Dear Family

Hey how has everyone been doing there this week.  Did it rain again?  I forgot the farm show was coming up.  I bet that is going to be a lot of fun.  Everything has been going great here.  Elder Kelly and I are both pretty bummed to be getting moved.  I thought for sure one of us would be staying here.  O well.  Life goes on right.  It’s still storming outside. We woke up to snow.  It’s raining/hailing right now.  The news says there is supposed to be another Ice storm tomorrow.  I had never seen those before.  I guess what happens is its to humid for snow,  so when it rains, as soon as the rain hits something it freezes.  So the tree branches and leaves had about an inch of ice on top of them.  When the tree limbs get to heavy, they break.  There are still a lot of broken branches.  We got to help a few people move branches out to the road We have been asking people about it and it sounds like this almost never happens here. 
I have really come to love reading the scriptures.  I wish i would have taken more time to study them while I was there at home or in Rexburg.  There is so much to learn.  So many things that we can apply to our own lives.  Morning study is one of my favorite times of day now.
Love Elder Marshall
Quote of the week:  This was one of my favorite scriptures before i came out  It has helped me a lot of times when i didn't think i could do something by my self

"Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Steven's letter Jan 19

Dear Family
How has the week been?  Its been a great week here.  What did everyone do on the day off yesterday?  Sorry I couldn’t email yesterday.  All the libraries were closed.   Its been a pretty good week.  Its warmed up a lot since last week.  Its been pretty nice all week.  I think its supposed to be raining this next week.  Elder Kelly and I are doing great together.  I am loving being his companion.  He is a great missionary.  .  I got a call from one of the AP’s yesterday morning.  He gave me kindof a Spanish test over the phone.  This is the second one I’ve had since I’ve been out.  He told me President Drewes is looking for a couple new Spanish elders.  I guess I’ll find out in a couple weeks whether I’m getting moved to Spanish speaking.  I hope I am.  Then last night Elder Kelly and I were walking home, and we stopped and talked to a guy on the sidewalk.  He wouldn’t really say much when we introduced our selves, then he told us he didn’t speak English.  So I tried to give him a pass along card and explain what it was in Spanish.  I didn’t do so great.  So my question is:  is it like an omen?  Like you better get ready cause here it comes?   I duno
We went back and saw Mikey on Tuesday.  It was great.  He knows so much about the bible.  We were talking to him about Faith Vs. Works.  Because Baptists believe that its by faith that we are saved.  There is nothing we of ourselves can do to be saved.    He was quoting all kinds of scriptures and different things to us.  Almost like he was trying to convert us to his way of thinking.  It was really amazing what happened.  After he was done talking,  Elder Kelly and I and a former stake president that went with us started talking about how works are very important.  It was really neat.  The spirit was so strong as we were talking with him.  At the end of the lesson, we could tell that he was really thinking about the things that had been said.  It was amazing.   Elder Kelly said it really helped his testimony to grow.  We  are hoping to go and see him again this week. 
So I tried some new southern food this week.  Neck bone from a pig.  It looked grose, but it was pretty good with a little hot sauce.  Then I tried Cow maw.  That’s the bottom part of a cows stomack.  It wasn’t as good as the neck bone.  Really rubbery.  Then… Elder Townsend and I tried Pig feet.  That was grose.   They just threw the whole pig foot in the oven and cooked the whole thing.  We ate  it right off the bone.  I guess its one of those things I’m glad I can say I’ve tried it, but I probably don’t want to try it again.  Well I hope you have a great week. 
Love Elder Marshall
Quote of the week:
"What may appear initially to be a daunting task will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become stronger. I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear."
 - Richard G. Scott

Steven's letter Jan 11

Dear Family
Hey how has the week been?  Is everyone enjoying being back in school? It sounds like Stake Conference was really good. That’s interesting that they talked about complacency.  That is something that our mission president has talked to us a lot about in the last couple of months.  The goal for baptisms for the year was 409.  We beat the goal, but president Drewes thinks we can do better.  The goal for this year is 712 baptisms.  Its going to be a tuff goal to get to, but we will be able to do it.   It will defiantly stretch us.
Its been a good week here.  It got real cold though.  It snowed and everything.  Just enough to turn the ground white, but they shut the schools down for a couple of days because of it.  Some of the businesses were closed too.  This week was our walk week.  We were able to talk to a lot of people.   We were able to start talking to a guy who was unloading groceries out of his car.  We started talking to him about families and how they could be sealed together in the temple for time and all eternity.  He asked us to come back and teach him and his family next Sunday.  Elder Kelly and I are both pretty excited to go talk to them.  We also went back to talk to the Baptist minister.  He and his wife are such nice people.  They both know a lot about the bible.  A lot more than Elder Kelly and I do.  We ate dinner with them last Tuesday.  They are very nice people.  She has had a lot of good friends that are LDS.  We are going back tomorrow to talk to them again.  I think we are going to watch the restoration DVD with them that we give out to people.  
Elder Kelly and I are doing great together.  I love serving with him.  This week is the half way mark for the transfer.  It feels like we just started the transfer.  Time has really started to fly by.  Well I hope you have a great week.  I miss you all.
Love Elder Marshall
Quote of the week:
“And I was led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.
Nevertheless I went forth…”
1Ne. 4:6-7

Steven's letter Jan 3

Dear Family 
How was the new year?  Did everyone make it to midnight?  It was just a regular day here.  We went to bed at 10:30 and were up at 6:30, just like every other day.  The holdays were a lot of fun.  It was hard to get ahold of people though.   I think I told you,  but I got a lava lava for Christmas.  Those Hawaiian skirts.  Ya one of the sisters in my district is Hawaiian.  We had a white elephant gift exchange and that’s what I got from her.  Its pretty neat.  I bet there aren’t many missionaries that go to Arkansas that can say they got a lava lava on their missions.  Elder morris had to get a picture of me wearing it because he thought it was funny. 
 Elder Kelly and I are doing great together.  He is a  great missionary, and being with him is defiantly breaking me out of my comfort zone.  I’ve had a lot of fun with him.  Hes from Salt Lake City, and he is about 2 inches taller than me.  I’m starting to feel a little short, there are two missionaries here in Collierville that are taller than me now.  Elder Cox is in the first ward.  He is about the same height as Elder Kelly. We have a tall district.   This week we have been doing a lot of finding.  Elder Kelly and I are both getting good practice at tracting.  Yesterday, we tracted into a family that let us come in and seemed really interested when we started talking to them.  They asked for a book of Mormon and said they would read and pray about it.  We are going to try to go back a little later in the week.  We have also started teaching a Baptist minister.  Most of them don’t really like talking to us,  But this one does.  His name is mikey.  He and his wife are really nice.  They told us we should come over for dinner some time.  Both are very nice.  They went out to Utah a couple weeks ago and ordered a free video when they went on a tour of the tabernacle.  We have a lot of fun talking to him.  I’m not sure if he is really interested in making changes, or if we have just sparked some curiosity.   That’s something that still amazes me is how nice and friendly most people are here.  Every once in a while we meet someone that doesn’t like us, but most of the time everyone is very friendly.  Almost everyone has a church they go to.  Sometimes it makes it hard because a lot of people are set in their ways.  Their parents were Baptists, so they are Baptists.  Very good people though. 
Chruch is starting at 11 now.  That’s going to be really nice.  This will be the first time on my mission I will be able to study before church starts.  I have always been at 9 or 9:30.  It will be easier to try to get investigators to church now too.  They don’t have to wake up as early.  We had a couple of less active families that we have been working with come to church this week.  It was great to see them all there.  They’ve made the goal to start coming back to church again.  Both families have been inactive for 10 or 15 years.  They both live down in Mississippi. 
Well I hope you have a great week this week.  I hope everyone has fun going back to school.  I love you all.
Love Elder Marshall
Lol  and nope I haven’t eaten it all yet.  There is still a lot left.  Elder Kelly are working on it though.
Quote of the week:
“As we go about our daily lives, we discover countless opportunities to follow the example of the Savior. When our hearts are in tune with His teachings, we discover the unmistakable nearness of His divine help. It is almost as though we are on the Lord’s errand; and we then discover that, when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help.”                       - Thomas S. Monson

Steven's letter Dec 28

Dear Family
Hey how was everyone’s christmas?  It was great talking to yall this last week.   It was good to hear everyone’s voices.   Christmas was great here.  We went around and saw 4 or 5 families in the ward and then went caroling.   We had a Christmas eve party with the Darby family.  They had a few of their neighbors over and we got to talk to them a little.  One of the families was a Hindu family from India.  They were really nice people.   They have a little girl about 5 years old.  They had never celebrated Christmas before, they really enjoyed the party.  The Darbies kids had a nativity play.  It was a lot of fun.  They invited us over for Christmas breakfast too.  They are a really nice family.  Then we went over to the Jessop’s.  That’s where we called home from.  They have a really young family.  Both of them went on missions.  After that we went to the McBride’s for an early Christmas Dinner.  All of their family lives in the Memphis area, so they had a full house.  I think Brother Harris said they had about 40 people there.  They invited a recent convert over to eat to.  His name is Brian.  He is from Simbobway.  He is going to University of Memphis for school.  He lives in the other ward.  He is a really neat guy.  His Wife is moving here this next week, and she wants to be baptized.  The elders that cover that ward are really excited.  After that we went around and saw a few more families and went caroling.
So I don’t know if you remember Kelly.     Elder Perza and I were working with him a lot trying to get him and his girlfriend to get married.  He got married the day I left Pocahontas and baptized that same Saturday.  Any way.  I got a call from him Christmas night.  Last Sunday,  he got the aronic priesthood.  And he is now a Sunday school teacher for 13-15 year olds.  So awesome!  It was great talking to him.  I miss being able to see him.  He is such a great guy.  There are a lot of people I miss being able to see in that area.  I’m sure its going to be the same way when I leave here.
   Elder Morris is getting transfered.  We are pretty bummed about that.  I guess it would have happened sooner or later though.  He is getting moved on Wednessday so half of this week we are going to be going around so he can say good bye to everyone.    He has to pack everything up today.    We are going over to the harris’ tonight.  They are having us over for dinner and then we are going to show them how to have Family home evening.  Things have been going a little slow this week.  Its been hard to catch people home over the hollidays.  Elder Morris and I have really been trying to find people are ready to hear and accept the gospel.  I’m a little nervous about him leaving.  I don’t feel like I know the area or the people very well yet, but I know that God will help me.  I have come to rely on that help with a lot of things since I’ve come out to Arkansas.    Well I hope everything is going good there.  I hope you have a great week.  I miss you all. 
Love Elder Marshall
Quote of the week
“Whenever we are inclined to feel burdened down with the blows of life, let us remember that others have passed the same way, have endured, and then have overcome.”
        -Thomas S. Monson

steven's letter Dec14

Dear Family
How is everything going there?  Is everyone getting excited for Christmas?  It’s coming up pretty fast.  It feels like December has just started and its already half way over.  Has it started to get cold there?  Its kindof different here.  It can be real cold one day and be we will be wearing our big coats, and two days later it is t-shirt weather again.  It’s pretty nice today.  It’s been a pretty good week.  We go one on one off with the car.  This week was our walking week.  So we got a lot of walking done.  Brother Harris is getting baptized on Saturday.  He is real excited for that.  He was telling everyone at church about it.  He’s a great guy.  I don’t remember if I’ve told you, before but a week ago when we went and saw him,  he told us he believed that Joseph smith was a prophet, and that the book of Mormon was true,  but he didn’t believe that God would want him to give up the tobacco and the coffee.  He has been chewing tobacco since he was five years old.  He told us he would pray about it though, and if he got an answer to his prayer, he would quit.  Elder Morris and I were praying for him too.  Two days later, he had a doctor’s appointment.  He has problems with depression.  The doctor told him he needed to quit chewing tobacco, and drinking coffee.  That was pretty neat to hear.   Kind of like out of the mouth of two witnesses.  His wife has been less active for a few years now, but wants to start coming to church too.  They have the goal of going to the temple to be sealed together in a year.  It’s a great goal for them to have that will help them both as they become active in the church.  The members of the ward here are really excited for the baptism.  It’s the first baptism they will have since the ward was formed 2 years ago.  We are hoping that there will be a big turnout at the baptism and that it will get the members excited about doing missionary work.   Well I hope everyone is having a great week.  I love you.
Love Elder Marshall
Quote of the week
“They do not love that do not show their love”
                           -William Shakespeare

Steven's letter Dec7

Dear Family
Hey is everyone getting excited for christmas?  How long before school lets out for christmas break? I got the package. thankyou.  Its been a really good week here.  Im still trying to find my way arround collierville.  Elder Morris and i are working really hard together.  We have been working with a lot of the members here in  the ward.  We are trying to get them to do more missionary work.  Missionary work is a lot better when it is the members that are finding people for us to teach.  So we are trying to help them see that.  We have been working a lot with Brother Harris.  He is the 79 year old.  we are hoping that he is going to get baptized before christmas.  We talked about how he can get married in the temple to his wife.  Thats something that he really wants.   He has to give up his chewing tabacco though.  That might be a little hard for him to do, but i know he can do it if he wants to.  He has been chewing tabacco since he was 5 years old. He has to stop drinking coffee to, but i don't think that will be as hard for him.  I think its really interesting how big of a thing the word of wisdom is.  almost every person that i've seen get baptized has had some kind of a word of wisdom problem.  Even a 13 year old girl.  And most of the time, it was a challange for them to give it up.  It just shows how a testimony of the gospel can help us and those around us come closer to God.  They knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Word of Wisdom had come from God, so they knew that it was something they needed to follow.  well I hope everyone is haveing a great day.  I love yall.  Hope you have a good week. 
Love Elder Marshall

Quote of the week
"The spirit of giving gifts has been present in the mind of each Christian as he or she commemorates the Christmas season. Our Heavenly Father gave to us His Son, Jesus Christ. That precious Son gave to us His life, the Atonement, and victory over the grave.

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps. It was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.' As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit will be ours."
Thomos S. Monson