"I just had a blessing. That's It!" (December 19, 2011)

Hi family!

It sounds like you have had a fun and eventful week.  The pictures at the ward Christmas party look funny.  Who put all those together?  My leg is about the same as it was except for the swelling has gone down a lot, but I am still on crutches and in a boot.  I find out the results of the MRI today around 1:00 so I will try and let you guys know what the doctor says.  Thanks for all the prayers and fasting, I know the Lord will bless me and He knows what needs to happen and what will be the best for me at this time. 

Teaching Loannva has gone great.  She is getting baptized on Christmas Eve!!!  We had two wonderful lessons with her one with the Kenley's where we talked about the three degrees of glory which went very well and the other lesson we were able to have a good discussion with her about the questions that she had for us.  Also, we invited her to our dinner appointment last night and she came.  We had the best dinner that I have had here on my mission.  We went to Sister Permansu's.  She is an interesting lady, her husband passed away two years ago and she became a member of the church a year ago.  She is probably in her sixties and she owns an antique store.  Everything in her house was old and worth a lot of money and she had the best Christmas village ever!  Brother and Sister Kenley couldn't get over the Christmas village.  Loannva wanted Sister Permansu's house to be hers and Loannva didn't want to leave.  The dinner reminded me of a dinner that you would do mom.  Everything was perfect.  The plates were all matching and Christmassy and the silverware was in a little stocking.  She even had candles burning.  I could tell she loves to entertain and has done lots of entertaining in her life time because she just knew how to make people feel right at home and to have fun.  The dinner was so delicious too.  We had Chicken and rice and steamed carrots and grapes.  I have never seen or heard of people putting grapes and carrots together but it was the best part of the dinner.  After dinner we went to the family room and visited.  She had the coolest Christmas tree.  It was white with old red hankies on it with a red top hat on top in the place of a star.  It was a really good night and I was glad Loannva was able to come because I feel Sister Permansu and Loannva could be good friends. 

One of our investigators is a little different.  She thinks she is always sick or going to die.  She is kind of a hypochondriac.  So, it’s hard to get her to come to church and teach her and she is really scared about being dunked in the water for baptism.  She is going to take some work.  We have two other great investigators, one named Chester and one named Lisa.  They both want to change their lives and they feel that this is the time.  We are excited to see the changes that they are willing to make in their lives in order to come unto Christ.  

This week we have also been finishing up some shopping for the family in our ward and I can't wait to see their faces when they open the presents on Christmas day and have no idea that we did it.  We got some sheets and a blanket for the mother and I know she will love it.  Shopping for all the kids makes me so happy and I wish I could do the same for every kid that won’t have a Christmas.  

The Sherlock Holmes movie is one that I can't wait to see!  I am glad you are going to buy it so I can see it when I get home.  

I got a letter from Kortney.  She said she would miss me at King/Mouritsen party this year.  I think that is what I have missed the most this Christmas is not going to those great family parties that we have and the way our house is decorated.  We have great Christmas traditions and lots of fun during the holidays.  That is why I liked Sister Permansu’s house so much last night because it reminded me of our house and the things that we do around Christmas.  I am truly thankful for you mom and dad for making Christmas such a special time of the year.  You guys are great.  This Christmas has already been one that I will never forget and will love and cherish.  It has been lots of fun to be here and I wouldn't change it for the world!

It sound like you guys are doing great and are having lots of fun this Christmas season!   I love you all and hope you have a very merry Christmas!!

Love Tanner

(A little later in the day)

Mom, I just had my doctor appointment and they said there is no stress fracture and that the ankle will take some time to recover but that I will be able to just use the boot and I can ease off the crutches.  It is a true blessing because I thought it was for sure a stress fracture and that I might have to go home and recover but it's not.  I am so happy.  I was stressing so much last night over it.  Thanks for all your prayers and for fasting it really made a difference.  The nurse asked if I had been icing and elevating it throughout the day and not walking as much but I said “no, not really, I have been doing pretty much the same thing I do every day”.  I thought to myself "I just had a blessing.  That’s it!"   I will call you at 1:30 on Christmas.

Love you

Three is a Good Number

Hi Mom and Dad!

I am glad that you liked the birthday card it was pretty funny.  I know it will be great to talk to you on Christmas!  I haven't really heard anything about calling yet but I think I will try and call at around 12 here and it will be about 10 there.  I hope I can call maybe more than once because we are going to lots of member’s houses, I think, and we will be talking to you on the member’s phones. 

I am still shopping for the family in our ward but I haven't gotten anything else for them yet.  None of the clothes are for the dad.  He is in Georgia looking for work so he won’t be here for Christmas?  I think we will wrap them all but I need to get some boxes because I forgot to get some at Kohl’s.   What do you guys want for Christmas?  Anything?

Wow!  It sounds like Sydnee is pretty dang sick!  I hope she gets better soon.  I remember when I threw up in my English class in front of everyone.  It was horrible but luckily we moved so I didn’t have to see those people again.

The mission mom Christmas party sounds like it will be fun and I am sure they will all comment on the big round table.  Are you going to play white elephant?  Elder Stewart has three brothers and one sister and the sister is the youngest.  Her name is Esty.  They all have unique names. 

I can’t believe that Max Firth is coming home this week.  That is really crazy.  I bet he is way good at Spanish.  I’m sure he is sad to come home.  It is true, you come to love the people you serve.  I still need my heart to soften so I can love the people I serve.  Some people just make me mad and I don't understand why they are so rude to us sometimes. 

I am sad to hear that Grandpa hasn’t been able to eat very much.  I keep praying for him. 

The lessons with our investigators are going well.  We had Jim’s baptism this week which was the coolest experience.   He asked me to perform the baptism.  I have never baptized anyone before so it was really exciting for me.  His hand kept coming out of the water so I had to dunk him three times but three is a good number.   It was very spiritual.  Jim was full of the Spirit and started crying and I could also feel the Spirit in me.  He is already doing family history for his son who was murdered so he can go and do baptisms for the dead for his son.  He is becoming a whole new person right in front of my eyes.  It is a miracle to see. 

The other investigators are coming along too slowly but surely.  They have all said that they would be baptized.  We just need to set them with dates and work towards that. 

We also had zone conference this week in Harrisburg which was my first zone conference so I didn't know what to expect but it was good and I learned a lot.  President and sister Topham are great and I love having them as mission presidents.

Well family this week was a really good and I hope to have a lot more like them.  I miss you and love you all very much!!

Love Tanner.

P.S. I am excited for my package.  I am sending some pictures of the baptism.

My new companion Elder Don Key (December 5, 2011)

Hi Family!!

Ok!  What the heck?!  Why do you guys go all out on the gingerbread house making when I am not home?  It looks way cool and huge! Does it take up the whole dining room table?

I was way happy to see all the pictures you sent me.  You guys all look great!  Grandma looks great and even grandpa looked pretty good but I does look like he lost a lot of weight. 

Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I am sorry I haven't sent your card yet.  I have been so busy this week and I don't even know where the time went.  Mom, you would be so proud of me.  This week we went shopping at Kohl's for clothes for a family in the ward and we spent all the money you and Bonnie sent but we got quite a bit and it said on my receipt that I saved $500.  You taught me how to bargain shop so well and I think this Christmas is going to be great for their family.  Elder Stewart was sent some money from his parents so he is going to buy pots and pans for the mother in the family but he can't make up his mind to save his life.  We were in the kitchen area of Kohl's for about an hour and half and in the end he didn't even buy anything.  I told him to get the cheaper set but he wanted to get the more expensive set so he couldn't decide because he wants the family to have the best. 

Jim’s baptism didn't happen this week.  We had to reschedule it for this week because Jim is having a hard time giving up his old addictions and so we have to start the stop smoking program again.  Last night we were able to watch the Christmas devotional with Jim, I don't know if he got much out of it because the kids and the whole family we were with were so loud.  After the devotional I was able to talk to Jim.  He said he has been having a stressful week and couldn't take it anymore so he had to smoke.  It was one of the coolest experiences that I have had.  I was in the back of the car sitting next to Jim while Elder Stewart was in the passenger seat and Brother Reyes was driving.  We were taking Jim home and while we were on the drive back I was able to give Jim a pep talk guided by the Spirit.  Words just started flowing out of me.  I don't even know how to explain it but no one else spoke, it was just Jim and me and I was able to give Jim some hope and inspiration through the Spirit.  His life needs to change or he will never progress in anything and will end up back in trouble.  He needs the gospel and the help of his Heavenly Father and I know he will be blessed when he makes these changes. 

Bert’s baptism will probably have to be pushed back too because she doesn't feel that she is ready yet.  Loannva is great.  We asked her if she would be baptized and she said yes but we didn't set a date so that will be the next thing we do.  She was supposed to come to church yesterday but didn't end up coming because her car tire was flat so, after church we went and changed it for her.  She loved that we did that for her and wants to make us dinner soon:).

This week I went on an exchange as a threesome with Elder Leavitt and Elder Ika, the newest elder who is from Tonga, while Elder Stewart went to zone council in Pittsburgh.  I think he will become a zone leader because he is not a zone leader and he got invited to the zone council.  On Friday night I helped Ika and Leavitt with a live nativity that they were doing in their ward.  It was really fun but a lot of standing around.  I will send some pictures. 

We have hardly been able to use any Spanish which stinks because if you never get to use it you lose what you had and don't progress at all.  Other than learning the language,everything is going well. 

I love you guys and pray for you!

Send my Philly hat

It's All About The Food (November 28, 2011)

Hi family,

It sounds like everything is going really well and it sounds like Thanksgiving was a blast.  I really missed the thanksgiving food that grandma makes and being with the family.  It is kind of weird here at least for me, people here have Thanksgiving only with their immediate family so it was quiet and once we ate we didn't do much.  Grandma's food is so much better than anything I had here.  They had some good stuff but nothing compared to grandmas she is pro at Thanksgiving dinners.  We started Thanksgiving by going and playing in the turkey bowl which was way fun but Stewart didn't like it to much he doesn't like sports at all.  He's never watched sports on TV not even the super bowl.  After the turkey bowl we went to our first dinner at the Petersons where Burt lives.  So we had dinner there and then we taught Burt which was a great lesson.  We taught her the plan of salvation.  We left the Petersons at 5pm and had to be to our next dinner at 5pm haha so we drove quickly to the next house which was the Lawyers.  The Lawyers live in the middle of nowhere; the location of their house is comparable to the cabin in bear hollow, far, dirt roads, no cell service, and on a mountain.  It was a fun drive though but took a long time to get there.  We got there at about 5:45pm and had dinner there shortly after. The dinner was good and then we played a fun game.  That was pretty much my Thanksgiving, lots of driving and eating. 

I think I have gained weight. I can feel it in my face and I need to get rid of it.  I just need to say no to the desserts that people try and give us.  Everyone gives us desserts it’s crazy after every dinner there is always a dessert and I feel bad if I don't eat it but I need to stop because it is really endangering my physique haha. 

Ya, our investigator Jim is getting baptized this week!!!  I love Jim he has had a really hard life he is 51 and has spent a lot of time in jail but it’s not all his fault his family situation was horrible growing up and it messed him up.  He is a smoker and so we had to teach him the stop smoking program on Saturday.  It was a way cool lesson he crushed his box of cigarettes right in front of us.  Then we taught him the 15 steps to quit smoking and after that brother Reyes gave him a beautiful blessing in Spanish.  The Spirit was so strong that night in Jims 20 foot trailer that it made Jim cry and it made my heart want to jump out of my chest.  After our lesson we took all his clothes home with us and washed them for him so they wouldn't smell like smoke.  He doesn't have running water in his trailer so we helped him out.  I think I am going to buy him a few clothes for Christmas because his clothes made me want to cry.  They were in horrible shape but it's all he has.  He is a bell ringer in front of stores.  Also that Saturday before the lesson we did a service project with Jim.  We had to tear down a barn.  It was way fun.  He said it would take a few days but we did it in five hours haha.  For one of the walls, I hooked a chain up to it and then ripped the wall down with the car we were using.  It was really fun and Jim was very happy that we were there with him.  He is a pretty scary looking man but I love him and can't wait for his baptism.

On Saturday morning before helping Jim tear down the barn we went to the Plessengers for waffles.  The best waffles I have ever had!  She put apple pie into one of the waffles and then she made coconut syrup for me and everyone loved it.  Thanks for the recipe Karalee!   The Plessenger family is way awesome and they are so nice to missionaries.  They always have the best food and they give us food to take home too.  I am trying to eat better though I promise, I eat well all day except for dinner with members and that is out of my control really. 

Dinner with President Hurley was great!  The Hurley family is awesome and they always help us in any way we need.  Loannva, who is one of our investigators, also came to the dinner.  We are planning to set her with a baptism date the next lesson we have with her.  She is so funny.  She is about 70 something but looks like she is about 40.  She has that nice Oprah skin that keeps her looking young.  She always makes us laugh. 

It sounds like Whitney had a great thanksgiving and all her food turned out.  She is going to be having a baby here before we know it.  It’s crazy!  Time is flying out here in the mission field.  The days sometimes drag on but before I know it the week is over. 

Elder Stewart and I are going to start working really hard on the Spanish again so we can become fluent for next transfer.  We haven't been able to use Spanish lately because we have been so busy getting our investigators ready for baptism. 

Mom, we already have a fake Christmas tree in the apartment from the last missionaries so that is nice.  We just need to decorate it sometime.  Have you decorated the house for Christmas yet? Send me a picture of the tree when it is all up with you guys in front of it. 

This week has been way busy and hard not to get home sick.  I have been sick the last few days and we had to miss church yesterday because I was feeling pretty bad but I am starting to feel better today.  I have been using a lot of Nyquil and Sudafed.  There is nothing like your mom when you are sick haha.  Love you mom. 

I have to go now but I love you all.  Tell everyone thanks for the Thanksgiving cards. 

Love Tanner

Happy Thanksgiving

How is everything going?

I talked to the mom of a family in the ward here and she is embarrassed that they need help so she won’t tell me what they need.  So I was just thinking, if you want to tell me how much you guys are willing to spend, Elder Stewart and I can go shopping and get them a few things that they need.  She was talking about selling her car so they could have Christmas but if they sold their car they would have nothing to drive.  They are doing pretty badly and I know they could use the help but they just don't want to accept it.  This family loves the missionaries and would do anything for them and has done pretty much everything they could for the missionaries in the past but the dad’s company is doing really bad so they really have no money. 

We have been sharing a Thanksgiving message at our dinner appointments that has been really cool and fun to share with people.  Elder Stewart got all these pictures of different kids all over the world and it shows their bedroom and gives a little bio on each of them.  We show the families we teach all the pictures showing these kids that have nothing.  Some don't even have a place to live.  It is pretty sad to see the pictures.  Then I share a scripture in psalms 100:3-4 that talks about thanksgiving and the true meaning of it.  I think this lesson has been good to share because it helps people realize that they are blessed with so much and that thanksgiving isn't just about the food and then the shopping the day after. 

Tonight we are making dinner for the Hurley family who is the stake president’s family.  They are such a cool family and always make sure that we get fed.  They try and find as many people as they can for us to teach.  President Hurley is an auctioneer and can talk really fast.  His wife shops at Costco every now and again and she said she would get us a bag of Costco chicken.  I am so excited because Wal-Mart chicken is not good.  Anyway we are making Chicken wrapped in bacon, mashed potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin cookies.  The great thing about it though is that Loannva an awesome black lady who is one of our investigators is going to be there! Wahoo! 

We met with Loannva this week and were able to talk to her about her experience at church.  She said she loved church, especially the relief society with all the ladies.  She then asked us what the Holy Ghost was and what it felt like.  I said the Holy Ghost helps us know what is right and what is wrong and what is true and not true, then I told her that the Holy Ghost feels different for everyone but, for me I get this tightness in my chest and sometimes the hair on my neck stands up.  After we explained that, she said “that must have been what I felt in your church”.  We are very excited for her and hope to set a baptism date with her. 

I did get my haircut today but it was ten bucks.  No one gives missionaries free haircuts in this area, but I needed one really bad.  I hadn't had one since the MTC and my comb over was getting pretty gnarly haha.  It actually looked sweet and if I was home I would have just kept it.  My beard is coming in really thick these days.  I didn't shave this morning because shaving hurts my face really bad but I already have a good shadow and it’s only 2:30.  Can you see if Bryan has any other good vitamins that you think I need?  I think I am getting sick.  I woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose but I quickly took vitamin C and Sudafed and gargled mouth wash.  I can still feel my throat is getting sore though. 

I am excited for my coat!  I have been wearing the jacket you sent to me every day pretty much so it will be a nice change to have a new coat. 

For Thanksgiving we are going to see as many members as we can so we will be well fed.  We have already started listening to Christmas music on the radio and we just turn it down when commercials come on.  It makes me excited and happy but it makes me sad that I won’t be home for Christmas and that last Christmas was pretty much my last Christmas as a kid.  We do have a Christmas tree though and we are going to decorate it so that will be fun.  For Christmas I would like a GPS so I can know where I am going on these roads.  Oh, I drive the car now because Elder Stewart got his driving privileges taken away because he ran into a ditch so we have to get a new bumper haha.  It is nice to drive again and I love driving the roads here because they have a lot of hills and turns so it makes driving fun. 

I got the card from Ashby's.  Tell her thanks.  I got a package from Amy, Whitney and Debera so tell them thanks.  I like the pictures that Amy sent me at my farewell get together.  Kate is really cute and Nick is a stud and so is Alex.  Tell Debera that I needed new toothbrushes and toothpaste so her package was perfect.  Whitney sent Thanksgiving in a box so that was way cool!  I have great sisters!  I have a great family!

Well mom there is so much I could keep writing about but I am running out of time.  I love you all so much and pray for you!

Love,

Elder Mouritsen

P.S.  I don't have much time to write hand written letters so tell people if they don't receive a letter back quickly or maybe at all that I still love them and I am thinking about them. 

"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ"

Hello Family,

This week we had exchanges again but this time was different because Elder Stewart went to someone else’s area and I had to stay in our area and plan and set up all the lessons and speak Spanish all by myself with no one else to fall back on.  The first exchange was with Elder Curl and he has only been out for a month so he didn't know much and doesn't like to talk to people.  It scares him to death so I had to do most all the teaching in English and Spanish.  I was great though.  I learned so much and I had to use my Spanish a lot too which was great because I need all the practice I can get.  I saw this exchange as my first test on my mission. 

After transfers with Elder Curl, Elder Stewart said that we would be having exchanges again and that I would be staying in our area again.  So I had to do all the planning and Spanish speaking again.  Elder Dastrup was my exchange.  The first night he was with me, we went tracting and knocked four doors and we ended up setting up return appointments with all four of them.  It was 4 out of 4.  It will probably never happen again but it was great.  The next day we taught a guy named Chester and a man named Nicholas and both lessons went well and they are now investigators.  We are starting to get several wonderful investigators so hopefully this next transfer will be awesome and we will have a baptism or two.  These two exchanges were a great experience and I learned a ton about myself and what I need to work on but I was really happy when Elder Stewart got back because we work awesome together!

This week, I was able to say the words “will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of god."  I said this too a lady named Bert, short for Roberta.  She is about 70 years old and she said she would be baptized and we set a date for the 10^th of December.  This was an experience I will never forget I could feel the spirit in me when I said those words and I know she did too.  The spirit is so strong.  It's incredible!

We do get to teach some Spanish families but not too many.  It seems like the more we search for Spanish families the more we end up with great American families haha.  We had three investigators at church yesterday and we have two baptismal dates set and I got to set both of them.  Yesterday I also had to speak in church! I was asked to speak on Saturday night at 9:00 pm and at 9:30am the next morning I had to give a 15 min talk. Oh boy was that nerve racking!  I had no time to prepare but I got up and talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon and why it’s so important for our investigators to read.  I think it went well.  I could feel the spirit and luckily it lasted 15 min.  I hope people enjoyed it.  I wish you guys could have been there for support.

Well I love you

Write back a.s.a.p.

November 07, 2011

Wow, it sounds like Sydnee is the party master and everyone loves her and our house.  Did you get the surround sound working yet?  150 trick-or-treaters! That is crazy!  We didn't have one, but Stewart made those pumpkin chocolate chip cookies mom makes so they were really good.  Elder Stewart is a baker.  He loves to bake, which is good for me because I always get to have the end result without having to do any of the work.  Except, I cleaned the kitchen today because it was gross from all the food and stuff we have been making the past two weeks.  We haven't had one dinner appointment for two weeks so we have been eating a lot of brown rice and chicken.  Elder Stewart cleaned the bathroom while I cleaned the kitchen so I’m glad that I didn't have that job.  This week I bought new rugs for the bathroom and Stewart bought a new shower curtain.  Both were really gross and needed to be replaced. 

I laughed when I read your email and you said that you fixed the water heater and you said it took a lot longer than you thought it would take.  Haha, isn't that how it always goes when we do something like that?  When we say something will take a couple of hours it usually takes a whole day or something close to that.  But hey, at least you won’t have to put up the Christmas lights this year.  Let’s just hope that they are not all burnt out. 

That is awesome Sydnee, that you bore your testimony!  Don't FEEL like you are the least loved kid in the family Sydnee, you should just know that you ARE the least loved kid haha, just kidding.  No, I feel like no one even thinks about me sometimes when I go a whole week without receiving a letter or something.  It’s hard and you are right, when Whitney has her baby we'll both be forgotten so don't worry, we can stick together during that time. 

This week went by really fast.  We had exchanges with Elder Viellejo who is the zone leader and speaks Spanish fluently.  We worked really hard on our Spanish with him but Elder Stewart and I realize that we have a very long way to go before we will ever be talking like him.  Elder Viellejo is probably the best teacher that I have seen so far.  He taught so simply but also very powerfully and I took a lot away from that experience because I want to be able to teach just like him.  

Also, this week we have been helping the Reyes family.  They are members in our ward and we have been painting their house to get it ready for them to move (I hate painting).  Brother Reyes can’t find work so they have to move.  Their house was pretty scary when we started but with the paint it is looking a little better.  We also have to help refinish the floors which I don't think any of us know how to do but the Spirit will guide the way.

We had an awesome lesson this week with a lady named Missy and she actually lives in a very nice house which is weird because people that have money or live in nice houses never let us in or want to hear about our message but, Missy did.  Missy had a Book or Mormon in English and Russian (she is a translator for the military) that her friend gave her.  She was interested to know where we got the Book of Mormon.  She had all sorts of questions that were awesome.  One question was "why don't other religions accept the Book of Mormon because it is just more doctrine from god"?   She said she was Catholic and wouldn't be changing but, after our lesson I could envision her becoming a Mormon.  We talked about the great apostasy and had her read Amos 8: 11-12 that talks about a great famine in the land of doctrine.  After she read this scripture she said she didn't know that is said that and that it was very cool.   She thought that living with your family forever was really cool as well.  It was such a good lesson and the Spirit was there so strongly that I think she was pricked in her heart.   Hopefully something becomes of that lesson.  At the end of the lesson she asked about the mission and we told her that we are here for two years and only get to talk to our family twice a year.  She was amazed and then she asked if she could feed us sometime.  Of course we wanted to jump up and yell “heck ya you can!” but, we calmly said “of course that would be great.”  It was a fantastic lesson!

I am so glad that everything is going well at home!  Well, I love you guys send me some more pictures and letters. 

I love you all and pray for you!

Love elder Mouritsen

31 October 2011

Happy Halloween!

I got your package this week.  The shirt is very nice, I like it.  I finally got Whitney’s package which was good because I have been going on an M&M dry spell for a while and was debating on whether to buy some but, luckily you and Whitney sent me some. I can’t believe Astra Waller is gone.  That was sad for me to read, she was so young. I am glad I have the knowledge of the plan of salvation though and I hope that her parents do too because, without that knowledge, death can be very difficult more than it already is and I have seen that already on my mission.

Yes it snowed a lot on Saturday and it was sort of miserable because the snow is so wet and slushy and all the people were really grumpy and didn't want to talk to us. It made me want to be home with you guys and watch a movie while sitting next to the fire and drink hot chocolate or something. I am glad I had my nice Gortex boots.  They worked nicely.  It was the first time that I have worn them so they still need to be worn in but they are nice. My gortex jacket is very warm and keeps the water away from my body but I'm not sure how I feel about the style of it haha.  Everyone seems to look at me funny when I wear it so it’s a little awkward but, it’s not missionary work if it’s not awkward. It snowed so much and the roads got so icy that they cancelled church yesterday, something that never would have happened in Utah.

I am really glad to hear that grandpa has been doing a little better I have been praying for him a lot and I fasted on Monday for him which was a great experience for me. I hope he continues to improve and have him know that he has been a warrior in the face of his cancer!

I can't believe the Cardinals won the World Series, who would have guessed that but it sounds like it was a good game to watch. Too bad for the Rangers.  They keep making it to the World Series and lose but they must be doing something right to make it there two years in a row.

The university of Utah sounds like they are struggling being in the pac12 conference but I'm glad they beat Oregon and didn't they beat Pittsburgh too? The win against Oregon I bet was huge, they are way good! Did you get to watch it or go to it?

Sydnee, I got your letter it was nice to hear from you again. Sorry I haven't written you back yet it is hard to find time to write letters out in the mission because I am either out proselyting or studying trying to learn Spanish and trying to finish the Book of Mormon. I will write you back today though. My plan is to be finished with the Book of Mormon by November 19th because we challenged a girl in the ward who is 19 to read it.  She has never read the BOM and she said she will read it I do. So I've been working really hard on reading it. If I finish on the 19th I will have read the BOM in less than two months. I am reading in Alma right now when Alma is giving guidance to his sons in chapter 38, it’s awesome and I know why dad loves Alma so much now. I challenge you to try and read the BOM in 2 months. You only have to read 9 pages a day. You can do it!!

Mom, I knew about Kortney transferring to the U.  She told me a while ago. It will be way cool to go the same school as Kortney again, just like old times. Tell her to write me back.  I sent her some pictures in an email but she never responded so tell her to write me back.

I haven't heard from Debera in a while either, I hope everything is going well with her and her family. I hope Danylle is still progressing in the Church. Happy Birthday Barrett! Before Barrett knows it he'll be 19 and serving a mission.

This week has been busy and hard.  We have had so many investigators that we have taught the first lesson to and have made return appointments with but when we go back to visit them for the second time they are never there. So we are having a hard time getting in contact with people which is so frustrating.

One funny story, on Saturday when it snowed we asked this man if we could help him with anything as he was shoveling. He said there is a lot we could help him with and then he said “Mormons right?” We said yes and then he said “The thing that would help me the most is if you guys just kept walking.” Then he said, "get thee Satan behind me" really loud.  It was so funny. I wish you could've seen this guy. I don't understand people sometimes. They say they know everything about the Mormon Church and they don't want to be involved with it and then we say have you read the BOM and they say no. So you don't know anything about our church then? Haha.

Well family, things are going well here.  I wish I was home with you on this Halloween Night having some chili or setting up a haunted house or something. Tonight we have to be in our apartment by six and make 72 hour kits. We might buy some candy though and pass it out.

I love you all!!!

Love Elder Tanner Mouritsen

Lars Mouritsen's photostream

Lars Mouritsen's photostream on Flickr.

October 2011

October 2011, a set on Flickr.

Last days at MTC

Last days at MTC, a set on Flickr.