Last week in Big Rapids then on to Kalkaska...

TRANSFERRED!                                                                                                        Feb. 24, 2015

Hey everybody, I'm e-mailing a day late, because I got transferred! I'm e-mailing you today from snowy Kalkaska, Michigan! This was a good week though! To be honest, right now I don't really remember much, but I will do my best. :)

Monday: Last monday we went to Greenville and had a district P-Day playing Risk and basketball. It was really fun. For FHE we cut out hearts and went around putting them on people's doors and door bell ditching them. It was fun stuff. :) 

Tuesday: We had correlation at Bro. Hunt's. We also had some hot chocolate with John Montgomery. He's the guy who likes to have us over, and also the Jehovah's witnesses. So we talked with him for a little bit. Then we were on campus. We had an awesome lesson with Justin. We finished teaching the Plan of Salvation, and put him on date to be baptized. He walks everywhere, and we offered to get him a ride to church and he said, "The cold never bothered me anyway..." It was hilarious. We had dinner with the Lillywhites.

Wednesday: We had district meeting in Big Rapids. The Zone leaders also came. It was really good. We talked about how the Holy Ghost usually works as just a thought and if we are living worthily, it will be the first thought. We had lunch at the FSU campus cafeteria, it was really good stuff. ha. We then helped Bro. Thompson cut wood then met with Chantice and read the BOM with her. We went to see Shade and his brother, Ivory who just got baptized in a different ward was there, he was really cool. We had dinner at the McClures, which was great as usual.

Thursday: We spent a lot of time on campus today and also knocking doors. It was SO COLD! We worked hard though and were proud. :) We had dinner at the Williams and went through the Plan of Salvation with Sis. Williams. It was cool. 

Friday: Today we got our Transfer call... I was in the bathroom and Elder Laing yelled, "Get out here now!" So Pres. Jacobsen first told Elder Laing he was staying and would be comps with Elder Olsen, then he told me I was going to Kalkaska with Elder Houser and that I would be the district leader... While Elder Green was telling us our travel arrangements I was shaking pretty bad. ha. I started packing during lunch and we did weekly planning. We spent time on campus, my last PC-ing. :( Then we taught Sis. Tucker and had dinner with Larry and watched Bible Videos. He's a stud!

Saturday: We walked all day! We knocked and met some cool people. We had lunch with Sis. Milton and knocked some more. We met with Gabe. He's a stud as well. Today was fun. 

Sunday: Church got cancelled today! The building flooded yesterday so we spent the whole day visiting people. It was fun, but also really sad. I love it in Big Rapids. We got offered to be fed for like 6 meals. ha. We settled for 3. :) 

Monday: Today when we left Big Rapids it was -22. We drove to Grand Rapids then I got on the transfer van to Lansing. I saw Elder Rapp! I love him. Then we went to Mt. Pleasant and I saw Elder Hess there! We drove with some recent converts, the Piattes. We had Ponderosa for lunch and finally made it to Kalkaska. I live in a house here, it's literally a house! :) We met the Branch Pres. then had dinner with the Piattes. 

I'm exited to get to be here in Kalkaska. It has had a lot of success this past year and has a lot of great people here. 

My spiritual thought was what I included about the Holy Ghost. He usually speaks to us in a simple thought and as we act on it we will be able to recognize how he works and how he can help us in our lives. I like the verse, John 7:17,  "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine." Make sure you are living worthy of the beautiful gift of the Holy Ghost and he will guide, protect, strengthen and comfort you!

I love you all and I love serving as a Michiganary!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

Me with the McClure/Hardbarger Family (AJ & Ryan)

The Hunt Family and me

Justin and me

This week flew by! It was a good one though! :)                                                     Feb. 16, 2015

Monday: After e-mailing, we drove up to Reed City to play games and teach our new investigators, The Simmons. Their kids are members and live in Cadillac. So we get there, and to my surprise, Elder Hess was there! They got approved to come down with the kids so we had dinner and I got to spend the evening with him. It was great to see him! :) The lesson went okay, there were 6 missionaries so it was a little too much, but it still went well.

Tuesday: Today we spent time on campus. We also had a lesson with a new investigator named James Hurst. He committed to be baptized! He had even done an online quiz on the Book of Mormon since we last met with him and said, "I failed." ha. We also taught Justin the Plan of Salvation. It was sweet, he really takes time to think about his responses to our questions and we had a great lesson with him. He's a stud. We then ate pizza with Larry and watched Bible Videos.

Wednesday: Today we spent A LOT of time on campus. I was talking to a girl who is in charge of the student Christian organization. It was annoying because she just kept bringing up things that she strongly disagreed with, with our doctrine, and it really bothered me. I love having religious conversations but not when people aren't at all open minded... :/ We had a great lesson with Chantice. We had Wyatt come with us and he is a great teacher and invited her to church for us and it was just perfect! :) We had dinner at the McClures... it was "a slug between the teeth." They made deer meet, biscuits and gravy, grilled potatoes and peach cobbler... So good! 

Thursday: We met with a guy named Issa who is a muslim and he educated us on it. It was really interesting stuff. He was cool. We also shared with him about our church then we did our weekly planning. Following that, we had a lot of people cancel on us so we knocked for a little bit. We had dinner at the Williams and had another awesome conversation with them about obedience and the gospel. It was great!

Friday: Today we had trade-offs. I was with Elder Raun in Greenville. We went to see a less-active there and I told her I was from Big Rapids and she said, "You're heaven sent!" She has a friend in Big Rapids that needs somebody to talk to...then "coincidentally" her friend, Rose called while we were there, so I talked to her and set up an appt. with her. :) Then we knocked for a few hours. That was COLD! My feet went completely numb but we still had fun. We picked up a new investigator and taught her, it was really cool. Then Elder Raun bought a couple of pizzas and we both ate a whole one. :) Elder Raun is 6 foot 6, and a big boy, so I was proud of myself. ha. 

Saturday: We were supposed to spend the whole day in Grand Rapids because Elder Nash of the Seventy was coming to speak to us, but they cancelled it, due to the weather so Elder Raun and I went to try and see some potentials, and the weather was crazy! The wind was blowing like crazy! We traded back and went to see Bro. Krome. He told us all about being a Navy Seal, it was crazy. After that we went to see the Fairchilds. His wife is from China and has only been here for 3 years. She cooked us dinner, it was so good. She made the tomatoes and egg dish that I loved when I was in China in 2010! :) 

Sunday: I wrote my talk that I was was asked to give then we had Branch council. We had 4 investigators at church! It was awesome! I spoke on "Love in the Family" and talked about how serving others and also serving God, can allow us to have more love in our families. It went well. Elder Laing also spoke then we drove to Fremont and from there drove to Wyoming, MI to see Elder Nash. It was so good. A few cool things he said are, 

"Considering all the blessings the Gospel has given you, a mission is the least you can do." and he told us how "we need to have more Gospel conversations, not just 'lessons.'"

He was awesome. I loved it. He was so powerful and inspiring. I also got to see Elder Finlayson and Sister Cornia! Midland reunion!

My spiritual thought for today comes from Elder Nash. One thing he told us to do is to "think about the doctrines & principles, then get on your knees." I really loved it and I would challenge each of you to think about how that applies to you. The doctrine, is "the why" of the gospel and the principle is "the how" of the gospel. Look at your life and certain doctrine and ask yourself, why and then how you can apply that into your life and take it to the Lord. This life is all about making progress. This is a way that can help.

I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

All For the Picture!

GQ Elders

The District

Snow!

 I Believe in Miracles!                                                                                                           Feb. 9, 2015

This week was awesome! We had so many awesome things happen for us! It seemed like everything was just going our way!

Tuesday: We had correlation in the morning at Bro. Hunt's. We went over making a branch mission plan then we went to teach Bea. She is back in Big Rapids so we had a lesson with her. She wants to be baptized but has a hard time acting on anything. Later, we spent some time on campus and after that we knocked doors for a little while. We then tried to see Wyatt, who was actually busy. ha. Following that we tried to visit some potentials then we got shined by a guy named Joey. We spent a little bit of time with Larry and then made a lot of phone calls.

Wednesday: Today we had district meeting in Fremont. We talked about the "Green and Clean" Theory which is that there is a lot of ways to do missionary work right. On the way back to Big Rapids we tried to visit some less actives. We had a lesson with a potential named Robin. She wants to meet in about a month, so that's not too bad. Then we had a few lessons. One with a girl named Chantice at the FSU Library. The lesson went great, she has faith in Christ, but said, "I don't even feel like a Christian, since I don't do anything." We also had a lesson with a guy named Justin. He is really smart and we taught him the Restoration. He really liked it and at the end of the lesson he pulled out a Book of Mormon and said the sister missionaries had given it to him last year. "coincidence" :) We also met with Wyatt today and since he's always straight with us we pretty plainly invited him to church. He had a few excuses but we got him to commit to it. :) 

Thursday: Today was pretty slow. We spent a while on campus and a big chunk of the day weekly planning. We had dinner with the Williams and had a great talk about the Holy Ghost. Then we went to try and visit a potential named Sheena. When we met her the first time she was wearing footie PJs, so she obviously had a lot of promise. :) She was wearing footie PJs again and we talked with her for a while. She had done some research into us and asked about alcohol and polygamy, of course. It went well though, and we got a return appt. with her.

Friday: Today was off the charts good! We spent about an hour on campus before we had a lesson and I met this girl who said, before I even asked it, "I've wondered my purpose..." so we set up an appt. with her right after her class was done. We had a lesson with a new guy named Brody that went well then before the girl, Alexis got there, we got a call from a guy in Hart, MI who is a recent convert who said that his brother wanted to be baptized! So we taught Alexis the Plan of Salvation. It was really great. She liked it and understood it well then we picked up Gabe and headed up to Reed City to contact this referral. It was not what we had expected.... This guy's brother is named Shade. He is probably like 90 pounds and was a little out there. He told us, "I was already going to join your church. I knew it the second you walked into the door." So, we just need to make sure he actually knows about the church and has a testimony. :) ha. We contacted another referral who are the parents of members in Cadillac. They were super cool and we were able to get a return appt. with them. Then we came back to Big Rapids and had lessons with Sis. Tucker and Seitler. Then we took of for Bitely to go to Sis. McClure's. We had sloppy joes and read about David and Goliath with AJ and Ryan. Today was just awesome. We were able to get 5 new investigators and teach all day. :)

Saturday: We did a lot of walking today but it all paid off. :) We were able to pick up a few potentials while walking today so that was cool. :) While knocking doors we saw some members and said hi and then they yelled at us to come over for lunch so that was pretty cool. :) We had to go and get our bags at the apartment and then were knocking before we had to go to a lesson. We tried to help a lady shovel but she referred us to go to her neighbor's house. We knocked and the guy who answered was a guy we had met two weeks ago while we were car fasting. He let us in and we taught him the Resto. and got a return appt. It was awesome! Then we had a lesson with Gabe then had a lot of bookkeeping to do. Today was good though.

Sunday: This morning, as I was thinking about what to eat, I got the prompting that I should fast, so I prayed and decided to fast for the gift of discernment. It's so important to be able to teach to people's needs, so I want to be better at that. We went to PEC this morning and then went with Bro. Clark to pick up Wyatt for church. He walked right out, and said, "I got my hair all did." hah. We had a ton of less actives at church, it was awesome! After church, we tried to contact referrals and potentials then we had a lesson with Wyatt. We are going to be teaching him all the lessons again because he had a talk with Pres. Williams and has some conflicting beliefs. He told us how he is partially wiccan, and so we talked about that and he has an interesting way of praying, so we told him that Jesus taught us how to pray and that's how we need to do it and then he said, "you're right." We also told him to focus on how he feels during our lessons and look for the Spirit. Then we went to Reed City with Bro. Hunt. We re-taught the Resto to Shade. He was a lot less crazy and it went well. Then we met a new move in named Bruce Smith. I found out he's a Cowboys fan... ;( We had dinner at the Hunt's. They are the best!

Today has been good. We shopped and studied. Then I spent two hours cleaning the apartment, making it shine. :) I got caught up in my journals and worked out. We are going to the Simmonds, in Reed City, to play games, eat dinner, and have a lesson tonight. We are pretty excited about them. :) 

My spiritual thought of the week is short, it's a quote that President Monson used in a talk, when quoting Jabari Parker, "Be the same person in the light, that you are in the dark." That is what true character is. Always be yourself and be striving to be a better, more Christlike you. To go along with that, find out what your motivations for the things you do are, especially in keeping the commandments. It should be out of love for God, not out of fear. As my good friend Curt Cormier always says, "It's all about Love."

I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

My first mission tubby...eating ice cream and watching Bible videos!

Sunset, taken from the car

Another one of the bulldogs around town.

The planner that my branch mission leader, Bro. Hunt, made for me.

 Goodbye January...It's Been Nice!                                                                             Feb. 2, 2015

This was a Solid week in Big Rapids! Elder Laing and I have really gotten comfortable with each other and things keep on getting better and better, it's awesome! :)

Tuesday: Today was great and not only because we got fed three meals today. :) ha. After studies, we had correlation and breakfast at the Hunt's. Teagan came as well. We talked about a branch mission plan and sort of had a kick-off meeting since Bro. Hunt was called on Sunday. He's a stud. They have three kids, ages 1,2, and 3 and she's pregnant again. ha. We had lunch with an investigator named John Montgomery. He fed us bear meat stew. It was "a slug between the teeth." He is a Catholic and taught marketing at Ferris so he loves talking to us and also the Jehovah's Witnesses. He had me share the best thing about missionary work and Elder Laing had to share the worst thing. I said, "The opportunity to change people's lives." (Alma 26:15) and Elder Laing said, "The disappointment of people dropping us and not progressing..."  It turned into a great discussion. We had a great lesson with Connie. She has been on date to be baptized before so we asked her about a new date and she was unsure about a few things so we scrapped our lesson and talked about the importance of receiving her own answer from the Holy Ghost. We also had a convert with us who had similar concerns and he bore his testimony to her. It was a really spiritual and powerful lesson. We knocked doors for a while and met a pretty funny lady, we introduced ourselves and she wasn't too happy to see us so we asked her what she believes and very emphatically she goes, "The Cross! Jesus Christ!" It was so funny. Then we finally had a lesson with Sandy. He is really cool and told us his conversion story and how he was prepared for the sisters to knock on his door, it was cool. Sis. Milton got a pizza for us for dinner.

Wednesday: We played some early morning B-ball here in Big Rapids before District meeting. It was a great meeting. We talked about finding and teaching. They want us to be super friendly with people and not be too pushy which will be a change. I don't like to let people off easy... We had lunch at Taco Bell and I went on trade-offs with our district leader, Elder Bischoff, down to Greenville. We spent the whole day trying to find less-actives and knocking doors. It was really fun though. Elder Bischoff is really cool. He goes home in a month and it was great getting to learn from him and talk. We also met a crazy guy named Dean. He kept telling us how he's experienced a lot of the same stuff as Jesus. He was a true Gander. ha. 

Thursday: We were planning on trading back in the morning, but we weren't allowed to drive until later because there was black ice on the roads so we extended trade-offs. We knocked all day. It was fun though. We met some cool, and of course, crazy people. ha. Then once I got back to Big Rapids we ate dinner and then tried to track down some potentials. 

Friday: Today we spent the morning on campus. I met a black guy named Christian Success. ha. He was really cool. He said if we meet again on campus, that it will be a sign, and we can talk some more. ha. I'm going to find him. :) We had lunch with the Hoerters at The Rock. It's a sweet buffet on campus. It was good stuff. We got shined by a student at the library. It's pretty frustrating, the students will always make appts. with you, but they never show up... So we knocked doors, and we met one pretty cool guy. Then we had a lesson with Sis. Tucker. Our cool new investigator Kevin had to cancel, which was sad. We then did Weekly Planning. It went really good, our best one yet. It was so great! :)

Saturday: Today we did a lot of knocking. We knocked into a former investigator who said we can come back, so that should be cool. :) We also found a few cool potentials. We had a lesson with Sebastian and Chloe. We taught them the Plan of Salvation. They really liked it. Then we had a lesson with Gabe. He came with us to see Debbie, who gave us some pie. :) Then Sis. Cox & Sis. Yearkey. 

Sunday: Church was great today. Sebastian and Chloe came to church! They both walked in with the Harvey's with their Book of Mormons in hand, it was cute. :) We also had a lot of less-active members there. They cancelled the third hour of church because there was so much snow so we went and knocked doors. We shoveled snow for a lady. She was really grateful and tried to pay us. ha. Then we had a really great lesson with a guy named, Mike. Elder Raun talked to him on campus on trade-offs. Our lesson went amazing. He had a ton of great questions and we were able to teach in unity really well, it was sweet! We had dinner at the Hunt's. We talked about his mission a lot. I'm so happy he got called to be branch mission leader. He loves missionary work and coming and teaching with us. We tried to visit some potentials then shoveled for Larry. We also didn't watch the Super Bowl. So I"m happy I wasn't put into a tough situation. :) ha.

Today we have studied and I got Elder Laing to work out with me again. :) We also got our hair cut so we don't look like scrubs. :) 

My spiritual thought of the week is more of a personal experience. I feel like in the past few weeks my faith has really been tested. I have found myself asking the question, "Why would someone want to change their life to join the LDS church?" I gave it a lot of thought and I finally found my answer right in my question. It WILL change their life. That it what living the gospel will do for people, it will change their life in a way they never knew was possible. As I fasted yesterday, I fasted to have my faith strengthened and I found the truth of the scripture, "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.  Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people." There is also a quote I read in Preach my Gospel by Ezra Taft Benson, it says, "Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand." I want to testify to each of you that the church is true, Jesus is the Christ and that Heavenly Father does and will answer any of your questions as you "ask in faith".

I love each one of you and am so grateful for all of the support!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

The Michiganary!

SNOW!

comp unity...

This dog will kill me one day, we walk past it all the time, and it's out to get me....

The rest of January

Hey Everybody! :)                                                                                                               1-26-15

This was a great week in Big Rapids for Elder Laing and myself! 

Monday: After e-Mailing we went to a few stores and then had dinner at the Koepf's. As Sister Williams puts it, "she's dangerous". :) hah. It was good. Then we went to FHE. It was our first meeting. There was 6 of us there. It was fun. We shared a message with them and then we played "The Game of Things" followed by some brownies and ice cream. :) 

Tuesday: Today we spent the morning on campus. We had some great conversations. Talking to the students is always nice because they will actually have a conversation with you and they don't have a door to hide behind. :) We had a lesson with a new investigator named Kasup. He is from Sri Lanka. It was really weird because he's the first person I've ever taught who doesn't have a Christian background, but it still went well. He is a super cool and friendly guy. He is a Buddhist.... for now. ;) hah. We visited Sis. Seitler. She wasn't having the best day since she has allergies, but by the time we left she was in a much better mood. We also paid a visit to Sis Yearkey & Cox. Then we had dinner with the Hoerters. They are an awesome couple. They are spiritual giants and are always talking about the Gospel with us, and I love it. We watched a little bit of the Truman G. Madsen video, "On Sacred Ground" it's really good.

Wednesday: We woke up at 5 and drove to Greenville to play some basketball before District Meeting. District Meeting was great! Elder Bischoff is a really good teacher. He talked about how our entire purpose revolves around us repenting and helping others to do so as well. Also, that all that is ever expected of us is our best, whatever that may be. Then we went to BC Pizza. It's a buffet. :) While we were there some guy asked me, "are you guys on exchanges" so I asked him if he was a member and he said he was pretty inactive. So I told the Greenville Elders and they went and talked to him and got an appt. with him. :) Good things happen when you go to buffets... hah. Once we got back we had a great lesson with Jack on forgiveness and how we are required to forgive ourselves which is one of the hardest things to do... We had dinner at Sis. McClure's. It was great as usual. Leslie wasn't there so we taught AJ and Ryan. On the drive home Elder Laing and I had a great talk. I had been getting annoyed with how little he talked in lessons and I felt like he just didn't care. But we talked, and he really hasn't gotten a chance to teach. His first area they barely ever taught and his last companion was really dominant. He doesn't have very much confidence due to his lack of experience. So we are really going to work on that. I'm really happy that we were able to talk, it really helped, and I'm excited for the opportunity we have to learn together. :)

Thursday: Today was pretty slow. We spent some time on campus. Then we did our weekly planning. One of the goals we set for our transfer, is "Don't worry, Be Happy." I really like it. I feel like we tend to get stressed out a lot as missionaries..... for what?! We are doing the Lord's work, we have the gospel, and as long as we are working hard and trying our best, the Lord will provide. (1 Ne. 3:7) We got shined by everybody today... We had dinner at the Williams which was really good.  Then we picked up Larry and went to Jonny Koepf's baptism. It was awesome. It was on his 8th B-Day and he wanted us Elders to be a part of his confirmation. It was a really tender moment. 

Friday: Today we spent the morning on campus and then doorknocking. It was some good stuff. Then we had a slew of lessons. We had a lesson with Gabe that went well. Then we went to see Mary Ann. We had planned to put her on date to be baptized but she ended up dropping us. :/ It was tough. She is so cool and nice but she is moving into assisted living and doesn't want to meet for a few months. We were pretty disappointed. Then we met with Sis. Tucker followed by a great lesson with Kevin. He is a guy who the sisters knocked into that we were finally able to meet with. Elder Laing took the lead and we had an awesome lesson and we committed him to be baptized! It was awesome! :) We had dinner with Larry and Sis. Milton which was great.

Saturday: Today we walked and knocked. hah. :) We were out in the country outside of our little neighborhood, it was pretty fun. Then we walked to see Wyatt and had an interesting discussion with him, as usual. ha. Then we stopped and got a pizza from Jack. Then we walked and had dinner with Sis. Bevan (the pizza wasn't the best idea) ha. It was a lot of knocking but we had a good time. :) 

Sunday: Today was also great. I finished preparing my talk this morning (some things never change). :) hah. We had a ton of less actives at church today, it was awesome. It was the fullest I've ever seen the chapel! My talk went well, at a few points I had the Chalmers-itis of talking too fast, but it went well. :) I based my talk on a few quotes, "Don't give up what you want most for what you want today." and "Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most." Then we did a trivia game for the youth in Sunday School. I came up with the Q's, it was fun. :) We had lunch with Sis. Tift and Wyatt. That was great. Then we knocked doors for a while. One guy we met answered every question we asked in a way that was as contradictory to what we know as possible, then when we brought up the Book of Mormon he didn't have very many good things to say so we just left. I was proud of myself because I really wanted to give him the business/truth. :) We finally tracked down a few less actives later on and then took the Sacrament to Larry.

So far today, we studied, shopped, I got Elder Laing to work out with me :) and that's about it. It's been fun though. 

My spiritual thought of the week is the quote I used in my talk, "Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most." Enjoy the journey, don't just wish for your trials or hardships to be over, be like Alma and his people and "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

One of the many bulldogs that are all over campus

Me and Elder Laing

Winter in Michigan

"Bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success." (Alma 26:27)            1-19-15

Hey everybody! 

This week was a great week in Big Rapids, Michigan! We had quite a few really great experiences and patience learned me something this week. :) ha. In a few different ways....

Monday: After e-mailing last week, Elder Laing had to go get some winter gloves so his fingers wouldn't fall off. ha. Then we had dinner with the Hoerters. We also did FHE with them and watched part of these videos by Truman G. Madsen where he is in church history sites and talking about the events that happened there. It was really good.

Tuesday: Today we did A LOT of finding. It was great! After studies, we went to Ferris State University's Campus and did a lot of personal contacting. I had quite a few really good conversations. What we do is we stay in the main area of campus and we split up so we are still in "sight and sound" but we are able to talk to more students. I talked to this guy named Kasup. He is from Sri Lanka and just got here for this semester. I was talking to him and found out his mom is Christian, but he is Buddhist. He said to me, "You teach me". So that is what I'll do. :) I also had a lot of other great conversations. The approach we have been taking with them is we will just spark up a conversation and then we ask them, "Have you ever wondered what the purpose of life is?" and it's been working super good with the students. We knocked doors for a while and met this one guy who had investigated the church before but wasn't interested and really didn't want to meet again. So at the next house we found this huge icicle and were taking a pic of it and the guy started walking down the street toward us and he gave us a Book of Mormon timeline that he had bought. It was a super nice one that has a ton of info on it and is a great study guide. We tried to visit quite a few less actives today and were able to teach one of them. There are a ton of them here in Big Rapids... Sis. Milton got us pizza tonight so we went to Larry's and ate it with him for dinner.

Wednesday: Today was sort of an off day for Elder Laing and myself on campus. I felt like it was my first day again, I had such a hard time talking to people, it was weird.. We were supposed to have a lesson with a girl we met named, Taquilla, but she shined us. So we had a really cool talk with Teagan. (President Williams daughter, who is a branch missionary) She is thinking about a mission so we talked a lot about missionary work and such. We went to get dinner for Larry from Sis. Pore and had a lesson with her on prophets. We dropped off dinner for Larry and then drove out to Sis. McClure's for dinner and to teach AJ & Ryan. Dinner was amazing as usual, chicken, corn, green beans, and cake. Sis. McClure works wonders in that kitchen. :) We had planned on asking Leslie and James (AJ & Ryan's parents) if they wanted to be taught with their sons but James was asleep since he works 3rd shift so we couldn't do that. We decided to watch the Restoration with them. As we were talking about Joseph Smith, Leslie was sitting in on the lesson and asked us, "So it's all about prayer?" We told her how it's about taking something that you have a desire to believe in and then taking it to the Lord in prayer. Then we asked her if we could start the lessons over and teach them as a family and she said YES! It was so cool, the lesson worked out perfectly! You can always trust Joseph Smith. :)

Thursday: Today was a sweet day. Elder Laing and I were working it on campus today. I had a couple of really great conversations. I talked to this one girl from Midland and we talked about Midland for like 5 min. She even knows some members from there (The Pennocks). I set up a return appt. with her, she is sweet. They were also handing out these coupon books on campus and Elder Laing and I scored a ton of them. ha. Then we did a church tour with Connie which was the first time we've been able to get her in the church, so that was sweet. Then we had a lesson on the Restoration with Mary Ann. It went really well and she prayed at the end of the lesson! :) Then we had a lesson with Sis. Tucker on how Christ lived a life in a similar way to us in growing "grace for grace" and how we can follow his example. Then we got to meet Sis. Bevan. We thought she wasn't a member, just her 9 year old daughter was. But turns out, she's a member. She is super cool. Then we had dinner with the Williams and we committed all the kids to read the scrip everyday and pray morning and night. Then during dinner, I got a call from Bro. Thompson asking if one of us Elders would give a talk on patience in sacrament meeting. I could have thrown Elder Laing under the bus but I decided to take the task and save our companionship. ;) hah. 

Friday: Today was a rough day.. We decided to go to the outskirts of our area today and try and track people down. Our area is huge by the way. We also had like 10 referrals from a lady in Alaska of her family that lived in Evart that we wanted to go see. So we set off on our little road trip. We were able to meet her parents and they let us in. They told us about their grandson on a mission but were very adamant about not wanting to change. We shared a little lesson on the Plan of Salvation with them, but they really weren't interested. we left them with a pamphlet and invited them to pray about it. At one point, we were going and there was one person we had planned to visit who was WAY out of the way. So we prayed about it and decided that we needed to see her so we put her address in the GPS which took us off on a logging road so we recalculated which took us to another way too snowy road for our car.. I was getting really frustrated but I knew that we were supposed to find this lady so Elder Laing and I talked about it and we rerouted one more time. As we started to go again the song, "I'll go where you want me to go" came on. It was really cool how it was an answer to our prayers really. The lyrics go,

1. 1. It may not be on the mountain height
   Or over the stormy sea,
   It may not be at the battle's front
   My Lord will have need of me.
   But if, by a still, small voice he calls
   To paths that I do not know,
   I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
   I'll go where you want me to go.
2. 1. 2. Perhaps today there are loving words
      Which Jesus would have me speak;
      There may be now in the paths of sin
      Some wand'rer whom I should seek.
      O Savior, if thou wilt be my guide,
      Tho dark and rugged the way,
      My voice shall echo the message sweet:
      I'll say what you want me to say.
   2. 1. 1. 3. There's surely somewhere a lowly place
            In earth's harvest fields so wide
            Where I may labor through life's short day
            For Jesus, the Crucified.
            So trusting my all to thy tender care,
            And knowing thou lovest me,
            I'll do thy will with a heart sincere:
            I'll be what you want me to be.
      3. (Chorus)
         I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,
         Over mountain or plain or sea;
         I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord;
         I'll be what you want me to be.

What ended up happening was that the address was faulty. We ended up in the middle of nowhere. But I learned a valuable lesson in patience and following the Spirit. We don't always know why we are guided to do certain things and all I can think of coming of our efforts is saving future missionaries a trip, but we were patient and did what God wanted us to do even though it was frustrating. We met this one guy while trying to find a less active. He told us that he was no longer there so we thanked him and left. A few miles down the road I said, "We should have invited him to learn" Then Elder Laing said, "you read my mind." So we went back and had a great convo with the guy. We also visited Sis. McCarver, and got dinner from Sis Carpenter for us and Larry so we ate dinner with Larry.

Saturday: Today we had a lesson with Mackenzie. We didn't feel like it was going too good because she wasn't asking any questions and she couldn't really answer any of our questions even though we feel like we were being really simple. She said the closing prayer though, which quieted all our worries. In her prayer she said that she was thankful for our patience and persistence with her, it was really cool. Then we helped Robin move into her trailer. Her mom's minister was helping out. We talked with him quite a bit. He lived in Chile for 6 years so we talked about it for a while. He is going to have us over for dinner sometime soon. :) Then we knocked doors and tried a new approach of being more direct with people, like saying "when can we come back" rather than "would you be interested?" We had a lot of success with that. We had dinner with the Hunt's. They are awesome. Then we did our weekly planning and Joe Booth from Midland called me and I talked to him for a little bit, he's doing great!

Sunday: So this morning was my other test of patience. So, I probably grew a few grey hairs preparing my talk on patience. I was having a hard time narrowing down my topic. So I finally decided on talking about patience through trials/ immediate gratification. I got my talk all prepared and then told Elder Laing and I was about to give him an overview when we got a text, saying church was cancelled, due to icy roads... I was pretty upset.. But it was definitely a test of patience through trials. hah. So we knocked doors for a while. We had a great lesson with a new investigator named Steve. He likes to explore all kinds of religions so we read Alma 32 with him, and it went well. He said he is pretty much agnostic, but that he wants to study the BOM. You can only read it so much before you start to believe in it and get curios. :) Then Bonnie dropped us. Since her concussion she isn't all there and can't remember anything and really can't learn anything anymore, it's sad, but she will still get her chance, I'm sure. We had another lesson with Sebastian and Chloe, who are 11 and 9. Then we visited a ton of potentials.

My spiritual thought of the week has already basically been stated, but be patient through your trials. It's often that the enduring the trial is where you grow the most, not the actual act of overcoming it. Trust in the promise in Alma 26:27...and remember, "We count them happy which endure" (James 5:10) I know the Lord will bless those who are truly patient.

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

Ferris State University

Awesome icicle!

FSU Bulldog

Much Needed Humble Pie Was Served...

Hey Everyone!                                                                                                                           1-12-15

First of all, I want to apologize for using the saying Humble Pie as part of my subject line, but it's the best way to describe my week. :)

This week was a great week for a lot of different reasons. We were able to find some really cool potential investigators. We helped shovel the sidewalk to a Catholic church, and Father Chuck came out and the look on his face was really great, and a lot more stuff. :)

Monday: We had a district P-Day today. It was great. We met here in Big Rapids. We played capture the flag in the woods behind the building in Big Rapids. It was a ton of fun and super tiring. Then at night we went and saw Larry in the hospital and read the Ensign with him.

Tuesday: Today was cold. We knocked doors for a while and the wind was howling, and it was pretty painful. We endured it though. Nobody was really interested, but it was still fun. We met a guy who referred to himself as a "911 Christian". He explained it as whenever he needs help or things aren't going good then he prays and relies on Christ. It really bothered me. That is such a bad attitude to have! God isn't a repairman!

Wednesday: Today we had District Meeting in Fremont. It was good. We talked about teaching people, not lessons. We had some funny district pics. ha. Then we had lunch at a place called The Lunch Pail, it was good, but nothing like The Lunch Box. :) Then we traded off and Elder Raun came to Big Rapids with me. We knocked and it was freezing! So cold! My feet went numb and then started to hurt on top of that. I realize that doesn't make sense, but it really didn't make sense! Then we tried to visit some people with Jack but nobody was home. So we knocked some more. Then we drove out to the McClure's. We had deer steak and it was delicious as always. They are from WV and everything is homemade, it's awesome. Then we taught AJ and Ryan about prayer, scripture study and church. Using the 3 channels of revelation drawing. It went good. We listened to the conversion story of a guy named Bill Carpenter while we were driving. He was in school to be a Catholic Priest, and it's such a good story.

Thursday: We traded back then we ate lunch. We went with Jack to teach Connie. We had a great lesson on keeping the Sabbath-Day holy. She is going to go on a church tour on Wednesday, so we are super excited about that. We've been trying to get her to church for a long time. We had a lesson on prophets with Sis. Tucker. We had a super cool discussion with Gabe. We talked about the temptations that Christ endured and then he told us how his bro is on heroin and how he's trying to help him out. We told him the quote by Elder Holland, "I may not be my brother's keeper, but I am my brother's brother." We had dinner with the Williams. They made pancakes, but used baking soda instead of baking powder, so the pancakes tasted like pretzels. :) ha. So they whipped up some French toast. We got like 10 referrals from a lady in AK. So I got to call her. She is really cool and she knows the LeCheminants! It was really cool.

Friday: Today was one of the best days of my mission. And not for the reasons you would think. We got our transfer calls today and I was hoping that I would be called to be the District Leader and I felt like I was going to be but we got the call and nothing changed for us. I was pretty disappointed about it. So we finished studying and ate lunch then we started weekly planning. The whole time I was thinking about the transfer calls. Then I realized what had happened. I had been becoming really prideful. I was called to train right after I was trained and I didn't really realize it, but I had. So I excused myself from planning and went into our room and prayed. I asked for forgiveness and promised to do my best to follow God's will, not my own. It was a very humbling moment. It was just what I needed. This is also my spiritual thought to everyone. What we want isn't always what God wants. We need to always be striving to do God's will. It can be summed up in a quote. "The great test of life is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it." We also had a good lesson with Mary Ann today

Saturday: Today we did a lot of walking. We got double shined by Mackenzie, which was sad. We knocked doors for a while and met a couple of really cool guys. We also helped shovel the Catholic church, that was funny. :) Then we had a lesson with Wyatt and Melody. We ate dinner at Little Caesars, Jack hooked us up. Then we ran home, since it was cold. ha.

Sunday: Nobody showed up to church again which was disappointing, but it still was good. We knocked doors for a while, and met a really cool guy, he was interested, then his wife shut us down. We had dinner at the Lillywhite's.

Today: We got to split wood for Bro. Thompson, that was a blast!

Sorry, I'm out of time. I love you all. Keep the Faith!

Love,

Elder Chalmers

Splitting wood for Bro. Thompson

I love Michigan!

District meeting in Fremont

New Year...Same Work

Happy New Year!                                                                                                                                January 5, 2015

I can't believe it's already 2015. Time is flying by and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that...

This week overall was a little slow, due to New Years, but it was still great!

Last Monday: It was a pretty typical P-Day. We met with a guy named Joey. He is the music director of a non-denominational church called Resurrection Life. It was a really great meeting. We met him door knocking and we had a great conversation about the Book of Mormon and what each of us believe. He told us he used to always be confrontational with people but he said that it didn't get him anywhere, so he likes to just talk and get to understand other people and their beliefs. It was great. I wish everyone was like that. :)

Tuesday: Today we helped some former investigators move. We were going through calling formers one day and I talked to Robin and she said, "We are moving and have nobody to help." So, we helped them out. It was pretty fun. They might be classified as hoarders though, some of the stuff we moved left us scratching our head. :) We knocked doors for a while and met some really cool people. At first, nobody would give us the time of day, then we met a lady who answered the door in footie PJ's. :) ha. She was really cool and had a hard time with why God lets bad things happen to good people, so we talked to her about that and got a return appt with her. Then we met a guy named Phil, who let us right in. He made us hot chocolate and we had an hour long conversation with him about the Book of Mormon and how it was written and also a lot about the Holy Ghost. It was really cool. Then we tried to see some people but ended up spending the rest of the night at Sis. Tift's. We got to know Justin a lot better and got an appt with him.

Wednesday: We drove to Greenville for District Meeting which was on church attendance, which was good for us. We had lunch afterward at Subway. Our day was packed, it was awesome! On our way home, we stopped in Morley and met Sis. Truman. She is super nice and has a hard time getting to church since she lives so far away. Then we met with Gabe and discussed how Jesus Christ grew up the same way that each of us do, "Grace for Grace." He is our example. Then we had an awesome lesson with Sis. Tucker. She talked about how she has a lot of inner conflict with herself so I felt impressed to share D&C 64:10 with her about how we are to forgive all men, including ourselves. Then we talked about the Sacrament. The Spirit was super strong, I loved it. She even committed to come to church. We told her we would get her a ride but not tell her who, so she couldn't cancel, she loved the idea. :) Then we had a lesson with Jack and then we got two new investigators, Sebastian and Chloe. They are 11 and 9 and are the cousins of members, the Harvey's. Then we spent the rest of the night moving apartments, it was so tiring, but we got it done.

Thursday: Today was pretty slow. We knocked doors for a while today and did weekly planning and then at night we had to take Larry to the ER, since he fell and hurt his knee pretty bad. So that took up a lot of time but I'm really glad we were able to help him out. He's doing better now, he has an infection in there. We had dinner with the Williams, which was great.

Friday: Today was great. We helped Robin and Matt move some more then we met another former investigator named John Montgomery. He is an old guy and is really funny, and he is going to feed us. :) We met with Wyatt and Melody who are less active. We had a great lesson on the Godhead with them then we knocked for a little bit. We drove way out to Sis. McClure's for dinner and to teach AJ and Ryan, which went well, and dinner was great. :)

Saturday: Today snowed all day! We were out in it the entire day. We picked up a new investigator named Sean, he is pretty cool. Jack came with us all day and we trudged through the deep snow, it was so tiring, but fun. We also had a lesson with Jill Huzzey that went really well. We visited Larry in the hospital with Pres. Williams. He was pretty upbeat.

Sunday: Church got cancelled due to all the snow and the location of the church is at the bottom of a hill. So we did a lot of shoveling today and it was Fast Sunday, so it was a real challenge. We fasted to help our investigators to progress. We had three of them drop us yesterday, one of them Debora, was solid, so that was hard but the answer to our fast, even though it wasn't the way we had hoped. We gave Larry a blessing last night that was really cool. We also got to see Sis. Milton, she is also such an amazing lady.

I'm short on time, and my spiritual thought of the week is a scripture and a quote. Neil L. Andersen has said, "Two men can do anything as long as one of them is the Lord." This isn't just a cool quote, it's advice and direction that we should all take. "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings." Alma 37:37. Involve the Lord in your lives and you will be truly blessed.

Love,

Elder Chlamers

Merry Christmas from Big Rapids, MI

                                                                                                                                    Dec. 29, 2014

This past week was pretty slow in terms of missionary work, but it was a great week none the less. :)

Last Monday we were able to have a great lesson with Connie. We read the Book of Mormon with her and then watched He is the Gift. She is super cool. We are just really struggling to get her to church.

Tuesday: Today was our Christmas party/devotional in Grand Rapids. It was so great! I was able to see Elder Finlayson and Anderson and Sis. Cornia (From Midland), Elder Erecksen and Lowder from the MTC, Elder Wilson, Stevensen and a ton of other elders (friends). It was so great. Elder Green did a training on how to be better finders. I really liked it. I realized that at times I'm not bold enough in defending the truth. People will stay stuff that isn't true at all and I don't defend it enough. So I made a resolve that I will be bold with people, and tell them what I know to be true but still in a nice way. :) Elder Rhodes talked about being more diligent missionaries then we had an hour to go and get lunch so we went to Jimmy John's. I got to talk with Elder Anderson, Finlayson and Nielsen. We talked all about Midland. It was fun. When we got back we played games. Jeopardy was one of them and it was fun. Pres. and Sis. Jacobsen spoke to us and Pres. told us to make sure and make Christmas a special time for the right reasons. There were also a ton of musical numbers. It was a really fun day. We then drove back to BR and met with Sister Tucker. We watched He is the Gift with her and had a discussion about why we always remember the hard times more than the good times. We came to the conclusion that during the hard times is when we are better able to humble ourselves and see God's hand in our lives. (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

Wednesday: Christmas Eve was such a great day. We spent like the whole day knocking doors. We also had a great idea to take all of the Joy to the World DVD's that we have and wrap them and take them to investigators and less-actives. We had to walk everywhere, since we are low on miles and it was also raining all day. While we were walking from place to place we met this guy named Nolan. We just stopped him and had an amazing conversation with him. He is super interested and really loves that we believe in a modern day prophet. It was so cool. We haven't been able to get in touch with him since, but we will soon. :) We also met another cool guy who is interested in the purpose of life. It was so great. I loved it. After we made deliveries of all the rest of the DVD's we had dinner at Sis. Tift's with her parents. It was great. we watched He is the Gift and it was great!

Thursday: CHRISTMAS! Christmas was awesome. I got spoiled by my parents and also my grandparents and everyone. It was so great. I got a calendar of my family that Courtney made that was so awesome! :) The pics are the best. Elder Laing called home first so I made cookies ( burnt cookies ha) and was then able to call home. It was the best! I loved getting to hear everyone. After my phone call we went over to Larry's. I gave him his Christmas present (cowboy hat and John Wayne DVD collection). :) We had a super good dinner at the Williams and played Heads Up. I was super tired after we ate so once we got home, I fell right asleep at like 8. ha. It was a great Christmas though.

Friday: Today was a little rough... We did weekly planningand then went out with the Lewis'. We met with Bonnie. She fell and got a concussion so she was still a little out of it. She was telling us about the "dream" she had. It was crazy. Apparently we kidnapped her and all other kinds of crazy stuff. The second we'd start teaching, she'd go more into depth on her dream. She also forgot everything we have taught her. :( So we are going to try and start over. We got to meet a less-active member, Sis. Cox. We shared the message about prophets in the January Ensign. It was really good. We had french toast for dinner at the Lewis'. After that, we met with Jill Huzzey. We talked about Enduring to the End and how the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost) plays a role in it.

Saturday: Today was pretty cool. This morning when we were out knocking we met this girl, and were talking to her, then her friend got home and we helped them carry in groceries. We were talking to them about how the true church is on the earth today and they were super interested. So we asked if they had any questions and one of them asked, "What is the church's view on same-sex relationships?" Turns out they are a couple. One of them told us how she used to be Catholic and they kicked her out and she wanted to be able to feel welcomed somewhere. I told them that Heavenly Father loves all of us and that in order to follow Jesus Christ's example, as we've been commanded, we all have to make changes. They took it well and they still wanted to learn more! So we are going to teach them. I'm actually really excited because I have been somewhat intolerant of homosexuals in the past so I feel like this will be a good learning experience for me; to love everyone, no matter what. We got shined by everybody! So we were with Bro. Thompson and went up to Reed City and got Subway and went to see Sis. Carpenter. She is really cool and we got to know her better. When we got home I called former investigators for like an hour. I was able to get 2 appts and 1 other potential, it was really cool. After that we met with Debora for a little lesson. Her daughter came in and wasn't too happy to see us. We watched the Joseph Smith movie with Larry for his 1 year baptism annivesary! Elder Laing fell asleep, so we took funny pics with him. :)

Sunday: Church was good today. There were a few really good talks on scripture study and revelation. Elders Quorum was also good. We had good discussion about revelation and other things. After church we helped some former investigators move. They really needed help and we happened to call them yesterday so it was really cool how the Lord made that work out. We tried to see a few people and ended up spending a while at the Harvey's. We got to know them better and had a great message on missionary work. They gave us a referral of their nephew whom we are going to teach on Wednesday!

This was a really great week and made me realize how blessed I am to have the family and friends that I have.

My spiritual thought for the week is from Mosiah 23:21-22 

 21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.

 22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.

Sometimes we go through trials not because we aren't being good but because we are being good. The Lord is giving us chances to grow and prove our righteousness and love for him. When things get tough, turn to the Lord and trust Him! He will always deliver you. D&C 122:7-9

I love you all! Have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Elder Laing's nap

BIG RAPIDS 3.5                                                                                                                   Dec. 22, 2014

Hey Everybody, Merry Christmas! I can't believe it's almost Christmas time, it came so fast!

This was a great week here in the Big Rapids Branch, I will tell you all about it. :)

Tuesday: We basically knocked doors the entire day. It was awesome. I was feeling a little homesick because it's Christmas time and P-Day is pretty much the worst day of the week. We got out there pounding on doors and it fixed everything. The key to missionary work is most definitely WORK! The first door we knocked on they let us in and we got a return appt. We also met a single-mom who was really struggling with worldly things so we watched He is the Gift with her and it was really cool. We got a return appt. out of that as well. Then we met Bea who has been investigating for a long time, so we went with Larry (The 3rd missionary). She wants to be baptized but has a hard time acting on her desires. Then Sis. Milton brought up pizza, so we had a pizza party with Larry (not really, but it was still a party). We drove to Morely and met the Krome's. He has a Christmas tree that has $9,000 worth of ornaments on it, it was so cool!

Wednesday: We had district meeting in Big Rapids. The zone leaders came as well. We went on Trade-offs today. Our District Leader, Elder Walker stayed in BR with me. He is a really cool guy. He goes home in like 3 weeks. We had a great lesson with Connie on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She really liked it. She is super solid but we can't get her to church. :( We also went way out to Bitely with Larry to see Sis. McClure and teach her great grandsons, AJ & Ryan. She made these venison steaks and then peach cobbler for dessert. She is from WV and makes some amazing food. Then we taught AJ. He is 11 and is super smart, but the problem is, he knows it. We taught about who God is with him. It went well.

Thursday: We were able to go see Mary-Ann. She is recovering from surgery so we took her the Book of Mormon on tape and we also watched He is the Gift with her. When baby Jesus came up, she went, "oh, baby Jesus" It was so cute. :) She is a sweet old lady. Then we knocked for a while. It was pretty cold, both of our feet went numb. We went to see Wyatt and Melody, who are inactive. We were talking to Wyatt, and Melody came out, and asked us for a blessing. It was really cool.We had dinner at the Williams'. We watched He is the Gift with them as well. I love that video, it never gets old!

Friday: After studies we drove to Morely and traded back. Then Elder Laing and I did our weekly planning. We also had a really good companionship inventory and got on the same page. It was awesome. We met Sis. Tucker. She is an awesome lady. She has a super strong testimony but her anxiety makes it hard for her to get to church. We had dinner at Sis. Tift's. She texted us before and told us that her kids' Dad wanted to be taught by us, so we were pumped. After dinner we taught him and talked about the BOM. We also watched He is the Gift and The Hope of God's Light. It was good. But it sort of seems like she is forcing it on him and you can't force spiritual things.

Saturday: This morning we were knocking and an old lady invited us in and just gander-ranted for like an hour. We kept trying to bring up the gospel but she would just start talking about her grandkids. hah. We met a 93 & 94 year-old couple. They were really cool. We met Bro. Harvey at Mackenzie's who we met on Tuesday. We had a great lesson with her. She has a lot of desire and is really teachable. After that we visited Bonnie. She got a concussion, and was really out of it, it was sad. We knocked for a while and then saw a huge hill, so we ran to the top of it for fun. There was one house at the top so we knocked on it, and they guy wasn't interested, but we were able to tell him that we do believe in Christ, it was cool then we watched Legacy with Larry.

Sunday: Today was awesome. I gave a talk in Sacrament, on the He is the Gift initiative. I felt like it went really well. We also had Debora at church. It was awesome. She liked it. After church we had a lesson with Debora and she loved it all. She also really likes Larry. We had dinner with the Koepfs, Hawaiian Haystacks and decorated cookies, it was awesome.

My spiritual thought of the week is the He is the Gift initiative. From watching it with people, everyone thinks that the beginning part of it is an ad and that is what Christmas has become. But as it goes on, it tells us the true message. I'm out of time. But I love you all. May we have the Spirit of Christ with us all this Christmas season. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Chalmers

Merry Christmas!

Ready for Christmas in Big Rapids, MI

HE IS THE GIFT!

Elder Laing, Larry and me