the size of the home ward. It is also weird because I am used to everyone being born and raised LDS and I think out of the whole ward only about 5 people are. It is really neat getting to have dinner with a different family EVERY night and hearing all of their conversion stories. I love the attitude they all have towards serving the Lord. Everyone here is constantly looking for people to share the gospel with and they do almost daily. They also love their callings in the ward and do whatever they can to do that calling justice and serve everyone else. (I wish the people in Utah had that same willingness) I love it to because it just pushes me to become an even greater missionary! I was so excited, on Monday I got my first baptismal date commitment! Now hopefully everything follows through as planned! :)

 

I love all of you tons and I pray for each of you everyday! I love being here and am well taken care of so don't worry at all about me! Keep sending me emails, that is the easiest way to contact me now, especially where I don't have a time limit on it now. If anyone wants to write a letter or send me a package send it to the mission office address. (The Scarsdale address). Keep having fun and enjoying everything.

Love ya,

Elder Fuller

Ryan arriving in New York

This is Ryan's first letter from New York

This is Ryan with his Mission President and his wife



Notice the lush gardens right behind them.

His new companions name is Elder Nevarez.

His address is:

Elder Ryan Fuller

700 White Plains Road Suite 315

Scarsdale, NY 10583

Entering the MTC

Ryan entering the MTC



Poughkeepsie

Ryan left the MTC last Tuesday, and his first area is the Poughkeepsie 1st ward. We haven't heard much from him yet about how New York is, or who his companion is, but we'll update on here as soon as we hear from him.

Keep checking back for updates on Ryan, and pictures when we receive them. We'll try to post as often as possible. Feel free to leave comments on here, or send emails to elderryanfuller@gmail.com., and we will make sure he gets your messages as soon as possible. (P.S. that gmail address is not his official one, it is maintained and monitored by his family.) :)