Tuesday, December 17, 2013

December 16, 2013

My fabulous awesome mother!

Thank you for putting Andreas name in the temple.  His baptism date has changed because he missed a Sunday, but that's ok.  We can put it for the beginning of January and I'm not worried about it.  I'm not going to keep anything from you, just know that whatever happens I'll be perfectly fine and I'll come home in one piece.  So don't worry too much about the hard times because they are brief and pass quickly. 

The temple was AWESOME!!!  I LOVE the new video and can't wait to go back!!!!  I got new scriptures too.  We went through with a sister in our branch who took out her endowments.  We were the witnesses of a sealing of a family in our branch!!!  We also did a lot of confirmations in the baptistery.  It was wonderful!!! 

I had no idea my serving a mission would help a family in Germany!!!  That is such a wonderful blessing and an amazing experience.  Tell Meghan to tell the boy thank you  so much for his prayers and if its ok with his family I would like to write him a letter and thank him and tell him about my mission.  Thank you mom, I'm so grateful for you!  Thank you so much for sharing that experience, it really touched my heart!! 

When times are hard grab whatever hope you have and cling to it.  Don't let it go and never give up.  Trials are a part of life and in reality they are blessings in disguise.  Without trials we really can't progress.  Thank Heavenly Father for your trials and humbly ask for his help because he is always there for us.  I know that this is true without a doubt because he is here for me and for you and all his children.  It is a truth and no one can change it ever.

I still do lots of funny stuff.   I love to laugh and make others laugh. I love being funny!!! Life is always better with laughter and humor.  Even in the bad times we can always laugh and be happy.   Thank you for giving me such happy memories with you and dad and our family!!  You two truly are such a big blessing to me!!

Our investigators are good.  This week my companion had a leadership training meeting to go to and we weren't here for like 3 days so we didn't get much done this week, but it was still good. My companion is great and he really appreciates that you sent him presents!!!  Thank you.

I am thinking we will Skype  about 3 our time.  We have a zone activity that I really want to go to so we are planning on calling from there.  It's in Huejutla in the state of Hidalgo. 

Thank you mom, I sure love you the best!!!!

Love
Elder Cammack the breadmaker(haha that's for Troy!)
December 16, 2013

Hey Dad!

I love you!  Let me just say that the new video in the temple is AMAZING!!!!!  It is SOOOO good!!!!  I loved every second of it and it really helped me to visualize what happened.  I'm feeling great now!  All is well!!! 

Outside the US things are very different.  Practically all other paces have fresh markets and often they don't clean things very well so that's why parasites are a problem.  That and they don't cook things very well here either.  I can't wait to talk to you next week!!!  I'm planning on calling at 3 my time and I think that is about 2 your time, so plan for that.  I can't even talk in English anymore and I prefer to talk in Spanish haha.  It feels way more natural than English right now. 

A sister in our branch took out her endowments and we were with her.  A family in our branch was sealed.  My companion and I were the witnesses!!  We also helped do a lot of confirmations in the baptistery.  It was so cool because I understood everything in the session.  No everything is completely in Spanish.  I did meet 2 senior missionaries in our mission who work in the temple though.  The temple was beautiful!!!  We had a lot of people from the branch go.  It was way cool.  We all rode on a charter bus and I got to see some of my missionary friends there as well. 

Last week we missed three days of work because of a huge leadership training meeting in Tampico and we weren't in our area for a long time.  I was working with some other missionaries while my companion went to the meeting because he is a district leader.  Our transfers take place every 6 weeks and we just finished the first week of a new transfer.  The next transfer is January 19th.  I've still got the same companion in the same area!!!  Last week we found the most new investigators out of our entire zone!!!!  We found 6 new people in one week!!! 

I love and miss you too Dad!  Thank you for being such an awesome and amazing father!  I feel great and yes I am always straight with you.  love ya

Love
Elder Cammack
December 9, 2013

Hola Mama!  Te amo!

No worries I'm all good now!  I've got a parasite called shigela and I'm taking meds for it.  I feel great!  I promise I'm doing everything you say and I'm really ok!  I'm in the Lords hands!  I'm really sorry you had a hard week worrying about me.  I just wanted to keep you informed.  Mom I promise you nothing bad will happen to me on this mission.  I will come home in one piece!  No worries. 

Our investigators are great, we found 4 new ones this week.  We have a baptism planned for the 28th with a 14 year old called Andreas!  So keep him in your prayers.  The work is starting to pick up!  Am I really humble????  That is one thing I have been trying to work on and fix.  To me it feels kind of the same and I'm trying to be better than before.  Have I really changed???  I'm working on trying to not judge it's definitely hard.  Thank you for all you said mom!  I just want to be obedient and follow the Savior.  That's what I want in this life and in the life to come. 

I get to go to the temple this week with our Branch!!!!  I'm so excited!!!  I love you so much mom and I miss you lots!!!  I have a feeling that great things are going to start happening!

Love ya mammy:)

Elder Cammack

p.s. Can you send me a bread maker so I can sell bread to the missionaries here (like Troy)??? lol
December 9, 2013

Hey pops!

Love you, I'm feeling a lot better.  I've got a parasite called shigela and I'm taking meds for it.  I can eat and everything now!  As much as I would love for you to come here I'm not really sure that's allowed.  But if you would like you can come pick me up after I finish my time here haha.  I'm drinking plenty don't worry.  Time is flying for me.  I'm not transferring this change.  I'm in Tempoal (Veracruz Mexico)  for another 6 weeks.  We have a baptism planned for this month on the 28th and his name is Andreas so if you could all keep him in your prayers that would be great!  Satan tries his best to hinder the Lords work, but its not good enough and it never will be because I follow the lord and that will never change!  We found 4 new investigators this last week too.  I can Skype with you guys for 40 minutes on the 25th of December. 

I love you too Dad and I hope all is well!  Thank you so much for your support and advice!  I really appreciate it.  Love you forever.

Love
Elder Cammack
December 2, 2013

My awesome fantastic mother

Don't worry you can say you miss me all you want.  I really miss you too!  Wow Dad cried???  That doesn't happen too often so that is really special ( In my letter to Jon I told him Dad and I cried because we missed him so much).  I know I'm in the right place but its still hard to be away from family and friends.  I am sorry you are having a hard time.  Times are definitely easier when we are together as a family.  That's what families do, is help each other out.  When I get back I want to spend time together as a family more!  I can't wait for Meghan to come back to the states so we can all be closer together and spend more time together.  Well my week was kind of hard.  I've been sick all week and haven't been able to do much.  I had to stay home for 2 days and the third day we tried to work but I just felt like throwing up all day so we came back and I rested.  I haven't really been able to eat anything because it hurts my stomach and it makes me feel like throwing up.  I talked to Sister Jordan, the mission presidents wife, because that is who we call when we are sick.  She thought I had a parasite again, so I immediately started taking medication for it but after 5 days nothing was really changing so I had to do another stool sample (sooo much fun) and now I'm waiting to see what's wrong with me. 

We gained a new investigator this week and she looks really promising I think.  We have another investigator that is 14 and for the last 2 Sundays he has come to church for the full 3 hours of his own accord and by himself and we haven't even had a lesson with him yet.  Only three more weeks and he can be baptized!  That is so exciting, I really think he will be my first baptism!!! 

Thank you for all your support Mom!  I love you so much and it really is a joy to have you for a mother!  Thank you for all your tears!!!  It means a lot to me that you love me so much!  Have a fantastic week.

Love forever
Elder Cammack
December 2, 2013

Howdy Pops!

Love ya!!  Sorry Thanksgiving was hard, but we have a lot more Thanksgivings to spend together.  Wow I really miss American food.  I've lost more weight, this entire last week I was sick and for 2 days I couldn't leave the house.  I tried the third day but I just felt like throwing up so I went back.  I've been weak and tired and I haven't been able to eat hardly anything.  I've got another parasite or something living in me haha.  I'm trying my hardest to follow the spirit, thank you Dad you taught me well!!!  I love your emails, thank you Dad.  I love you so much!!!  I hope all is well there and that you are ok.  You will always be my awesome loving Dad!

Love
Elder Cammack

Sunday, December 1, 2013

              November 25, 2013  picture for our Christmas cards!!!!  Love this missionary      
                                                    
                                                         Such a handsome missionary
November 25, 2013

I love you Mom!!!  We took videos of us removing the rat from our house.  It took us 20 minutes.  We trapped it in a room for a few days without food or water.  So after a bit we stopped hearing noises from it.  So one night we decided to open the door and see what had happened.  We have a video of the whole thing.  So we went into the room and as soon as we opened the door I wanted to die because it smelled TERRIBLE!!!  We looked around for a bit and my companion found the rat dead under some blankets so then came the fun part, getting rid of the dead rat.  That was my job.  I used a broom to move it out of the room and I put some bags on my hands and picked up the rat and put it in another bag and then we took it and dumped it in a field.  It was really nasty but I have a video with the rat. 

My week was good.  Thank you for all your prayers!  It does help, thanks!!  Here is cold.  I never thought it would be so cold in this mission.  The water here is seriously like ice.  During the night I heat water in a pan on a little single burner we have to use to take a shower.  That's what we have to do if we want hot water. 

I really miss helping you and Dad.  I'm really thankful to have you as a mother and such a awesome close friend!!!  It's so crazy to think that next month, one day after Christmas I'm going to complete 6 months in my mission.  Wow time flies.  Thank you for your  wonderful example to me.  I'm so grateful I have you.  There is so much I need to do better.  Reflecting on who I am I think I have a lot I need to improve.  I can't wait to experience my first Christmas here!!  I love you with all my heart.

Love you bestest and for eternity
Elder Joann (haha)
November 25, 2013

I love you Dad!  I never thought it would be this cold in Mexico!!!  I actually have to use my jacket and I'm still cold!!!!  We don't have Thanksgiving lol that's an American holiday.  It is just another day just like every day. 

We are finding new people.  I've notice a lot more the spirit influencing me with questions that I ask and that is really cool!!  The members are great and I love all of them.  I really love you Dad and I'm so grateful to have you as a father!  You have done so much for me.  I really look forward to getting to spend more time with you when I get back.  You have qualities that I love about you and wish I had.  You are so slow to anger.  I have know idea how you do it.  I have NEVER heard you complain either.  I truly respect you for these Christ like characteristics that you have.  You really are the best model on the earth of what a father should be.  You love mom and you are ALWAYS faithful to her.  I want to become like you!!!!  I know if I do that then I will be like the Savior because that is who you remind me of.  I love you so much Dad and appreciate you so much.

Love
Elder Cammack
November 18, 2013

Hi pops, I love you mom!!!!!  Oh my gosh that is so cool!!!!!  ah!!!!!  felicidades a el!!!!!!  muchisimas feicidades!!!!  sorry my Spanish slipped.  Tell Bryce congrats.  I'm so happy for him and excited!!! He will have a great time in Hungry.  We will miss each other by about a year almost.  He will do great.

In just one week we have doubled church attendance, and there are more coming!!!  The work is really picking up here!  The Branch Presidency is great and works really hard and so do the members.  I know I'm here for a purpose, I just need to step back and let God direct me.  I've just got to work harder and trust in the Lord. 

I definitely had a better week this week and that is good.  At times I feel like I want to give up but there is something in me that won't let me.  Even when I question all that I believe and everything is against it, I won't deny it and I won't go against it.  I believe it all.  I'm just trying to gain a sure witness for myself.  But I will never give up, NEVER!  Struggles really are great.  They really do help us get stronger.  We found new people to teach and I've been a lot happier.  My companion is doing good too!  We have our differences sometimes but we work past them. 

I've been reading and thinking about my patriarchal blessing a lot.  I'm trying to become what he wants me to be.  It's really weird, at times I feel I have the strongest testimony ever but then at other times I find myself questioning myself and what I believe and I don't know of a specific moment when the spirit told me that the gospel is true so I've been trying to do that.  But just as I was typing that the thought came to me that maybe the way that I've learned it's true isn't by one instance of the spirit telling me, but little by little over the course of a long period of time. 

I think I'm becoming like Troy now (the snake) because we have a rat trapped in a room we aren't using.  We are trying to figure out a way to get rid of it.  I love all you and all my family and I am truly blessed o have all of you.  You all mean so much to me!!!  It means so much to me that the Lord is watching over my family while I am away!  I love you!!

Love
Elder Cammack