Setting Goals

Hey!  Ya I got a post card from Brandi this week from Hawaii.  She told me all about it and is really excited.  It is weird cuz everyone I know is like doing all this crazy stuff and moving on in their lives and I feel like I haven't even started mine haha.  Oh well that is coming sooner than I want it to.  Its hard not to be trunky.  Not like in not wanting to work but EVERYONE is constantly reminding you about going home and your mind just wanders about what things are going to be like and what you are going to do with your life.  It's hard not to think about haha.  

I don't think I got a birthday present from Elder Ingersoll... He sent me a nice letter though so I liked that haha.   Last week we went to this place called The Melt.  We are going to have to go there when we come back.  Its all grilled cheese sandwiches but they are like the biggest most insane grilled cheese ever with all this stuff on it.  It was so good.  

We had a pretty good week.  We had mission leadership council on Tuesday and it was really good.  I felt like I got so much more out of it not as an assistant.  I didn't have to focus on running the meeting just talking so I liked it.  We had our zone training meeting this week that went pretty well.  It is different with all sisters, but it was fun.  I told Elder Christensen that he needs to just cut me off and chime in a lot because I will just go, but that didn't happen.  I did pretty much the whole meeting.  I felt bad because I thought he thought I was just taking it over but I talked with him after and he thought it went great and said he didn't have anything else to say or do.  We have been trying to increase our new investigators so we talked a lo about goals.  Sisters are hard because they always want to set way high goals.  They wanted to baptize 30 people in the zone in June.. That's double what the mission gets...  I asked how they planned on doing that and all they could come up with was faith and prayer.  I said I didn't want to be the faithless Elder here, but were not going to get 30 baptisms and it's going to take a lot more out of us than faith and prayer.  I have just been sick of seeing month after month the mission having these massive goals and never even coming close to them.  We also talked about how to find.  There is one thing that frustrates me the most when tracting and contacting.  When a missionary is mini mouthed about the message and hides behind a pass along card.  So I demonstrated a couple different contacting and tracting ideas and how to use a pass along card or pamphlet as a tool rather than something to just offer because they didn't accept you right away.  Also getting away from the "Hi were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were here sharing a message about Jesus Christ, would you be interested in learning more?"  "no"  "ok , well can we give you a card."   That's what everyone says and its dumb.  Offering merely a pass along card will do little to nothing to help a person come unto Christ and achieve Salvation.   But they came up with some great, not new things, but less robotic, more natural and persistent ways so I was proud of them. 

I went on Exchanges with a missionary on the east side of Cleveland too. Man we had a great time.  We found like 7 potentials and set 4 return appointments.   It was the same day as our zone training meeting so we just applied the things we practiced and it worked!  I just wish I could do that in my own area for once.  

Teaching is going alright though.  I still haven't taught a white person since I have been here so its a little different than North Olmsted.  Oh and Elder Ingersoll told me Tom came to church yesterday so he is doing well!  

I do not have a Chic Fil A... haha sorry but I did get all the food I needed.  The Wal-mart here is soooo ghetto though.  I hate going there.  I loved the pictures this week.  She is adorable.  I am excited to meet her.   

Well I hope you have a great week!  Love and miss you! 

Elder Skalla

Here is the guy in "tighty whities" that they found in their apartment (last weeks letter)

GROSS!!!!

New Companion, Elder Christensen

Happy 21st Birthday!!!

HA I cant believe I am 21 either...  I dont feel like it.

I had a great last week as an assistant with transfers.  I can not thank Heavenly Father and President Vellinga enough for that opportunity.  I learned more in those 6 months than I think I have my entire life.  I saw myself doing things I didnt know I could do. I will think back on those times for the rest of my life.  Everything went pretty smoothly with transfers.  I think we finally have how to do these big groups down.  Transfer meeting was great.  President had me conduct one last time and he said some really kind things about me being his assistant.  It was hard calling up all the missionaries up who went home. I like almost got a little choked up.  I have spent my whole mission with those guys and there were 3 assistants and 4 zone leaders so I was around them a lot.  It was hard to say bye to such a solid group.  

I am loving my new area!  My new companion is pretty good too.  Kinda frustrating though.  He goes home the transfer after me and I am pretty sure he is way trunky.  He is way too concerned about getting his "personal time",  his days revolve around what he is going to eat for lunch and getting to P day. He refuses to take less than an hour for lunch and dinner.  He also has a little planter faciitis or whatever so he has to stretch and ice his feet like 4 times a day which takes forever so that is frustrating but whatever, I think we will be fine.  Its always going to be different coming from "heaven" with Elder Weaver and Elder Ingersoll to someone else.  

This area is soooooo different though.  The Shaker Heights part is way nice but we only cover a little bit of that.  Our area is either really, really nice or really really, really ghetto.  Its part of the East side of Cleveland.  Its the weirdest place I have ever been.  You can be on a corner and look at one street with huge, nice, beautiful, historic homes and then turn your head and see one of the worst parts of Cleveland.   I have already seen some pretty dang funny stuff too.  People are so weird.  Just last week the Elders came back to the apartment and there was a huge black man in whitey tightys asleep on Elder Christensen's bed.  haha They were in the back of the apartment and then he just walked out and there was a big black man in his bed, haha.  They took a picture and called the cops and they came and got him out haha.  We always make sure the door is locked now even if we are just inside the apartment for a minute haha.  We live with the East Cleveland Elders too.  The apartment is pretty cool.  Its in a place called Shaker square which is a nicer part of town.  Its beautiful, you should google it. (like I hadn't already!!)  The buildings are really old though.  We have all hard wood floors and stuff.  Its cool though I like it. We have a truck so we dont have to bike at all.  I am actually working on selling my bike so hopefully I can get rid of it soon.  The ward here is pretty good.  We share it with 2 sets of Sisters.  It is mostly all young medical students.  I think it is the loudest ward I have ever been in. haha (lots of babies??)  The baptism on Friday went great and it was cool but really weird to see Elder Weaver with his family.  She gave me a hug from you haha.  

So one of the brand new missionaries Elder Flinders lives with us.  His birthday is today too so we are going to go out and eat to celebrate.  He is turning 19 though haha.  Do you want to buy my lunch for me?  :)  And groceries is exactly what I was going to ask for for my birthday.  I always need stuff when I get transferred, mostly cleaning supplies because missionaries are not very clean and also I will need a lot of food.  We never get fed in this ward so we eat at home every day. I have had a PB&J every meal since Wednesday.  I am so sick of it haha 

President called this morning as well as the Thompsons from the Lakewood ward and Sister Vellinga.  Sister Jacklin e mailed me another picture of her granddaughter and said she says happy birthday, but I have a feeling Elder Ingersoll and Elder Labar had something to do with that one. haha I laughed though. 

I will be back in the office on Tuesday for mission council. 

 So I am confuse about what you sent me.  Should I go home and check the mail before I go out to eat and use that money?  

Love, Elder Skalla

Brad's new apartment…yes, they sleep in the living room haha

Current and Former Assistant's

 Saying good bye is always hard.  These two have been great examples to Brad.

A "District" run

Last Transfer….to Kirtland Ohio!

Hey!  Man that is weird to see him graduated!  It looks like you had a good time though, I am glad everyone got to come see.  Its hard to describe how surreal all of this is from here.  I have just been in my own little world for 2 years and everything else seems fake haha.  

We had a really good week this week.  A lot of it was spent getting ready for transfers as you probably guessed.  We had our meeting with all the new trainers.  It is weird because 20 of the 23 training were ones that I picked up from the airport throughout my time here haha.  

We taught Tom a few times this week. He is progressing really well.  The poor guy has no vision or purpose in his life and we have started him start to see what he can become since we have been helping him and teaching him.  The roof really is as high as it looks haha its pretty far up there.  haha Sister Vellinga told us we weren't allowed back up there after she saw the pictures haha.  Elder Ingersoll and I spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday.  I think it went really well.  I spoke about blessings that come into peoples lives from accepting the gospel.  It was weird too because we invited Tom to church but he said he couldn't come because he had family stuff for the holiday but then when I was giving my talk I looked to the doors and saw his reflection in the little window standing in the foyer.  Elder Ingersoll and I ran out there after but he was already gone.  I thought I was just seeing things or something but then I got a text this morning from him saying how much he liked our talks and how he was sorry he didn't come in haha. So it was cool that he at least came to church!  

We spent a lot of the week just figuring out transfers.  I say this every time but this one was by far the hardest one as far as where to put people.  We just didn't have enough strong, experienced missionaries.  We fasted a lot, prayed a lot and just finished with everything about an hour ago.  One of the biggest tricks was where he wanted me to go.  He had me all over the board.  He had me as a zone leader in 3 different places, opening up a new area with a missionary who is having a hard time loving his mission, traveling around to a different area every week training and even in a triple up as assistants where he would pull one of us out whenever he needed something done or someone to go with him somewhere.  It was crazy.  Saturday night he called me with what we thought was where I was really going to go since I was pretty much the last one on the board.  He told me and it was somewhere I was least expecting.  I tossed and turned all night and just never felt good about it.  I just love this mission and want to do everything I can to help it and get all these new missionaries trained and I just felt like this wasn't the right spot.  He called me early Sunday morning and knew I wasn't feeling right about it.  We talked for about an hour and had a really great conversation.  He is such an amazing mission President.  I think I have learned more from him this week with all this stuff than my whole time here haha.  This morning we changed half the board around, ended up creating another zone and I got moved again.  I ended up in the spot he had me first which was funny.  I will be in Shaker Heights and be the Kirtland zone leader.  Or the Relief society president as the Elders here call it haha.  They call it that because there are like 6 elders and all the sites sisters.  I am happy about it and I think it will be a good spot to end my mission. It is actually where Elder Weaver is now.  That area is weird.  Almost every AP has either come from there or went there since I have been on my mission.  Elder Ingersoll came from there.  They are having a baptism on Friday and Elder Weaver and his whole family will be there so that will be cool to meet them.  

My address is 

(email Julie for the address)

Although I will be at the office on the 4th for mission council so you can send mail there still if you want.  I will be totally honest with you I didn't even realize it was my birthday next week till this morning when Sister Jacklin mentioned it in staff meeting.  I have just had so much more on my mind I didn't realize it was that close haha.  I dont need anything for my birthday.  If anything I need to get rid of everything.

  Sister Frampton one of the sisters in the ward with us is shotgun training in Alliance. They are splitting the area and she is going to the part I was in for 11 months.  President wouldn't let me go back haha.  

I hope you have a great week! Love and miss you!! 

Elder Skalla 

Weird days…

hey!  

Sorry I didn't e mail last week.  We had to go out to Perrysburg to pick up a missionary that went home... That was an awkward 2 hour drive.  It wasn't for health or homesickness either.  I hate doing that.  I have had 8 missionaries go home before they were supposed to since I have been an assistant for various reasons.  Its hard to see.  This one kinda acted like he couldn't care less though so that is why it was awkward.  

He is getting big! (Ryan) I can see me walking off the plane and him looking straight to the top of my head standing up tall just making sure that he really is taller than me haha.  I can't believe he is graduating.  He definitely looks older than when I left though.  I hope everything goes well with graduation!  Don't forget to send me pictures.  I can't believe all those kids are going on missions too, only weeks after they graduate...  Hopefully Stephen can get a visa.  We have 6 here waiting to go to Argentina.  

After I skyped with you last week we went to my MTC teachers house for dinner.  It was fun!  We had dinner with their entire summer sales team.  It was fun talking about the MTC and things I have done on my mission with her.  We had a pretty interesting week.  A lot to do but it was good.  We helped Tom  a couple times this week.  Were making good progress on his roof and on him!  We had a couple really good lessons.  I have some pictures but I forgot my camera so I will send them later this week.  The rest of zone conferences went really well!  I am sad that they are over.  I have grown to love training and helping missionaries.  Sometimes I don't feel qualified, but I love to do it and practice with them.   We went on exchanges with 4 missionaries that have been struggling this week.  Elder Ingersoll spent the day with one companionship and I was with the other.  It was much needed.  It makes me just want to go on exchanges with every missionary in the mission.  We had a weird day.  They don't get along the greatest so it was weird.  I kinda just sat back and watched and didn't say much through their companion study and first few hours of the day.  They were just kinda dragging and I could tell they were just trying to fill time.  When we went back to lunch I just talked to them about having a goal and a purpose in mind as you work and not just wandering around doing missionary things.  They were just not having any fun so after a few hours of just stopping by random people I kinda took over and said we were gonna go find some people.  We went to a park where there was a ton of people and it was great!  At first they just kinda followed me as I talked with people and stuff but then I started seeing them get a lot more excited about it as I talked with them and showed them how to just talk with people.  But we found like 5 potentials there so I had a great time.  Its been forever since I went contacting.  Then we taught one of the weirdest lessons of my mission.  They have been teaching this Pentecostal guy and honestly I think he thinks he is teaching them because they didn't even say anything the first 20 minutes and I thought I was the one getting the lesson.  We finally started talking about something relevant to what they planned to teach so I established purpose with him and tried to figure out why he was meeting with missionaries and just bore testimony to him.  Then it got kinda weird.  So we meet a lot of people who want to "teach" us or just argue or whatever and they're really smooth about it and its hard to kinda teach or get out of the situation.  They try to tongue tie you and fluster you.  I don't remember what I was saying or if I was bearing testimony or something but he got me in a stare.  Something all these guys do.  I don't like people telling me what I believe or trying to tear it down and this guy wasn't, but it was the stare that they all do.  I never break eye contact with them anymore so we were kinda just staring at each other and then he says "You have a strong faith in what you believe young man. Your testimony has come from experience" and I just said ya I do.  Then he like stuck his hand in the air and started like trying to prophesy or discern or something and was like telling me about my past.  I mean he was right about a lot of stuff but he was still very general.  It went on for a couple minutes and I felt the spirit just being sucked out of me and the room.  It was on of the weirdest experiences of my mission. haha We walked out and I asked them if he has ever done anything like that and they like freaked out and said no and how weird that was and they didn't know what to do haha.  It is hard to explain the whole situation but it was really weird and I encouraged them not to go back haha.  Definitely a weird day as a whole though.  That is one of those days I just wish I had a camera on my head so you could see all this.  

Friday night was Kristen's birthday and President really wanted us to give her this horse in person haha he was excited about it.  He wanted us to come to the bowling alley with all her friends and give it to her but I told him no haha. So he made up a story about how we needed to give him something before they all went out and got ice cream so he took all her friends back to the house and then he made me put on his cowboy hat and ring the door bell on the horse haha.  Kristen about died.  She was bright red.  Her friends had no idea what was going on but it was funny.  They loved it.  She did turn 17.  

I am getting transferred but I don't know where yet.  We cant bring the new AP in yet because he is too far away like Elder Ingersoll was so he will have to do what I did for him to train him.  Pretty much the only reason I started working with them before transfers was because I lived next door.  He has had me all over the board though so I don't know what he will have me do.  Probably be a zone leader.  We have no leadership and way too many new missionaries. 

So yesterday President had a meeting with the 5 stake Presidents, area authority and the temple president all day.  Man how I would have like to have been in that meeting.  It was at the stake center while we were at church so President Kirk from Youngstown came out to see me.  He is one of the coolest people I know but he gave me a big hug and told me he would put in a word for President to put me back in the stake haha.  President gave me a hard time for it this morning haha but I don't think I will go back there. I have a feeling where I am going and its probably the best for the mission.  

Well I hope you have a great week with all the graduation stuff!  Love and miss you! 

Elder Skalla   

Happy Mother's Day

No letter this week since we got to FaceTime with him for an hour, but he did send these two great pictures!!  He looks so good and is very happy.  He isn't ready to come home, and has loved his mission and the people he has met and served.  This has been such a wonderful experience--"the hardest thing he has ever loved to do".   We are so proud of him and WE are excited he is coming home soon!!

Elder Ingersoll, Elder Skalla and President Vellinga

Bugs….

Dang that sounds like a sweet service project!  I wish we could do big service projects here like that but for some reason we don't do big ones.   Thanks for looking for the Spirit (the kids movie) stuff.  I cant believe that its that expensive!  A card would be fine if you cant find anything.  Sorry I don't have any plans for Skype yet...  We haven't had time to set anything up haha but I will have someone call or text you this week and let you know.  I am excited to talk to you again though!  It especially doesn't feel like that long ago this time.  I did get Ryan's graduation stuff and that was way weird, I cant believe we will like go to college together.  I remember thinking before my mission that Ryan would graduate right before I came home and thought it would never happen. Ali's baby shower looked fun--I guess haha.  Jessica is tall!  Its weird how much those little girls have changed.  Sister Maxfield is the one that served in Omaha.  We are having dinner over there this week I think and I am like nervous!  It is going to be like a test to see what I have learned haha.  

We had a really great week this week.  Tuesday was mission council and it about doubled in size because we have more zone leaders and then all the Sister Training Leaders come to mission council now so it was huge.   After we had to go to Toledo to pick up a missionary.  Some of them were rough housing in the apartment and one broke his leg so he had to go home.  We went and picked him up and took him to the airport the next morning.  It stinks seeing missionaries go home when they aren't supposed to.  Especially something stupid like that.  He was pretty sad to go. We went on 2 exchanges this week.  I went one day with Elder Burch in Solon and man did I have a blast.  I seriously like forgot how fun it was to go out and work for an entire day.  We tracted and taught and I stopped by and saw dads friend Mark Taylor.   We met some really cool people too and this sweet old lady.  We just talked to her on her porch and sang her I am a Child of God and she LOVED it.  She was in tears and wanted us to come in but we couldn't so she like loaded us up a with all this food and drinks and they set an appointment to come back.  I think she was the nicest lady I have ever met, she told us how cute and nice we looked probably 50 times in like 15 minutes.  It was just fun and made me miss just going out and working.  Especially since it was beautiful weather this week.  I heard you got snow like every place I went.   They all said how glad they were they didn't live in Denver haha. We also have been teaching our investigator Tom and helping him with his barn/shed thing.  We're almost done with the roof.  The other night we were in his house teaching just in our service clothes and half way through the lesson I saw a bunch of spots on Elder Ingersoll's shirt.  I thought it was just saw dust or something but then I saw one of them move  and I looked closer and there were like 50 little tiny bugs all over his back.  I quickly wrapped up the lesson and we went outside.  I was like don't get in the car, don't freak out or anything but you need to take off your shirt. He just like looked at me and like ripped it off and threw it on the ground haha it was so funny.  But we got all the bugs off.  We have all just been paranoid because bed bugs have been a huge problem here so any type of bug freaks us out. We also had a really good stake conference this week.  It was a regional broadcast so we heard from Elder Hales and President Uchtdorf.     Other than that we have been preparing for zone conferences which are this week.  Its my last round of zone conferences in my mission...  not good.  We had lunch with the Vellinga's last night after stake conference.  It is always crazy when we go over there.  They are so fun.  President had us role play for like 2 hours with Kristen and Sister Vellinga and it was so funny.  They are good sports about it.  

We have also been dealing with flirting and inappropriate relationships between missionaries and missionaries and members.  It is getting ridicules.  I got 3 phone calls in the last 3 days about 3 different situations.  It's only going to get worse when we continue to get more and more young Elders and Sisters.  It's tough to deal with and correct.  

Well, I gotta get going, there is still a lot we have to do for zone conferences and we have to find time for p day stuff and then go back to the mission home tonight.  I hope you have a good week!  I'll talk to you Sunday!  Have some questions for me too!  There is so much that goes on I cant think of what I have told you and what I haven't.  I love and miss you!  

Elder Skalla 

I just never dreamed I would fall in love with a place and a people like I have

There is no such thing as a normal week anymore!  haha I just live day to day on the fly now.  There is just SO much changing right now it is crazy...  Everything we do is just on a huge level now so we have to plan differently.  It is so cool to see though.  I was making a new mission map this week and I just looked at it compared to the one when I first got here and it is a miracle to see what has happened the last 2 years.  It is just a cool time to serve a mission and see all these new missionaries and especially be an assistant and be able to see the whole picture and participate in making plans and changes that will effect this mission for years to come.  I could have cared less about Ohio and what goes on here before my mission, but now I treat it and think about it so differently.  We know the areas and the mission geography and the work a lot more than President just because we have been out there so he relies a lot on us for advice on where to put missionaries and stuff like that and it has been interesting because it is something I fast and pray about now.  I just never dreamed I would fall in love with a place and a people like I have.  And its Cleveland of all places! hahaha No matter where you are called you love your mission not because of where you are, but because of the people you get to meet.  Thats why everyone loves their mission because you have to serve where there are people haha.    

We had our training meetings with all the new ones this week.  We had to do it in 2 separate meetings because of the size.  It was good though.  It is fun to see how much they have already changed in the week they have been out.  One of our meetings was in Bowling Green so President let us stop at Panda again on the way home.  We also had a mission Presidents fireside in Lima last night which went really well.  The only bad thing is that Lima is 3 hours away.  We left right after church and squished Me, Elder Ingersoll, President, Sister Vellinga, Kristen and 2 Sisters we picked up in Bowling Green.  It was funny like right after we left Sister Vellinga pulled out a notepad full of questions and wanted to know what they need to do better as mission President and what has changed since President Sorensen left and all these other questions.  It was funny but they are seriously so great.  I have enjoyed spending so much time with them the last few months.  Speaking of them, Kristens birthday is in May.  Will you look on the internet for me and see if they have anything from the movie "Spirit"  its a long story but just like a lunch box or t shirt or little horse or something like no more than 10 bucks?  thank you!  Also can I send a package of winter stuff home??  

So yesterday at church was crazy.  This new young family moved into the ward, just a couple and a new baby and they walk in and I shook their hands and I like was staring at this lady cuz she looked so familiar. Then she says Hi how are you?!  and I remembered.  It was my MTC teacher Sister Maxfield. It is something different now but  How random is that.  Her and her husband moved into the North Olmsted ward for 6 months while he is doing sales.  She couldnt believe how long I had been out either.  She asked if she was pregnant when she taught me and I said no you werent even married yet and she was like OH well than you must be going home soon then.  I cant believe she even kinda remembered me though.  It was fun to see her again.  

So we finally found a new investigator this week.  It was a guy Elder Weaver and I met a few months ago and he is a great guy just really busy and stuff but he is building a house.  We offered to help all the time but on friday night we finally got a call from him.  He said he just needed help holding something so we just went over in our suits to see if we could help. Ha it was crazy.  It was him and 2 foul mouthed construction workers and we were putting a roof and this huge garage shed thing he is building.  So they have us get up there on like these beams and have us hold the roof frame while they nail it in and stuff.  We were there for like 2 hours standing like 20 feet up in our suits haha.  But the next morning he met us at the church and he accepted baptism and tonight we are going back not in our suits to help.   

Man I was ecstatic when I heard about Steph.  That is so crazy.  I hope she serves in our stake cuz I will give her a million referrals and go teaching with her. I bet she felt a lot like I did though.  A call to Denver south is kind of like a call to Cleveland in terms of excitement, but I know she will love it.   As for apartments and stuff I trust her with my life, so I trust her with that.  I wish I did know someone that was for sure going there though.  There are a bunch of guys from the mission who are thinking about it but haven't made a decision.  Oh well I am sure it will be fine.  I don't know if I even have any questions about school but I will think of some.  I totally forgot I was talking to you on mothers day! haha  I didn't realize that was so soon.  But I am excited!  My church is at 11 so I will get out at 12 your time. I will let you know when to get on.   

As for homesickness advice I am the wrong one to ask.  I have a hard time helping people with that kind of stuff because I am not very Christ like in understanding them because I would just say buck up get over it.  But I understand it is a real concern and some people do have a hard time with it.  Hopefully that doesn't make you feel bad that I don't miss you so much that I can't even stand to focus on anything else ;)       

Well I hope you have a great week!  Love and miss you!!  

Elder Skalla