Jesus' Nose

Well this week went great!!

 Started the week off with an exchanged with Elder Cowley (from california) he is really cool. Only has 4 months left. We taught like 6 or 7 lessons just on tuesday alone and they all went good! And the Exchange was a lot of fun! Cowley is one of thos quiet kids but when he talks its soooo funny.

 We continued to have a busy busy week but that is good we love busy.

We found out it was N's birthday. well funny story actually. We had him with us for a team up and he was asking us our birthday and he said " me voy a cumplir 34 anos en Deciember 4" (i will turn 34 on the 4 of december) i looked at him and said " Hermano today is the 6th" he totally forgot about his own birthday so we decided we needed to throw him a little party. We made him cupcakes ( cause he has 7 kids and that is way easier than a cake for them) and got him a sweater. We had fun!!

He feeds us all the time and goes on team ups with us (now that we got him active and excited about the church again, he goes with us almost eveyday its great) so it was the least we could do for him.

 also funny story to make you all laugh! i said my first wrong thing in a lesson. i've never messed up and used a wrong word in a lesson before (until my 6th month mark) we were teaching Rosana and her family (the ones we found and helped them move late at night) and well i was talking about Alma ch.7 the chapter we wanted them to read before we come back and i was explaining how this chapter is really good especially this tiem of year because it talks about the birth of jesus but in spanish i said " esta capitulo habla sobre la nariz de jesus" Nariz means NOSE!!!!! I didnt notice I said it and neither did the people we were teaching but Heimulli just couldnt hold it in and started laughing and told me hat i said.. i mean to say "Nacimiento de jesus" so there you have it, good thign i can laugh at my self. i just joked it off and kept on talking... ha I love Heimuli so much we never have a dull moment!!!

 We have a member who was x-comunicated last year but is trying so hard to come back. He had a really bad day at church last week and was about ready to give up im not going to go into what happened at church but basically someone put him in a situation that wsa not good for him and then he got in trouble for it. We had no appointments set up on saturday just soem plannign to do. so Heimuli randomly texted him to see how he is. turns out he was right by our apartment at a place called plaza fiesta (spanish mall) we have 3 investigators that work there so we said he we'll meet you there went with him and visited our investigators and then went to Lenox mall with him to visit another investigator that works in the food cort in Haagen Daz icecream we were trying to invite her to church again. we had a lot of fun with him and he lives pretty far away so we was like just leave me here at the train station i'll just take the train home so you dont have to drive me. We both just looked at him and at the same time said get in we'll take you. We went over and he started talking about how its been really hard and what he's kinda been goign through. so we started teaching him form the scriptures jacob 3:1 and then i bore my testimony on how we get these experiences to help other people and make us stronger then told him an experience i had in the MTC that i have not really told anyone, just how my being home for six months and the experience i gained from that helped a kid not go hom early from the MTC. The spirit was jsut really strong. And then he was at church on sunday!!! I really don't care about getting numbers or any of that stuff.. never have since i got here i hate numbers. I'm here to help people and to becoem what God wants me to be. Whats the point of teachign a lesson if it is just a number. Every lesson is a person and someone i need to do everythign i can to help them come closer to Christ. I get so upset at missionaries here that only care about the numbers... not even goign to get into that. I gain so much more from teaching these people than i could ever give them anyways. I owe them more than just looking at them as a number.

The Cupcakes Elder C and Elder H made

Today we get calls to find out if we stay or go. Sure hope we stay here. We have so much work going on and i love this bronch so much! today we went to Waffle House with N. She is one of my favorite members here. This branch is so fantastic!! Yesterday R (same people we helped move) came to church yesterday and N, N, Z and others were right there getting to know her, helping her with her baby, etc... she loved church because of the way she was treated! I love it here, I could honestly stay here my whole mission... Luckily there are 3 areas here so I still have a chance of coming back after I leave whether it be tomorrow or next transfer! Been here for 3 months and i love it.

Elder Heimuli and I still just get along so good. He is such a support and helps me out alot. with spanish.. with everything. He's the best, the Area is the best!

I hope everyone is doing good at home. <love and miss you all! Christmas is soon.

Love Tanner

Time goes too fast

The time is going by way too fast, Transfers are over next week. its so crazy! the 14th is only just over a week away.

 We found some new people to teach this week which is great. We found a family really late at night, we ended up getting back from a dinner and a lesson later than we wanted to, as we were getting out of the car we saw two ladies carrying a mattress. Of course we could not allow this, so I asked them if they needed help ( all of this is in spanish luckily) and we just grabbed the mattress and asked where it needed to go. It turns out that their plumbing above them collapsed so they had to move appartments. She said she had a taxi on the way to help take the rest of the stuff the the new room (on the other side of our complex) We told her to cancel it and we would move it all. So about an hour or so later we had it all done. While we were moving we got to know her a little bit, she is from Uraguay and just had a pre-mature baby two months before. She said to repay us she is ordering pizza and we can come over and teach her. So thats what we get to do tonight! YAY pizza!! Normal food. Oh yeah forgot to tell you, so the same lady that gave us chicken feet decided we needed to try paruvian style pansa (cow stomach) well I have eaten stomach before and it is horrible, this how ever was edible. probably the chewiest thing you could ever eat. So pizza is sounding so great right now!

 Glad Dads surgery went well! What is he going to do now that he cant run? Run half marathons instead of marathons?

Elder Heimuli and I are hoping we stay together this next transfer but we will see new spanish coming in (we dont need four right now) ha so who knows whats gonna happen.

Love y'all miss you!

Love Elder Charlesworth

Thanksgiving Week and Chicken Feet

Well Thanksgiving was great, We started out by playing Futbol Americano with the English ward then we left after a few fun games and went to a way nice field to play soccer, I hate to group them all  in like this but  holy cow  Hispanics are really hard to play soccer with. They cry so much and complain and cheat. I know this happens in every sport with who ever you play with but its bad here haha.

 Well we washed up and went to a dinner with the Familia S they are super super cool we eat there a lot, she grew up in Arizona and is very American and he is very American speaks English has lived here awhile so it was the typical turkey dinner with potatoes stuffing rolls pie and salted margaritas! we left there and went to another dinner appointment with some other members who have son on a mission in Idaho. We took the train and had fun talking to all the people on it in Spanish or English didn't matter its just fun. They cooked us a really good turkey and we had rice with corn in it and salad with lime on it and coke. I try to stop drinking soda but that's all Hispanics drink so i have no choice!

 We did service for a member named N I've talked about her before she is one of my favorites here she has a 5 year old daughter named K. We painted her house but first we had some fun and painted our names and pictures on the wall before we painted over it. Her sister in law is a member as well she asked what we wanted for dinner Elder Cowley half joking, half serious said Patas de pollo (chicken feet) she laughed and even her husband from Mexico said eww we don't eat those. Well we show up and she thought it would be fun for us to try something new so we ate patas de pollo the pictures will explain it all, Its not gross just something i would NEVER ask for! She says from now on every week when we eat there we will get to try something new (yay...ewww) Hispanics eat gross things like Menudo (cow intestine soup) Pansa (cow stomach) Chicharone (pig skin not fried) so it will be interesting. The funny thing is she does not even like that stuff ,she just thinks its fun!

 We found 6 new investigators this week so that is a huge blessing because we kinda had to drop a few of ours that we were teaching, they just were not progressing or they disappeared. ....that happens  a lot.

Elder Heimuli is the Bomb. His mom is too, she sent me spam and corned beef like my two favorite things!! We have so much fun all the time, all of our lessons start with people just laughing because we are such goof nuts and weirdos!! I love it!

MMMM Chicken Feet

 Love Tanner

Thanks to Elder H's Mom

Elder H eating a chicken foot for Thanksgiving

 Tanner didn't write much today so I borrowed some pictures from Elder H's blog that his mom keeps up to date. Thank goodness for missionary moms! Tanner did say that chicken feet are not so tasty. The missionaries played soccer and football then went to member's houses for meals.

Elder H and Elder C with matching Cardigans. Aww cute

Thanksgiving Day activities

   

Gladys Can Sing!

We were not able to do a whole ton this week because we were at the Gladyss Knight SUV firesides since thursday. Basically there from 1 pm until 11 or 11:30 everyday, all weekend. We ended up getting almost 1500 refferals from the show, Which means we will be doing some english work.

 The show was incredible! Gladys Knight directs a choir and they blow everyones mind. And then she sings and blows everyones mind even more! She is set apart as a world missionary for doing this choir. The spirit literally hitss you like a wave once they start singing. But I have to say my favorite part was the jumping and clapping a yelling and praising Jesus in a whole different way. Church is going to seem so boring now!

 Elder Heimuli and I were one of 7 companionships asked to help with the show.They asked the "people persons to do it" so It felt pretty cool being picked out of almost 200 missionaries to do this and be envolved in it in this way, got to shake her and her husbands hands a couple times so that was pretty sweet! We had to walk up and down the line talking to everyone (the line was so big, over 1000 people) We gave out a pamphlet that talks about the choir and in it, it has a card for their address so we can bring a "free Gift" book of mormon, cd sample and a restoration dvd.

Elder C and Elder Heimuli at the Gladys Knight Fireside

 So for 3 days i talked to thousands of people and now I have no voice and have a super bad cold... so thats super awesome! But it was totally worth it. The purpose of the choir is to introduce people to the church, and so Gladys can make some "real music" cause lets be honest our hymns are pretty boring, beatiful, but boring. Her husband Will Mcdauhle (dont know how to spell it) tells the story of how they met and how he came to join the church then bears a very strong testimony (mostly aimed at african americans) Then at the end gladys bears hers and tells how she joined and they basically tell everyone that they now have to true knowledge and they need to do something about it and its up to them but now they know the truth so they will be held accountable for it.

 This was one of those life experiences that I will remember forever. It was so awesome!

Dad glad to hear you got an Elk, what did it score?? Can't wait for the pictures! Glad you made it out okay!

Hope everyone is doing good! Love tanner

They Finally Came!

NOT EVEN EATING AT MEMBER'S HOUSES WILL HELP THEM FILL THESE SHIRTS OUT.

Well first off i should tell you about out "Downtown drug adventure" We went downtown last week for P-day in normal clothes and well Apparently two young men walking downtown look like they want drugs, 4 people asked if we wanted to buy and 1 guy asked if we were selling! haha... not a normal experience you would think to have on a mission but then again I am in downtown Atlanta so i imagine about anything is possible.

 This week went really well. We have been focusing on using members in out work, that members are the key to things progressing in all areas of missionary work here. Elder Heimuli and I put together these "Missionary Packets" just a couple teaching folletos and videos a book of mormon and tarjetas for the members to use to share to gospel with friends and family and not having to come up with it on their own. We have been visiting each member in our area teaching them the restoration and then giving them the packet and asking for their help in finding and teaching. So far it has been going really great we have visited 4 families and they all reacted really well and though it was a great idea.

 We also need members involved in teaching our investigators and the Menos Activos in our area. The Familia F that i have been teaching and trying to get to come back to church since i first got here last transfer has been making excuses since i got here. He does have a really hurt back We understand that but he has 7 kids and a wife, they all need church. We decided that we needed a member to come with us a teach the family. Members can say things that we can't they have an influence that we don't have. The member we took served a mission, is from mexico and just a solid great guy. He helped us out so much. The next time we went over two days later the family had a completely different attitude, He said "If i am in the way to God (meaning driving to church) then i know he will take care of us and we will be okay, we need to go to church" his wife who is terrified to drive even said if his back hurts to bad to drive she will drive...But we found this super great lady E (a member from the english ward who loves to help the spanish missionaries even though she knows no spanish at all) she drove them to church, so after about two months of going over two to four times a week and teaching and helping and doing everything possible they are finally going to church! I have no doubt it is because we have started using members in all of our work. It all started by sitting down together Elder Heimuli and I at the begining of this transfer and praying for what we needed to do in this area. Well Revelation is real I can tell you that. This transfer has by far brought me the most happiness out of the whole time I have been here. Elder Heiuli and I are on the same page in all things and work hard all day and have a blast doing it. The work is a little slow right now because we are focusing mostly on the members but i know that towards the end of this transfer and the transfer after this one, this area will be so busy. Right now we are doing all the actual hard work. Mapping, Looking for potentials, Going through all the less actives in our area and seeing who still lives there and who has moved. Its a lot of work but I love being busy!

Hope everything is going great at home. Hope Dad gets that Big Bull... Can't wait for elk jerky

Love Elder Charlesworth

So glad I'm not a greenie anymore!

We got 5 new spanish elders last week at transfers. Because there was so many I lucked out and Elder Heimuli came to Chamblee with me and it has been so great....Except for me getting the flu for a couple days, that was a little less fun. But other than that it has been fantastic, We are both on the same page of what we want to do with this area and have been working hard, basically started over with the map and other things. Mapping for 3 hours is so lame but Heimuli and I always seem to make it fun! I'm just super jealous of his angelic singing voice.

 We went to a Quince which is a fancy way of saying a sweet 15 party, huge deal for hispanics. It was fun but all the dancing and really fun stuff started at 10 and we had to leave at 8:30 to get home in time. They did a Catholic Mass ( It was a part member family) they do a ceremony for the girl who is turning 15. The Priest who did it was from spain and instead of saying "sss" sound in words they say "thh" so its kind of hard to ltsten to if you are not used to it haha, its like speaking spanish with a lisp but all spanish people do it. (spanish as in from spain.)

 Glad to hear Dad got his spot, I'm excited for you I hope that you get a big one and I'll be waiting for some elk jerky!

Don't have much time today things are going great here. Have a ton of work we need to do for the rest of this transfer.

Love you all Love Tanner