New Assignment....

Thanks for the pictures and stuff!  Talmage is getting big!  So is Jenni!  ;)   Her house is nice too!!!!  Not bad for their first home.  I am glad they are doing so well and the shower went well.  Hillary said she loved seeing you guys again.  I bet thats weird for all of you without me there haha.

So another crazy week in the life of Elder Skalla.  I feel like I havent written a good letter in forever so we have some extra time today so I can tell you more of whats going on. First of all transfers are next week the 26th and I found out I will be getting transferred.  President called yesterday and released me from being a zone leader and asked me to train again and be a district leader.  It honestly scared me a little.  Everyone, Elder Berryessa being the worst, kept telling me I was gonna be AP and stuff and when President called last night he was like "Elder Skalla I am releasing you from being a zone leader and I have a new assignment for you next transfer."  Elder Berryessa was like freaking out at this point, but then he asked me to train haha I was so relieved.  I thought I was gonna faint before though haha.  Being a ZL went by soooo fast.  4 transfers is the norm but I felt like it just flew.  I am soooooooo excited to train again though now knowing a little bit more of what I am doing haha.  The only thing I am terrified of is that I am shotgun training.  So I have to go to a brand new area with a brand new missionary and won't know anything about the area.  That is gonna be hard but oh well you gotta have some kinda fun.  I am kinda sad I am leaving Youngstown behind...  I have been in the stake and with some of the same members for 11 months now and I dont wanna leave Tina and Dylan and everyone behind.  I kept saying I was ready to leave but now that I actually am I don't want to haha. 

The work this week went really well.  I don't think I have told you about E.  We were tracting last week and just knocked on her door and talked for like 30 mins and set a return appt.  We called to confirm and she was telling me on the phone that she was already almost done with 2 Nephi and couldn't seem to put the book down.  I just like didn't know what to say!  No one has ever said that to me before!  haha We taught her the next day and it went really well.  Her husband is on tour in Iraq and comes home in 3 weeks and has a 1 year old daughter.  She already told her husband about us and he is glad she is meeting with us so its like perfect!  We were supposed to see her yesterday but her baby was in the hospital all night so we didn't get to, but we are gonna baptize the whole family!  Well I won't but whoever comes here will!   We also taught this crazy Hungarian lady and her husband.  Its a long long story how we found him but the lesson was just funny.  She has a thick thick accent and like during the lesson they would start getting really excited about things and stand up and start yelling and walking towards us. haha I was trying so hard not to laugh.  Then she was flipping through her Bible for like 10 mins while her husband was talking and then stands up and reads the last few verses in revelations (never heard that one before) and like said we were wrong and all this funny stuff.  haha But lets just say we are probably not going back there to teach anytime soon haha.  We also took Anthony on a "Mini Mission"   he came and spent the whole weekend with us and stuff.  He is getting ready to put his papers in so we took him out to motivate him a little.  It was so fun, he has had a rough life but he is a good kid and it was fun being with him for the weekend.  The H Family is still doing amazing.  Brother H has just left me speechless.  He just got called as the young men's president and is doing amazing.  We gave him a copy of Jesus the Christ like last week and he finished the whole thing and like told us all this stuff he learned.  Its incredible.   Tina is still doing well.  She fed us dinner on Friday and we talked about temples.  She HATES that she has to wait till May to go.  She is still struggling.  She got laid off and is having a hard time finding another job.  We gave her a blessing yesterday after church.  She is great though she will pull out of it. 

I am so excited for this week.  Tomorrow I get to go to the mission home for trainers meeting and Friday is mission conference with Elder Perkins so its gonna be a good week.  I am running out of money though...  I have been eating MUCH healthier lately and healthy food is way more expensive so it is kinda draining me.  Plus with getting shotgunned I may need to use the credit card to get some food here in a couple weeks.  Well I hope you have fun on your cruise...  I am jealous.  Tell everyone I say hi and that I miss them.  Have a good week!  I love you!

Elder Skalla

Short and sweet….and pictures!

Hi!  I don't have a lot of time so this is going to be quick!  Zoned out is once a year when 3 zones go to the Johnson Farm for p-day.  Its like the highlight of our year pretty much haha.  It was way fun though, we got to take another tour of the Johnson farm and read D&C 76 and stuff and play football. We don't spend too much time with the AP's. We just go on exchanges with them once a transfer and then see them at meetings and stuff.  (I told him it seemed like they were with the AP's a lot)  haha I laughed about what Papa said cuz he is right. (Papa Dean wondered what a city kid missionary needed a truck for) We have a 2012 Chevy Colorado.  We don't need that nice of a car but we need a truck cuz we have to haul every ones stuff to transfers and things like that so that is why all the zone leaders have trucks.  I did get all the packages and CD you sent me.  Thank you!  Although I'm sorry but that is the absolute worst Lead Kindly Light I have ever heard (no wonder it was a free download!) haha but I like the other song so thank you! 

So this week I finished the New Testament and have also been reading Jesus the Christ.  I am like half way through but I have been studying parables this week and man they are amazing.  Like you always talk about Christ being a master teacher and everything but like when you read and seek to find the deeper meanings in the parables and things He says, it is like incredible.  I just wish people in the world and especially members of the church read and understood the scriptures more.  It's incredible the things the spirit can teach you and the real life application they have. 

Well I am sorry this is so short but we have to go cuz we have to drive up to Warren for their district meeting.  I hope you have an awesome week and I promise I will write more next week.  

Love and miss you!!! 

Elder Skalla

ZONED OUT…

MANY ARE CALLED BUT WE ARE CHOSEN

Too Busy to write…(that's a good thing!)

Hi!  Sorry I haven't e mailed you yet.  This has seriously been the busiest week of my mission. haha I have been exhausted.  I am glad you got back safe in the 4 runner!  I promise I will write that letter as soon as I can.  I have just been up till like 12 every night getting stuff planned.  That is cool that experience you had with Nikki!  Now just imagine that every day, all day and that's what I get to do!  It really is amazing, the constant spirit and getting to invite others to come unto Christ every day.  Its something that will probably never happen again so you have to cherish it. 

So I don't even know where to really start this week.  Last Wednesday we had our zone conference which was way good!  Then we got a new truck and went on exchanges with the assistants and Elder Prince stayed here in Youngstown with me.   We had an awesome lesson with J.  He was the guy that came up and said he has been looking for us for forever.  We like went in and didn't really have a plan to teach anything, but it was one of those completely guided lessons.  He said the closing prayer and we stood up and he just stayed there on his knees crying.  He is such a good guy.  After that our appointment cancelled and Elder Prince and I ended up rolling up our pants and scrubbing the baptismal font, haha it was so nasty.

Thursday as it sounds like you already know we moved the Patton's and had dinner with T and A.   It was sad to see them leave.  Everyone is moving out, it's not good for the ward.  Dinner was really good though!

D did get baptized on Saturday!  It actually went really well.  A kid that is getting ready to go on a mission baptized him.  D even bore his testimony there and everything.  It was a really good service.  I don't have my camera but I will send you some pictures next week.  Now we just need to make sure he stays active haha.  He is a good kid though,  he is just still an 18 year old.  Sunday he was at work from 6am to 10am so he had to book it from work to get confirmed, but he ended up making it so it was good!

Monday was actually way nice.  No offense but I was actually way excited not to e mail on Monday.  Right after studies I just slept for like 2 hours haha.  Then we went and played basketball all day with some other missionaries and a couple members.   Tuesday it started to get even crazier.  We had mission council in Cleveland that morning which went really well but then that night we had stake coordination with the presidency and President Vellinga.  It takes a good 2 hours to get to Y town from the mission office and mission council didn't end till 4.  So after we had to book it back to Youngstown.  It was pouring rain and a ton of traffic the whole way so we thought we were gonna be late.  We took the toll road and ended up making it, but it was quite the drive.  We were going like 70 and it was just dumping and I could barely see.  Then we just hit this massive puddle of water and started fish tailing and turning sideways.  All while not even being able to see out of the windows haha (Glad he is laughing!!)  It was scary but I got out of it and we ended up being fine. haha   After the meeting was kinda cool.  We had planned to just go home and plan for our ZDM we had today but they were talking about this guy in stake coordination and President Vellina wanted to go see him with us.  He ended up not being home but President took us out to McDonald's for dinner and we ended up just talking with him about the work for like 2 hours,  it was kinda cool.  You don't get to spend much alone time with President, so it was fun.  This morning we had our ZDM which went really well.  I am getting kinda tired planning and doing meetings but this one went really well.  Well I don't have much more time but next Monday we have zoned out so I probably wont e mail you on Monday.   I hope you have an awesome week! 

Love and miss you!!

Elder Skalla