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 :)

 

I love to see the temple

Sorry I'm getting to this letter so late. I have to run to the hospital so this is going to be short.

It was an amazing week. I got to go to the temple and do a Spanish session. See a bunch of members from Peachtree City and see a Family get sealed together! It was so amazing. It was the first time I have ever seen any kind of sealing and it was incredible. The whole time in the temple I felt so warm. I literally felt warmth and peace around and in my heart. I never had experienced it in the way i did that day.

Yesterday I got to confirm L, the sister we baptized last week. It is always so neat to give people the Holy Ghost. Such a precious gift!!!

Yesterday we had fun cooking at a members house. They didn't have the ingredients I needed so we made do and it turned out great!!!!

We have a lot to do today and this week, So i am really sorry this is so short!!!

I wanted to thank everyone for all the support. Family, Friends, Ward members. Soon I will see you and can actually thank you all in person and give you all hugs!! The support as meant a lot and I can feel your prayers. Thank you so much.

Seeing someone get sealed and a member get their endowments out really pulled it all together for me. We teach, and bless so people can be baptized for the remission of sins, then they get the Holy Ghost who helps us and we are qualified for eternal life so as we endure to the end building up Gods kingdom on earth and make more covenants in the temple with the lord we get so many blessings. It all narrows down to Baptism/Holy Ghost, Sacrament, Temple. I have changed the way I teach so much. Inviting everyone almost in the first lesson every time to be baptized and about the sacrament and the temple. The V family is getting ready to be baptized together on the 9th of March(yes the week end before I get home) they already have the goals to get sealed in the temple in a year. They have truly changed. I have seen so many miracles because of this Gospel. People literally CHANGE its so incredible!!!! The Vfamily and so many other people have made this all worth it!

I love you all!!

Love Tanner

I forgot to tell you about going to the Hospital yesterday. It was really neat

 

President Harding had to have surgery so he's been in there a couple days. We stopped by after church and went to give a lady a blessing and then gave her, another Elder the Sacrament. We had a mini Sacrament meeting a little later with President Harding, his wife and son. He is in the hospital with his shirt and tie on, his tag and his hair done. He just had a pretty major surgery and he is in there smiling and making everyone around him feel good. I don't think it is just the morphine either hahaha. It was really neat to see how important the Gospel is to him and even something "small" (even though its the most important thing in the church  as the sacrament is to him. He is such an inspiration. He is still doing work there from his bed all dressed up and everything ready to go. What a stud!

Firm in the Faith

MOM note: Tanner only has 22  days left! It seems like the closer he is to coming home the shorter his letters are. I'm told this a sign he  really is pushing hard to the end and not  just tired of writing to me!

Every other day or so Brenen will quietly come to me and say "24 days" or whatever amount is left. He doesn't say anything else, I take it to mean he is pretty excited for Tanner to return but doesn't want to make a big deal about it.  Tanner and Kaydie have it planned that she gets first hug and I get the second one. I'm not sure how I feel about the plan ;) 

L got baptized!!! The members all kept saying that we accomplished what no other set of missionaries has not be able to do. She has been taught by like 5-6 sets of missionaries over the past year and a half or so. I myself had even taught her in the past. Well the Spirit of the Lord touched her and it was finally her time. We really didn't do anything special or anything that any set of missionaries couldn't have done. It was her time. The biggest reason she was baptized is because of the MEMBERS, yes the members. They never gave up on her. They loved her, and kept her part of their lives until the Spirit finally spoke to her and she was ready to give up her old live and join the army of God! She is doing great. The service was was neat! the Spirit was felt very strong.

 

The V are still doing awesome. They had to work this weekend so their kids were not able to be baptized but they will be soon. We were over last night and L made us dinner, with out telling us he was going to so we had already just eating. He does that to us too much. SOOOOO we ate again. It was really good but wow I was way too full. He started telling us how he had read all of 1st Nephi. He acted out the story of when they go and get the plates. It was so funny and so nice to see that he is really applying the scriptures to his life. He told us the whole story perfectly. He also told us how he had been praying because he has diabetes and every 3 months he goes to the doctor and the doctor gets mad cause his sugar is to high and he didn't lose any weight. We he said that he prayed this week, and then at worked he started helping a lot of other people with their jobs because they were so busy that he stayed late and went early just to help people. He said the doctor was so impressed this time. He had lost 3 pounds his sugar was the lowest its ever been and in fact it was at a normal level. The doctor took away some of the pills and said keep it up. He was so happy and every time we go over he has a story like that. He is so firm in the faith.

 

those were the big things that happened this week. A lot of good stuff did happen though. We had a lot of little miracles that will bring to pass great things. For now I am just focused on finishing strong and getting as much done as possible in my last 3 weeks!

 

Hard to believe but its coming to an end. President told me though if I don't get the zone to meet their goals this transfer I can't go home hahaha. SOooo pray that they do. He was just kidding (I think)

 

Love you all

 

Love Tanner

My dream calling-someday

So, I decided that I would write a letter this week. hahaha

We are very excited for this weekend. B and A V will be baptized on Saturday and then L will be baptized on Sunday. L is someone that I have known since my fist transfer in Chamblee. She lived with a member and came to church. She however did not want to give up her party life to be baptized. She continued to come to church and now over a year later she has finally had her heart touched and has decided to be baptized. Mostly because the members have never given up on her. Someone has always taken her to church. They have been a help and support to her the whole time. She had to fellowship and finally got the faith to give up the life and start a new.

We had zone leader council which was fantastic. I love those meetings. Despite that fact that they run from 9am-5 or 6pm. They are worth it. Elder Steele the kid I trained back last May is the new assistant to the president. Love that kid he is so legit and I didn't do anything. Basically he came pre- trained hahaha.

Zone Leaders Conference. Yea we don't have to cook.

We got a new 70's over the region and he came and spoke to us on Saturday for 2 hours. He is Elder Suarez from Brazil. I loved his talk. He really hit the nail straight on and it was a good boost for my last sprint here at the end.

I have been reading the Book of Mormon in spanish I'm trying to finish it before I get home. The way it looks I might have to finish it on the plane ride home because to finish I need to read 10 pages a day. Sometimes I can do that, most the time no. WAY too busy. I am in Alma though in the 20's so I'm not that far behind. Today I was reading about Ammon and his brothers. I LOVE the parts about king Lamoni and his father. They have such a wonderful, powerful conversion and Lamoni even sees Christ. Because of Ammon's dedicated service and his love for Lamoni, His father converts as well. Ammon took himself out of the work or i guess better said he took HIS WILL out of it and gave it to the Lord because of this the king saw that Ammon did not want to hurt him and his intentions were only good ones because of this he invited them into his home and Aaron was able to go and convert him. Such a legit story I love it! It got me so pumped up!!! The Book of Mormon haha or I guess El Libro de Mormon!! is probably the best book ever and I recommend that all of you never stop reading it.

I have decided that my dream calling in the Church is to be High councilmen over missionary work in the stake (a stake outside of Utah) I love missionary work and would love to serve in that aspect! At least ward mission leader, outside of Utah because missionary work is different (not in doctrine just in the way it is done) I guess the part I like is you get to work closer with the missionaries here.  In Utah you share the missionaries with like 7 stakes at a time. I know because I offered to go out with them whenever they needed a team up while I was home waiting to go back out and they NEVER called once. They never needed to  because all your work is with members and part member families and referrals from members so I would like to be a ward mission leader outside of Utah haha

I hope all is well!! Everyone Have a great week

Love Tanner

The official word

No formal email from Elder Charlesworth. He mentioned quickly that he is not getting transferred and will finish out his mission in the Chamblee area. Wow this is his last (non) transfer. Is he really getting that close to coming home?  He also mentioned that he and his companion did some service for a member family and then were headed to a zone p-day.
We did get the official letter of when Tanner will be released. 

Almost moved in

Yesterday I had such a powerful wonderful experience in a lesson that is a result from a blessing we left with a member on Christmas night, asking who do you know and then not giving up. This wonderful sister has had it really rough lately. Her husband was caught driving with out a license and is in jail. We went over soon after Christmas to give her a blessing and had a really good experience. We taught her one time after that with the family that referred us to her but with her crying child we had to leave early because he was very very ill. After missed appointments and things not working out we were finally able to teach her again last night. She has commented to me in the past that she loves it when we bless her and she feels so good when we do so. She has even been confronted by some anti and told her friends she didn't believe it because she knows we always talk about Christ and she felt good when we were there. As we answered her questions and the member family bore their testimonies I felt the Spirit come over me and I bore testimony of how much God loves her, and the relationship there can be with prayer, that he lead us to her and that the message we teach will change her life and many other things. She began to cry and the room was so full of fire. She asked me to say the prayer at the end and so I blessed her and she began to cry again. She had read the restoration pamphlet and the verses we left her in the BOM. She told us her friends have invited her to their churches but she wants to come to ours. She WILL be baptized. All this happened because we put her on the power list and didn't give up. We will teach her in a members home this week and commit her to a date. I had the very strong impression that she is one specific person that I was sent her to meet. She is one of the reasons why I was changed from Mexico to Atlanta. She is why I am here right now where I need to be. God Really knows HIS children and what they need.

 

 We are all moved into our new apartment and getting stuff unpacked still. Its pretty hard since we are NEVER home, but slowly we are getting it done.

 

 Everything is going really great! Everything is working out well. L wants his kids to get baptized before he and his wife can. 

 Had many wonderful experiences this week. The one that I shared was the one that hit me the most. I really hope that I stay her for my last 5 weeks. Transfers are next Wednesday and I really hope that I don't have to go to a new area for the last 5 weeks. Pretty sure I'll stay here, but you really never know!

 

Hope all is well at home. Love you all

 

Love Tanner

I miss the "Utah" cold

HEllO!!! I hope everyone is doing great!!

Well the weather sure has changed here. It went from 75 and dark skies to 38 and sunny... tell me how that works out?? This wet cold and wind sure does make it seem much,much colder! I miss the Utah cold where when you put a coat on it keeps you warm haha.

The Coke Couch

This week we were busy as ever! We focused a lot of our time on teaching those people who had baptismal dates, but due to situations outside of our control they were unable to make those dates. President put out a really great idea. Something I had done in the past and it works really well. You set up a calendar with them for their baptismal date. We took it, translated into spanish and then put it in play. With the V family it worked really great they were excited and set their goals to make everything happen so they can be married on the 14th of February (just like you mom and dad) and then get baptized on the 16th that following Saturday. The biggest thing we are waiting on is paper work  to get here. That will be the only hold up!! They are still super excited and doing their part.

M had fasted twice, prayed and then asked her boss for Sundays off they said no. She was feeling slightly down and asked us if we thought she could be baptized still. We said of coarse!!! and the next day we set the calendar up with her.

Downtown Atlanta

She regained hope and is putting her faith into action by fasting 3 more times and praying daily for help with her boss and then she is going to invite her boss to her baptism and tell her she needs Sundays off to go to church!!

We have been getting really close and spending time with the G family. The Gospel is the way they live their lives. We have been doing a Noche de Hogar(family night)with them every week now and trying to focus on her  parents who are not members, trying to spark their interest again. They later invited us over for Posole (a mexican soup) after stake conference on Sunday. They are such a huge example of how the Gospel should be part of your life and not just a Sunday thing. Their life is the Gospel and they live it so well. They are far from perfect, but their whole desires are to do what right.

We are working with tons of people right now. Staying busy and basically trying to get everyone married so they can get baptized. Basically its part of the process for almost everyone I've baptized hahahaha. I love helping people obey the commandments of God and then get baptized its the best!

The Braves are #1-even before his mission

 Time is flying by and we have so much to to.
 We are moving apartments on Thursday which I'm not excited about. The one we live in now is really nice and its quiet and clean! On top of the move we have to still find time to teach all the people we teach and find time to find new people to teach hahaha. Never a sit down moment ever. Life is better that way I think. Except I'm not gonna lie a break would be nice sometime, but hey thats what the plane ride home will be right?

Have a great week!!!! Love you all.

Love Tanner

Where's the shorts

I'm not going to lie, I am kind of tired of writing these weekly letters, I realized the other day I have only taken pictures of our baptisms this month, and that's about it. We are so busy and We do missionary work everyday. Yes incredible things happen, so many things that I am so grateful for, but they all blur together by the time Monday comes! , I just feel like I don't have time anymore and everything literally is a blur!!! We run from appointment to appointment with no time between! If we are not doing that we are knocking doors and looking for new people to teach. Its hard to pull things out after all this time.

We are still just really excited about the V family! They are incredible.  Last night we basically planned out their wedding. They are so funny, and we have so much fun with them. We talk about the gospel 90 percent of the time there the other 5 is random stuff and the the other 5 is laughing! They are having a lot of really neat experiences with reading, praying and receiving personal revelation. They are doing their part and getting the rewards! They have also started with the habit of feeding us each time we go over. It started with Chocolate (hot coco) and cookies and now its a full meal hahaha. They don't give us the choice either its, okay lets pray so you can bless the food and then, we'll eat and keep talking it does not matter if we tell them we just ate haha. Yesterday we ate 4 dinners!!!!!! I felt so fat and so sick, but it tastes sooooo goood!!!! Mexican food is the best!

We have a lot more people we are still working with. We also keep finding new people to teach which is great. Basically we are going to go from teaching 20 lessons a week to teaching 30 here in the next couple weeks. We already have days this week that are totally filled up, no room for any more appointments. Its just a big problem ;)

Jack glad you got to go skiing!  Sure do miss that snowboarding. Here its 75 degrees with no sun! It does not feel right to me! It was way colder last year! Here we are wanting to wear shorts and you are all bundled up like Eskimos!!! hahahaha its raining here though and I don't like it, but hey at least its not freezing!!

Hope you all have a great week! Stay out of trouble and don't freeze!!

Love Tanner 

No time

This is all that Elder C posted this week.

well I gotta run, sorry no email today I spent a lot of time trying to figure out that email and I had to email President about when I'm  coming home. 

Things are good though. Love and miss you all

tell them all I say hi!

Love you bye

Unwanted baptism visitor

Yea Clean teeth!

Well I talked to you all last week so I'm not sure what to say hahaha. 

Everything is going great. Thank you everyone for the cards and gifts!!! 

We have stayed busy!! The last 3 weeks are all a blur in my head and I can't decide what happened when. We have been running mad to get everything done for the baptisms and get everyone ready.

Funny story. Last week as we were filling the font for M I cleaned it out starting filling it and came back to check on it, i noticed a small creature swimming along the wall. Yep it was a salamander. It had to have come from the pipe because I swept the whole thing out. So we did some mcGivering and I fished it out with a net we had to clean. Let the little buddy go out the back door hahaha. Silly little newt!

Christmas was really special this year. It was really great to go around and bless people on that special day. Helping them feeling the spirit and peace of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in their homes. We were able to visit many families, all of which stuck true to their Hispanic culture and forced us to eat in about every single house. We had a big lunch with a family from Uruguay we ate chancho (small pig) roasted whole. And Chorizo a type of sausage that is really good! And this wonderful desert that I can't remember how to say it, but it was really good! 

 One of my favorite things about winter here serving with Hispanics is the hot teas and drinks they make (they call anything hot and made with plants tea, don;t worry no breaking commandments here) They make this one called Ponche that is so good, its kind of liek wassel but way more fruit, i love it! The tamales, the barbacoa oh its all so good!!!!

We are still working with a lot of people getting them ready for their baptisms this month. Need to work out some marriage stuff (as usual) Its going really great and I'm glad I'm here in Chamblee. I really hope they don't move me next month that would be lame!!!

Love you all, hope you had the best Christmas ever!!!

Love Tanner

I ate cow gut tacos,cow tongue and cow tongue tacos. The tongue was delicious! Chicken feet not as much.

Merry Skyping

There was no email this week because Elder Charlesworth was able to Skype with his family for an hour.

It was great talking/seeing him. We loved seeing his face light up when he starting talking about the people he has been interacting with. Sis Harding told me that there are several  "Atlanta White Christmas'"  planned for the next couple of weeks. 

Even in Utah

I don't feel like writing very much today. This week was insane (as usual) and I am very, very tired!!! 

President was so busy with two zone conferences that he asked us to drive a missionary to the airport and send him on his way home (medical reasons) That Atlanta airport is so big!

We have been helping a couple people get ready for their baptisms this week. M is such an incredible lady. We stopped by to check up on her and she was like oh good so glad you came by, I've needed to talk to you. Like I said before she was hoping her son who is a member could come up from Mexico for this. He has no idea that she has been meeting with us and wanted to surprise him. I can fell that she is truly converted. She was telling us how she prayed and has just felt so much peace about being baptized whether he son is here or not i know on that day i need to be baptized. She is so solid and reads daily, loves everything about the church and already feels like she is a member.

 You can always tell when someone prays about something. Prayer is so powerful. The V's family only hold up is that they are not married, and he does not believe in marriage. She was married before in Mexico and is not divorced. We invited them to read proclamation to the world and then counsel together and then pray about what they should do. We went over on Saturday and their concern now is what is will take to get her divorced. They have it worked out so they can go to church every other week now because of his work and they continue to pray and read daily. They are such a neat family and the 3 little boys even come sit in with us each time. Taking members with us has also made a HUGE difference. Missionary will not retain unless members are involved in the conversion of a person. Remember that, even in Utah. Look around you, how many people have fallen away or are just waiting for someone to tell them about the church. One person we are teaching right now who will be baptized next week lived in Utah, went to temple square and no one ever told her about the church. Well she found us one day a few months ago when I was last here and now she is being baptized cause a friend of hers kept inviting her to church after all this time.

A missionary friend I have in New York right now sent me a really cool story. They are serving in downtown which covers the temple. They started talking with the guard outside and turns out he is from Africa and has been reading the Book of Mormon on his own but no one has ever told him about it, or how he can join or anything, well they did, and  now he is being baptized! Not even temple workers stopped to talk to him and invite him to church. They are all around us!!!!

Brenen I love you and I pray the surgery goes well.(Brenen had brain surgery trying to get his seizures to stop) .Good job on those wins!!! (wrestling) you'll get them all next year!!1 Love you buddy. I love the tiger you sent me, it looks great!

Love you all, happy holidays

or in the words of Ronald Wesley "Happy Christmas Harry"

Love Tanner

Crazy tired

P-Day! Elder C,Pres G, Elder S, Elder B and Elder M

This week was a whirlwind!!! So crazy!!! Some days I really wish that I was not a Zone Leader. These past few months just take a toll on you hahaha. I do enjoy it for the most part but when Elders keep fighting and then you have you have to do an emergency exchange,and have a companion for 2 days that does not speak Spanish and then wait for all the stuff to get done for an emergency transfer oh boy, I am worn out! Good news is though I'm not nearly as sick as I have been the past 4 weeks. We have so many people to teach and it was a still a really good week!

M is an investigator that I taught last time I was here and refused to commit to baptism finally accepted a date!!! She is such a neat lady. She finally feels like she can commit her self to it. She reads like everyday and has since we first invited her to. She does not enjoy going to church only because it is not as reverent as she feels the true church should be (the branch here has some problems with that I'm not going to lie) She decided that she knows its true and needs to go no matter what. 

 We found C again..She was someone that got lost since I was last here. After I left the area they split it up and divided the 3 spanish areas in the branch into 2 spanish areas. She some how was never visited after I left and fell through the cracks. Well I told Elder Baugh that she was ready when I was here at that was like 7 months ago. We knocked on her door and she was so excited we came. She said she had been waiting for us to come back. We taught her the Restoration again and committed her to a date early in January. She is so happy to be learning again. Its been so cool to come back here and see all these people again. She is so ready. She has prayed and knows its true. She's been waiting for missionaries to come back since I left. 

The V family is a neat family. I think I've mentioned them before. They are doing so great! They read everyday and he wants us to get the kids all involved and teach them. They all accepted a date for early in January and then came to church tomorrow and all three boys loved it!  
We have been having tons of success and have 3 baptism to prepare for in the next 2 weeks and a few for the first week in January. The crazy thing is I have no idea how we get all this stuff done and teach all these people and still take care of all the Zone Leader stuff like meetings and running stuff and taking care of problems. The Lords blesses us and we spend every second of our time doing something. I'm so tired by the end of the day its been taking a toll. But its a good kind of tired! The kind that makes you feel like I did something good today! Its been so great to see all of these people learn, progress and grow and enjoy the Gospel. Its been worth every tired moment (which now days is like every moment of the day) Time is flying by! Everything is all around great! :)