hey fam,

so this was the weirdest week of my mission, our wml ( ward mission leader) or should i say branch, had a stroke and is in the hospital, so we have been serving his family this whole week, currently he is in medically enduced coma, hes 32, has a wife and 3 kids, and not only do they need him, but the branch does, hes also the second couselor and does just about everything for the branch, so pray for him please, his name is dennis barksdale.

we also served a widow named blanca twice this week, oh yeah and our first counselor has kidney stones right now, so basically we spent alot of our time serving the branch this week to help make sure everything got done as was needed, then in the testimony meeting everyone just got up and cried about dennis, which was understandable but not what i was hoping for , with my investigators, but atleast they were able to see how close the branch is and know that if anything happens to them, we will be there.

ive been a little sick this week with a sore throat and a cough and so we went to walgreenas so i could buy some nyquil cuz i was npt sleeping well, and in the front of the store was this huge taylor swift stand, with t-swift notebooks, and cds , shirts , posters etc, and when elder call saw it he freaked out, i expected him to start crying haha he just starting grabbing everything and i wish you could have seen his face , then he realized we are missionaries haha so he only got a notebook and a blanket, i was busting up laughing the whole time, and as he was checking out, the male cashier giggled and said, so...... taylor swift huh? and elder call, just said ya, im kinda a fan haha, it was probably one of the funniest public moments on my mission, man i love elder call.

ive been memorizing a scripture every morning this last week and it is awesome, im getting faster at memorizing so hope fully when i get home ill know muchos " a memorized scripture is your best friend" really it is, i love it, and dad dont worry i was talking to mom, about that unclear statemant, which i think she got, but if no, she as you know wants me to come home to see sam in the mtc, and i would like to know what i would be allowed to do with him, could we go to the temple togethor? would we just eat lunch, i would like to know my options before i really think hard on it and make a decision, but from what im thinking so far its probably a no, im not sure its worth it, and im not even sure if its possible so ya, anyways i got to go, but i love you all, i miss you mom, and i wish you could send me a back scratch for christmas, and i know what your thinking in your head" i could send you a back scratch for christmas", dont even think about it mom, dont worry i feel loved here. whos this girls bam is with?

anyways........................... loves from pencey

SO FUN that he ran into Mallory and her husband at a Stake Conference! AND LOVE THEM for getting me the picture!!!!