Birthday

October 18, 2011
I had a great birthday. I was able to hear from both my brothers, my sister, and my awesome Dad & Mom. Verna also stopped by with a card and birthday wishes. Stacy and Bailey treated me well. They bought me a new camera bag that I have been wanting, a new purse, perfume, necklace and ear rings, and Nicholas Sparks new book. Awesome! Bailey had YW and went out to the corn maze so Stacy took me and we went with our friends Scot and Dani Green and went to O'Rourkes to eat. Bagged the diet (hey it's your birthday only once a year, right?) and ate yummy food. Even ate onion rings! I also got the most awesome letter in the mail from Dalan. Perfect timing, it was the only thing in the mail box! How cool is that!

Mom,
Hey I am writing you a letter to wish you happy birthday. It just dawned on me and caught me off guard that its coming up fast! Can not hardly believe how time slips away! We have been so busy and just get caught up with everything going on that you loose track.
I hope that you have an enjoyable day and get to do something fun!:) Sounds like you been pretty busy there as well! Glad to hear that you had a good time with the Warburton's @ Lagoon. Sure it was good to just get away. I wish sometimes I could do that for a weekend and just forget about everything going on and come back and go back to work. But... that's not going to happen for a while.
I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading your emails and all the exciting stuff that's going on there Your unconditional love and support has been a real strength to me over the years. I couldn't ask for a better mom. Being out here I see so many examples of what not to do and I have began to realize how blessed I was growing up. Your example is amazing!
I hope someday I can be the husband and father that Dad is. He is incredible. I have told some people that I never seen my parents argue growing up, besides the one time you were trying to make a point and they do not believe me. The world has gone so far from what it should be it's scary. I admire you and Dad and your relationship. It's something I want to copy in my own!
I miss you all a lot actually. I try not to let it show ha ha, but I love my mission. I am so thankful for you and your support. I hope and wish you a happy birthday and a great week. Love you mom! Keep safe and healthy! Take care,
Love your Son
Elder Dalan J. Lerwill
We are all enlisted, happy are we, happy are we!

Oct. 17, 2011 Loving his mission. Letter from Stonburg Family

Hello all there. sounds like you have had quite the week there and have been keep busy. that is great that they are getting on the grain fast and your getting it where it really needs to be! :) hope that it all goes smoothly and you keep safe. Wow i cannot believe that it is elk season already!! when you said that it hit me like a ton of bricks! i never thought that this time in my mission experience would come. so crazy, loving ever min. of it though! I hope that you will be able and get into the elk and get Bailey a shot. that would be so fun for the two of you. just be sure and drop him where you can get a 4wheeler there because that would really suck to have him in a whole. Or Bailey, just shoot a spike yearling that doesn't have any ivory's yet, those are easy to pull! haha, i hope you get one and if not, still have a blast in the process!


Hey you talked about Julie and Mitch coming down at the end of this month. that will be so awesome. i have some things that i want to get home and just haven't been wanting to pay to send them so i will get a box put together and give it to Bro and Sis Mac (Julie's parents) Transfers are November 1-2 so if they get hear before then i will probley still be here! looking forward to maybe seeing them. the macs have my number so let them know that i will have a box for them to take back from this Valley to the real Valley! :)

Mom happy birthday tomorrow!! i hope that you have a wonderful day and you get my letter either today or tomorrow! :) go do something fun and enjoy the day! I love you and will be thinking about you! HAVE A HAPPY ONE!

well we have had a really good week here. we have been on exchanges with other missionaries for 2 days this week so it has been kinda crazy but good. we got a lot accomplished. Our zone meeting went exactly as planned. it was awesome and feels so good to have some thing happen the way you have imagined in your head! so that was successful and everyone was touched. so by the time that we got done with all the interviews and got the building locked up it took up most of our day.

Thursday we had district meetings with all 3 of our districts so it was kinda stressful trying to get to all of them. we have 2 of them that meet at the same building and one that meetings about 5 miles away and we each had talks and trainings that we were asked to give in each so we were running. That evening we found a new investigator. his name is Daniel and he was a member referral. awesome man who has been prepared. he lives in a huge retirement community so finding him and getting into the park was the first obstacle. finally got in with him and within the first 5 mins. of our conversation we could tell that he was ready and looking. we shared with him the restoration of the gospel and then before leaving we asked him to say the closing prayer. in his prayer he thanked heavenly father for appearing to Joseph Smith and restoring what was once lost. so cool. he will make good progress and be baptised soon. great guy!

We did some service this week for a less active lady and it was so much fun. we got to drywall her bedroom and do some electrical work in her house. it was fun to just do that kind of work and not have to worry about anything else for a few hours. :)

I just today received the sweetest email ever from Sister Stoneburg and family. it made me cry and really makes me thankful for the choice i made to come on a mission. there are people who are changed as a direct consequence of your doing as you live worthily and are guided by the spirit! i wanted to include it in my email:



"Elder Lerwill

When do you go home and are you still coming back to go through the temple with us? We want you and Elder Thomas to be with us when we go!!!! Olin and the kids all say hi, miss, and Love you!!!!! All the kids did testimonies this past Sunday you would have been proud of them. We pray for you often. Ok here is what I have been wanting you to know.

First I want to thank you for being an Elder and being on your mission here. My family has been searching for a place to call home in the perfect church. I know it was Hattie that got me to come to church that day. You worked so hard to keep my family on track and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. I'm so glad we got to know you as our Elder and as a friend. It is so funny to me that you, Elder Thomas, and Matthew are all born April 9th,10th, & 17th of 1991. Both of you Elders are the same age as Matthew. I have grown to love you both like my own kids. I worry about you both. I miss you both also. My heart was torn into pieces when you both got your new orders. I was happy for you both but my heart hurt so much cause you both had to go different ways and you guys didn't get to stay together. I love ya! If it was not for you both my family would still be lost. I thank you for the happiness you have given and showed us and how to keep our family together happy. I'm glad you can't see me as you read this cause you would see me crying. Please don't forget Sat. June 2, 2012 we are going to the Temple!!!!! We hope you get sent back over this way. If not maybe we could come out there to see you and get a few more pictures of you and our family together or we can run into you at the temple and watch a movie together and do pictures before or after. Let me know or if you can call do that.

Lots of Love,

Kim, Olin, MJ, Hattie, Kaitlin, and the two dogs Daisy and Jaws."



That is what it is all about! I couldn't be happier. :)

Today we get to go to Scottsdale at 2 and pick up a new car. we don't know what we are getting but we got the phone call today so we will have to go do that. there is some swapping in the zone so the Spanish elders will be getting our old car and the mission will be selling theirs that has 50,000miles on it and we get the replacement! good deal, ya!?we are kind of excited! other than that we are hoping to lay low today and get some sleep and letters in. i am in dyer need of a nap so with any luck ill get that done!

I hope that you are all doing great, happy, healthy, and getting lots done there. your always in my prayers. have a good week and take care.

Love you tons,

Elder Lerwill

2ND ANNUAL TRIP TO LAGOON WITH THE WARBURTON'S

We took off Friday and met Wes and Katie in Pocky and delivered them their pig meat and then we went on down to Utah. We stopped off at Smith and Edwards. Still a fun store, but it was almost funner when it was a junky, big, and smelly store like it was 25 years ago. The clothes and boots are not cheap any more. We enjoyed it still. We then drove to Woods Cross and got a hotel. We went and had steak and all you can eat shrimp at Sizzler and then hung out in the hotel watching rerun after rerun of Reba. It was awesome. We laughed so hard. We got up Saturday morning and ate breakfast and then made our way to Lagoon. We love the Warburton Families. They are awesome friends. We had a great day hanging out and visiting and riding ride. Bailey has turned into Miss Daredevil. She was not afraid of any thing. Can't wait til her brother gets home and she can amaze him. Stacy and I have become great spectators. Especially me I should say. I was already nauseated so I took it pretty easy. Bailey has been planning on going sky diving after she graduates (just like her brother). But I have wondered if she really would want to do it. Well I have no doubt now and again Stacy and I will have to go take pictures of her and Dalan when the time comes.

This is the ride Wicked. Wow, Bailey loved it!

110 feet high

55 mph

4.5 G's

Fall Leaves

WE LIVE IN A BEAUTIFUL WORLD!

Conference Week-End with the Panters

cutest little blue jail bird

Picking chokecherries

Potty training, country style, gotta love it!

Homecoming 2011 Bailey's Junior Year

Bailey had a great time during homecoming week. We made her a cute shirt and sweat pants. To even make it better Teton won the foot ball game. Wes, Katie and Family came for the week end and we went and watched the game. It was actually a really nice evening so as late as it is in Teton Valley.

E-Mail 10/10/2011

Wow what a exciting week there for you all. sounds like there has been a lot of crazy fun stuff happening. that's great to hear! That's good that you got to go to lagoon with the warburtons! (I need to write Micheal) That's crazy that Bailey has changed so much is not scared of all the fun stuff any more! haha ;) That's good that you had a enjoyable week. all the schools are out for fall break down here for 2 weeks. this last week and this week so it has been so nice as far as trying to teach people during the day and they are a little bit more lax about being to bed early so we have been seeing more people out and about! We have had a crazy week.


Tuesday we had ZLC in Scottsdale from 8-3 and then had to drive back so it was a long day of sitting and learning, for some weird reason you are more exhausted from sitting than when you are out working. So it was a long day but are more prepared for some of the upcoming changes and different meetings we will be having.

Wednesday we had to move apts. our apt was getting really run down and it was the last one in the complex to get remodeled so we had to move one apt to the south. its a lot nicer and was just redone 6 months ago. way nice. it was really dirty because of the last resident so we had to spend a good 3 hours just cleaning before we could start moving things in. finally got it all clean and everything moved over, it took most of the day and then we got to work for the evening hours. so we got in that night at 9 and planned and started to put things away. boxes stacked everywhere and really cluttered so we had to get that taken care of so i was in our bedroom working on getting everything in place and elder Ricks was in the kitchen putting things in cabinets. all of the sudden he yelled at me and told me to come in. i did and he had this white face and looked like he just seen a 40lbs pack rat in our stove. I was like what is it? and he said "something we don't want", haha, my mind got rolling and i was thinking all the worst things and kinds of animal i would want to share a apt with and he told me to go over and look. so i did and in the back of a cabinet was a giant 1 1/2 foot tall bong. haha, it stunk so bad in there. and behind the bong was a box, we didn't even want to look but we did and it was a vaporizer kit that had been used with meth. we were freaking out. haha, we just left it there and call the cops in the morning and told them about what we had found and they came and picked it all up for us! hopefully it will be the last we find in the apt! haha, kind of an eventful day! :) also on Saturday night we seen a group of people walking down the street and we noticed that one of them was holding something in the air and as we drove by them we could see that it was a rifle, he hid it in his jacket as we drove by...haha, not suspicious at all right!?, so just to find out what he was doing or going to do we got out to talk to him and see what he was doing and all of the sudden he pointed it at us and started yelling.....just kidding, when we seen them we drove away really fast and defently didn't get out of our car! ;) hehe, kinda scary though. The fun things you see as a missionary! Justin, all the exciting and amazing things you see each day while serving make it all worth it! and i am not talking about just crazy people with guns and whack jobs on mopeds but seeing people change. its the greatest thing you will ever do.

Its crazy to think, but the only way people have access to the Atonement of Jesus Christ is though us. Through the church. we teach and believe that in order to return to live with our Father in Heaven we have to be baptised and we also teach that we are the only ones with the authority to do so. Christ came down so that one day we could be taken up to live forever with our families and God. with out the ordinances and covenants of the gospel it is not possible. for 2 years you the time set apart and consecrated to serving the Lord and helping him fulfill his purposes. There is nothing else so rewarding! I am excited for you Justin and all the wonderful people who you will meet and touch. And the great thing is that while your about helping convert others, you yourself reach a level of conversion that you haven't experienced yet! its wonderful. get ready, be ready and stay ready always. you'll do great!

Yesterday was a long day of fast and testimony meetings. had some awesome people come to church that hadn't been in quite a while so it was great to have them their. we have a lesson tonight with one of them tonight. a PMF, father not baptised neither is the 11 year old son. will be extending baptismal invitations to the both of them. we are excited, they are a stable family, nice house, great morals, are married and have 3 kids and no addictions!!!! STOKED :) keep you posted on how it goes.

So elder ricks and i are doing good. hard to believe that we have been together for almost 3 months. He came into the MTC with me and have served close to each other a couple times. He took my place in snowflake (1year ago!) we have a lot of fun together. :)

You asked if i was ready for a change...well it feels like i have been here forever. between last time i was here and now it feels like a while! haha, i will be ready at the end of this transfer. i am excited for change. it will more than likely be my last area unless president has some crazy plans of moving me around a few times, you never know. its possible i could be here another transfers, not common but sometimes it happens, so we'll see! transfers are on the week of November 1, so right around there some where! :) time is flying, hard to believe.

Yes i got your package and have listened to the tape you sent. absolutely loved it. the jelly was great! i gotta get some time, hopefully today i will get my pump cover put on. that's fun! thank you! love it.

Well i hope that you all have a great week and keep safe and happy. your always in my prayers and hope the very best for you and all that you are doing! have a good one and we'll talk soon!

Love Elder Lerwill