Picture time

Aug 10th 2011

This week was Fantastic. We had a Baptism on Saturday. Karina a sister to a member who last week i thought would not be ready to be baptized, I prayed so hard that she would realize the importance of it and take it seriously, well it happened she was baptized saturday and confirmed sunday. She is a fantastic young girl who will do alot of things in this life.

Oh ps I am staying in Smyrna, Elder wood is going somewhere else and I am staying here and very happy about it! The members are now on board we finally have a branch mission leader and he is sooooo on the ball! A lot of good work is about to come forth. We spent this whole transfer building smyrna's base up. there was so foundation in it or no investigator pool to work from, members were not fond of the missionaries, well I am happy we now have them on our side!!  I cant relly remember a whole lot of this past week it went by so fast! Its already been 6 weeks i cant even believe it. I find out tomorrow who my companion will be and will let you know more about it next week! I hope Katherines service went well.

I am sorry this is a short one this week but we spent most the week getting karina ready for baptism, I spoke at the service about baptizm and how it is just the gate or "puerta" and its our job to stay on the "camino" and endure to the end, i read most of it because i needed them to understand my spanish but i think it went pretty well. well for a first time speaking atleast haha.

 So let me tell how the end of last week went for me you all will find this just humerous!

 We do lots of service now, thats why the members are back with us. SO we cleaned out this ladies yard i was going to town with a mechete on a magnolia tree that was super over grown with 3 foot high grass all around it, elder Heimuli had a chain saw and was cutting the bigger ones i got to do the hard work and use a machete, well turns out there was tons of poison Ivy in the tree and the gras i was standing in, elder heimuli got it on his fase from the spray of the chain saw that night it starting coming up all over my legs yeah super fun!! So sunday we went and helped another investigator move as i was carrying a table a bee flew up my sleeve and stung me right on the arm!! I dont know why but they have it out for me, i do nothing and they always attack me! my arm is still swollen and sore haha, super great weekend though baptizm makes it all worth it!!! well I hope you all are doing great I miss you and love you

Love tanner

Last week in the MTC EVAAAA

This week has been great! I´ve seriously been working my butt off, i´ve lost another 5 pounds! so glad to get out of here and get some weight back on! Physical therapy kicked my butt this week! he gave me all the exercises to do so i dont need to go in any more, they are tough i can hardly do them with my right arm but it will get better the more i do it.

Hosting this week was really fun! i helped like 8 elders one is going to villahermosa so that was kinda cool!

I had the opportunity last night to give an elder a blessing with the zone leaders. he is struggling really bad with medical stuff and stuff going on at home. I got thinking during the blessing and it was pointed out to me that maybe one of the reasons i was held back for so long is to be here for him. he comes and talks to me everyday looking for some sort of support and having been in his situation before i am able to help him a lot, i share scriptures about faith...trials and the importance of getting and using priesthood blessings. it was a total 360 after the blessing he had a smile on his face and a literally skip in his step it was as if he had the burden lifted off his shoulders. It was such a blessing for me to be an answer to someones prayers i think that builds my faith more than having my own prayers answered knowing God trusts me enough to help the ones he needs to help. Its beena  great week, only a few more days left and I´m out of here and this is the best time of the year to be in the MTC whole first presidency, and the 12. tonight and sunday are going to be epic devotionals! Love you all love tanner

sorry my spelling and phrasing is probably horrible Ive not spoke english for 4 days!!!!!

Happy Fourth of July

July 5 2011

This week has been interesting! haha i wrote you a letter with my passport i sent home that tells a little about it. We white washed in and the apartment was a wreck the map is on the floor with nothing on it the area book is big but out of date, there is lots of work to do here we are just spending time organizing everything so we can be more effective. fourth of july was fun it was p day so we went to the mall i got a cool braves shirt, i had to its my team and i'll be here a long time haha.

 we went to a cook out for someone who is moving back to Guatemala and had real mex bbq, so in other words like "300" chickens were cooked refried beans with pig skin hot chillis and tamerine drink, all coked on a coal stove.

then we played basketball with someone we are doing service for and trying to let us teach his family he is 18 his name is angel we have been helping his family do major yard work and building trust inviting him to do stuff with us.

it rained so hard! and lighiting struck like a block away and got some people! we were eating outside when it all happened, it basically flooded it was crazy! it rains so hard for like 20 minutes then its like it never even happened! there are probably more trees here than Oregon Sierra Dont get mad!!! but its true! and no mountains! I've not got a chance to go fishing, Even though I'm in Atlanta there are lakes and ponds all over the complex the other spanish missionaries are in up the road from us has a lake so i need to get a pole soon and hit that up!

we have alot of things planned for tonight. the spanish and mission here in Georgia has been struggling, so we have set high goals for this transfer and trying to find new ways to do things because the old ways things were done here in Smyrna were clearly not working, Its been Awesome I;ve been super busy. Nolan Haycock one of my really good friends from spanish fork is the new assistant and picked me up when i got here he gave me a huge hug and it was a really great way to start things out here.

well like i said i sent a little and i'm trying not to repeat myself from that to much love you all!

well the site to write my president is down so i have a little extra time!

how was the lauou i dont know how to spell it haha! hoe is school, or i mean how was school your doen now right? yeah you can send stuff directly to me from the address i sent you in that package, the mission office stuff i wont get until transfers which is 5 weeks away haha

yeah i was trying to think of stuff i'd ask for my bday and the ipod shuffle sounds the best, i dont know how much the new ones are but they are so cool and touch screen and there is a wrist band that you can get that you can turn the shuffle into a watch haha i dunno how much but i just htink they are awesome and small, there are so many cool hmn remastered like to guitar and chill hymns i dinno its way cooll i had no idea! also could you send me a few space bags, i dont have the weight lomits anymore and it would make packing way easier for transfers and what not!! yeah so basically all i can think of is music haha, its so nice to have while drving and studying or eating as long as it is inviting of the spirit of course! do some research find some awesome church music it does not have to be mormon but there are some good mormon ones! i love you all

tell guppy i miss here! and tell everyone else to stop being lazy and help you around the house i know i'm not one to talk but i'll say it anways,

hows dad? not heard anything from him or much about him haha just that he lit off my old fireworks

Love tanner

Aug 2 2011

ts SOOOOOO HOT here, I literally have never sweated this much, luckily i don't sweat a ton so its not been super horrible compared to other elders here. We went to a wedding on saturday. Hispanic weddings are so crazy and different, wild and fun! I wanted to Dance soooo bad! but couldnt because clearly that would be against the rules. They also dont wear clothes to parties, even the members lose standards for parties haha. latin life... so different.

 We gave alot of blessings this week. alot of stuff happened. this girl visiting a member, she is from utah got bit by her uncles pitbull in the face, it was horrible i saw it.... stuff torn, hanging needed so many stitches. the doctors did a really really good job. she is in active and during the blessing she started to cry the spirit was really strong so i'm hoping that maybe this was a push back to the right direction.

we are supposed to have a baptism this saturday. But i have a feeling it wont happen we have not had a chance to meet with her because her uncle was in the hospital, her cousin is the one who got bit and now her brother needed sudden surgery for his lungs or something. That family has had it rough this month so it might get pushed to the next saturday. we are doing everything we can to help the family and get her baptized this saturday! I will send pictures of the wedding and stuff from out here hopfully this month. Ive only taken like 5 the whole time so I'm sorry. just busy haha.

Jared, Brenen good job on getting hunter safety going. this Fall is gonna be hard for me not going out with ya'll.

 Not a whole ton has been going on other than the regular teaching, knockig, finding, we have got a few new Investigators so thats good. we spent our whole Pday helping a family move, the are old Invest, but want to start taking lessons again. the father said his paretns, sisters, brothers whole family are members. so jokingly I asked "why are you not a member" he said he was a stupid kid but now he looks back and now that he has kids he thinks he needs that change in his life and the gospel to be a good father, the family has had a big change. they just lost thier house to forclosure and needed to move into an apartment. We are going to start teaching them again and if they really are as ready as they we can baptize a family of four, families is what this church needs to grow and especially the spanish branch here, needs families to be strong. We are focusing alot of effort in working with members all of the in active members are recent converts..... there is a problem there. there is no point in baptizing if the branch is not there to take them in and befriend them, so thats where most of our efforts are going is to strenghten the branch. they are headed in the right directon. they have had alot of reorganization and it seems to be doing some good. and we finally got a Branch mission leader!!!!! we have not had one til this week he starts so we will have someone to help us! he is Hermono Brown he is the one from Venezuela? he is the gospel essentials teacher and is ver dedicated to be a good mission leader.

transfers is the 10th so just send any letters and things to the mission home address this week because i dont know if i stay or go. I would love to stay here we just got things going.

Give my live to Aunt Katherine and the Dukes. Love you all

con amor

Elder Charlesworth

Well done.........

Good Bye-Pres and Sis Harding

Waiting,waiting,waiting.......Thanks to the Koehler's for the posters.

"I can't breathe"

First Glimpse

All together, but for how long? 

Hello................

Kaydie, got the first hug

He is home,now what do we do with him? Good thing Sierra is around

Sending out a missionary is hard but so worth the experience of having him come home. He has returned with a stronger testimony, new friends and ready for the adventures life has in store. Welcome back. We love you!

Goodbye Elder Charleswort

What a wild week! I really have been too busy even to think about coming home! Even with every single person telling me that I am leaving hahaha. Investigators, Members, Missionaries all of them hahahah.

Yesterday after a wonderful and reverent sacrament meeting where the two V boys were confirmed after their baptism on Saturday. The branch threw me a little going away party with cake and everything. I think my favorite part about it was the cake said "thanks for everything Elder Charleswort" haha because spanish does not have "th" sound they all say my name with just the t and that's how they spelled it on the cake hahahaha oh I will miss them!!!

We were running wild all week from place to place teaching a bunch of people. Going to meetings. Getting the V's ready for their baptism. We were even able to go out on splits with two different members and get twice as much done. There was one day we had 4 appointments from 7-8 and only 2 of us so we called in the recruits and had a great night doing splits and got a lot done!

While on splits I was teaching a family that I have talked about before. We have been teaching them but had not seen them in a couple weeks so I was not sure what to expect. After talking about the book of Mormon and the sacrament they asked some questions and then I committed them to baptism. Their only question after that was, "Do we have to get married?" I said of coarse and we will help you do that! Then I told them the experience we have had with the V family and they are all on board now! I really think the hardest part is that we have been teaching so many people and so many of them are progressing towards baptism and I won't be here to see any of it. Clearly the important part is that they get baptized I am not an important factor in that, but you grow to care about them and I just wish I could go the whole journey with them! See it all the way through, even to the temple.

It is very bitter sweet. To be totally honest though I don't feel like I am going home. Its really hard to explain, like I am excited to come home but it seems so far away that its not really on my mind even though it is in three days or something like that. Really there is to much to do still. We've had to find new apartments for new missionaries and new areas opening in our zone. We've had to create the boundaries for those new areas. Plus teach all of our people that we are teaching and much much more. I like being busy like this! Its very nice!

Saturday night we had a little FHE in M. house one of my recent converts. She is like my Guatemalan Grandma. We had a short lesson, played some bingo with her and her grand kids and then left her with a pray. After I prayed she asked if she could say one. She said the sweetest pray asking God to watch over me and protect me and bless my family etc... It touched my heart to the very core. She is probably one of,if not the strongest converts I have taught. She lived the Gospel, it is part of her life.

I also got some really cool news yesterday.  A lady that we taught and baptized way back last April moved to the DR and is now in the Relief Society presidency there!!! It is the greatest feeling knowing that those you taught are firm in the faith and living up to the covenant!

As this all comes to an end I have really come to realize how much I truly love being a missionary. That no matter what happens I will still be able to share the Gospel and bless people lives. No matter if I have a tag on or a t-shirt this Gospel is just as true and I can bear my testimony and share that will anyone! That is pretty neat!!!

I have loved it here and will eat up and live up the next two days I have in the field!!! Still time to find at least one more family!!!!

Love you all

Love Tanner

Blurry week

This week well as usual was a blur!!  I am trying to remember what happened all week.

This week was really different. We were doing zone leader stuff almost the whole week. We had to find apartments and then show them to the housing coordinator which took all day. We also have been really trying to help out a couple of companionships that struggle a bit. Mostly because one of the pairs has only been out for 8 weeks(each of them and they are together hahaha) and we got a call to go give a missionary a blessing which is always kinda neat to do but it took us from the "work" almost all week. We only got a couple hours a day in our own area. The only day we were able to work all day was Saturday. We started out early and worked ALL day and night and had a super great day. We taught lessons all day long. Set a couple baptismal dates. It was awesome!!!

On Monday we took a missionary who had been staying in the hospital with another missionary for awhile. We went to the "graffiti tunnel" it is really cool! We spent way too much time taking pictures but it was cool! I just got really tired of pictures! 

Elder Baugh has been pretty sick ( not going to lie, its about time it was not  me being sick) so that slowed us down just a tiny tiny bit. He went to bed early one night and decided I wanted to study in PMG and the scriptures. I was reading about goal setting and accountability. I read this little box that had some bullet points. I have read the whole book before but you learn what you need to when you need to learn it. One line stood out to me it said. Pray mightily about the goals and numbers you have set. At this point int he week we had only taught a few lessons because of the being all over the place and not in our area. So I decided to take God up on that. I started praying, and kept praying. In the morning I prayed again and a few times throughout the day. Well like I said Saturday was a really good day. We met all of our goals for that day! God answers prayers. That is a lesson I learn and learn and learn over and over and over! Its pretty incredible! 

No more pictures!

Graffiti Tunnel in Atlanta

Also I forgot to tell you!

Saturday night was a wonderful night! About a year ago we started working with a less active. She was young, 18 at the time and at first she was resistant and would not open the door. We kept going by. After sometime she let us in and we had many many wonderful experiences with her. She soon left her job and came to church every Sunday since. She opened her mission call to Los Angeles California Saturday night!!!

WOW what a wonderful experience for me personally, and even bigger for her! To see that change from a year ago to now is proof enough that God exists and does miracles. If she was the only person I helped on my mission my whole mission would be worth it. The amazing thing is the Lord has used me  to help more than just her. Now its her turn to go and save souls. It was a very powerful experience for me.  She told me that she feels I was sent back to this area to keep motivating her to get on a mission and give her support and to witness her open her call. I think she might be right, that is probably one of the reasons I came back for my 3rd time hahaha!!
Well I bore my testimony in the Chamblee branch for the last time yesterday, I still have one Sunday left but it was fast Sunday yesterday. A few members are in denial and they keep telling me that I am not going home next week and that I still have 6 weeks left. They are dead serious as well which is pretty funny! I have been here in this branch for a year! I have gotten pretty close with most of them!  It has been really neat to see the growth here. Seeing people I have taught and have gotten  baptized, have callings, get the priesthood, less active families become active. Its been so great to see it all!!!

Well I love you all,

See you next week :)