Transfers. . . . .

I am being transferred back to Mesa. It actually might be part of an indian reservation, but I'm not sure. I will be getting a new companion. I'm not too happy about leaving, though. The family I have been teaching gets baptized this weekend, but I'll be gone by then. Hopefully I'll be able to get permission to come back for that baptism. Anyways, I guess my time in Cave Creek has come to an end. I spent all day yesterday saying bye to everyone. It was so sad. Bishop Morgan of the Cave Creek ward even made an announcement in sacrament meeting that I was leaving and he wanted to thank me for serving here. This is probably the hardest transfer I'll ever do. I've been here so long and the people here are so great that I've become part of them. Well, we're definately coming back here to visit. Love you guys so much!!!

My Email from Scott this week. . . .

Hey sis. So ironically enough, we had interviews with President on
Thursday. Just as I thought the interview was coming to an end, he
asks me how things are going back home. I tell him that I knew very
little how things were. Little did I know how little I knew. Wow,
almost down to single digits of months left. But I'm not gunna think
about that. Well, the work here is going great. There was a baptism
that was scheduled for this coming weekend. It's the family I was
telling you guys about over Christmas. They are progressing super
fast, but they want to push it back a week as they have prior
commitments on that day. So the baptism will be 3 days after
transfers. =( Hope and pray that I don't get transfered!!! It's a
long shot, but it's still possible. Anyways, other than that, we've
had a really good week. There are a lot of confusing things going on
right now in the work. There was a couple (not married) who were
working on getting baptized by the end of the year. She is an
excommunicated member, but we baptized her 14 year-old son in
November. The boyfriend had a date on New Years Eve, and we we're
hoping that he would have been ready to be baptized then, but a few
days before Christmas, they left for Hawaii together. =( We've been
spending the last few weeks trying to contact them, but they fell off
the radar. Then on Sunday, they randomly showed up to church! But
they skipped out before sacrament was over and we didn't have a chance
to talk to them! Oh well. Other then that, things are going great.
I love you so much!!!
Elder Denison

Miracles Never Cease

Hey guys. So other then conference, we had an amazing miracle this week! You know the family that we baptized except for the dad? Well, we eating lunch last Tuesday, and we get a call from him. "Hey, I'm in town for the week, and I need to be baptized. Can we make it work for tomorrow night?" We said, definately not tomorrow night, but possibly Thursday night. But don't hold your breath. I honestly didn't think that we would be able to do it, because in order to do it we had to get him an interview, get an ok from the bishop, get an ok from President Ellsworth about doing a waterside confirmation, and then set up a baptismal program and get the ward invited. To put matters worse, last week were leadership training meetings, so everyone we needed to talk to were in meetings until 5 at night, and then they were still going to be busy. I let his wife know that we might not be able to pull this off, but then she put me in a guilt trip. She said, "Elder Denison, where is your faith?" Man, I never thought I'd be chastized by a recent convert. Then she says "If anyone can pull this off it's you, because you got my son baptized, and that was a bigger miracle then this!" So I couldn't let her down. I was on the phone all day Wednesday trying to get everything in line. Well, long story short, we got permission to carry everything out Wednesday night at about 10:20. It was a good thing too, because our very zealous Ward Mission Leader had already invited all the ward to the baptism. But it turned out to be an awesome baptism. But probably the coolest thing of all was during the confirmation the words were said that he would take his family to the temple in a year from now, and when I heard that, I knew that it was going to happen. And I'll still be here for it!!! BTW, this family is going up to Utah for either Thanksgiving or Christmas to go skiing, and I might send them by you guys to say hi! Anyways, I love you all a ton!!!

Scott the Wedding Performer. . . .

Ok, so I'm emailing today because all the libraries were closed yesterday. Couple of things have been going on. So our area is in the middle of the desert, and there are a lot of dirt roads that we travel. So for the past few months we've been working with the vehicle coordinator if we could get a truck. We didn't think it was really going to happen, but we thought we would try. The other day, we get a random call from him and he tells us that our truck had arrived and that we needed to come into the mission office to pick it up!!! We are now driving around, going 4-wheeling (somewhat, we can't do anything crazy) to our lessons, in our new Chevy Colorado. It's a little truck, but it's so much fun!!! I'll have to send you some pictures later.
Also, the family that we have been working with ever since I got here, the oldest son is being baptized next week!!! We are so excited!! Speaking of which, I don't know if I've ever mentioned them, but the way this family was introduced to the gospel was from their nanny, who is/was a less-active member from New Zealand. Well, she and her fiance'e who has also been living with the them are finally getting married. And guess who they are having perform the ceremony? Considering we've been working with them just as much as we have the family, they love us just as much. And once they found out that we are technically ordained ministers. . .I'm so nervous!!! I have no clue what to say or do!!! Oh well, we will see how it goes. That is actually happening tonight, so wish me luck!!!
I love you guys so much! Write back, plz!!!

Home Sweet Home!

Here's a bird's eye view of Scott's apartment in Cave Creek. . . . .

Stephanie Meyer!!

Hey guys. So this week was amazing!!! We had another two baptisms on Saturday. It was so cool. So many people showed up. There were so many people that we had to have the service in the chapel and then cram everyone into the Relief Society room where the font was for the baptism. They are the daughters of a less-active family. It felt more like a post-poned child of record baptism, but it still counts as a convert baptism. So it goes on our numbers!! haha. But that wasn't even the amazing part of the week. The ********s, whom half of which were baptized two weeks ago, have still been having us over a lot. I really feel that this is the family that President Coombs said I was meant to teach when he set me apart. Anyways, the husband, was home for a couple of days, so we tried to teach him as many times as possible before he left again. One night, while I was teaching him (we were on splits, so Elder Weight was at another appointment), we had a really good lesson. After discussing the principles of the gospel, I was planning on discussing the Word of Wisdom, but he had a question. "So when can I be baptized?" I almost started to cry. I could tell that this was something he wanted for himself. He wasn't doing this because his wife was pushing him into it. He wants this because he wants what the gospel has to offer him. We immediately switched gears, we found out when he was going to be in town, and set a date for the 27th!! And he wanted to wait until October!!! He'll be in town this weekend as well, so we'll have the interview then, and then the following week he and the oldest son, (who is also just plain awesomeness), are going to be baptized. I am so happy for this family!!!

Everyone says that the Scottsdale zone doesn't baptize and has a hard time teaching because everyone here is loaded and don't need the gospel. As of right now, the Scottsdale zone is leading the mission with lessons taught and baptisms! The average number of baptisms for a zone in a month is about 20. Between my companion and I alone we will have 7!!! And the rest of our district is doing just as well!!! This area is Zion!!! Minor note: we had dinner with a certain family the other night. It took us about 45 minutes to drive there. They live in a gated city (note how I say "city" and not "community"). Within the gated city were multiple gated communities. The one in which they live in was literally on top of a mountain. They live in a multi-million dollar house. Have a 12 car garage. The husband is leaving for Germany just to hang out. While there, he is buying a new Porsche, of which model they are only making 918. They're family room's walls fold into themselves and the family room becomes an outdoor balcony over the edge of the mountain in which they live giving a view of the entire North Scottsdale valley. Now let me tell you how they afford all of this. The wife is Stephanie Meyer, the author of those stupid vampire books. She and her family live in our ward!!! I didn't even realize this until I saw multiple posters of each of the books hanging up with her signature on them. Then I made the connection. But apparently she's just as annoyed with the popularity of the books as a lot of people. She gets really sick of it I guess. She wasn't there when we had dinner though. She was in Europe for the filming of the last movie. So yeah, we have some pretty well off people in this area.

So the work is going great in sunny Arizona. Even president has been amazed at how well things are going. Thanks for all your guys' prayers. I think the Lord has been saving them up and has finally decided to cash them in. At the end of this month, the six weeks I have spent here will have doubled my baptisms that I have been a part of. So don't worry for me. I couldn't be better.

Happy Monday.

Hey sis. Things are going great. Well, there was no baptism on Saturday. They couldn't wait until then!!! We had it Tuesday. It was the coolest baptism ever!!! Transfers are this week, but both my companion and I are staying here. It will be pretty cool. He goes home at the end of this transfer, so I'll have first dibs on all his stuff that he's leaving behind.

That's way funny about the lady from Snowflake. That area actually is in our mission. My last companion is being sent up there this transfer. He's way excited because he's related to a lot of the people up there.

Tell the boys I said happy birthday!!! My mind has been so stressed lately that I forgot that it was their birthday this week. Did dad give you my presents for them? They're not much, just a couple of "growth charts", but I thought that they would have fun with them, and I didn't have any money for anything else. Anyways, love you guys so much!!!

Looking Up!

Well family, things are going a lot better for me now. We just had an amazing week. An entire family that we have been teaching just suddenly caught fire!!! (Not literally) We have met with them almost everyday for the past week, have gone to the visitor's center at the temple and a baptism with them, and they are totally excited to be baptized! We originally had a date with the mom and two of the four kids. The dad is out of town a lot and he takes the oldest boy with him, and the youngest kid is only six. The dad is really cool. He goes to different carnivals and such running a hot dog and hamburger stand, with the largest grill in the world!!! He's beat the Guiness World Record for largest grill, largest burger, and he plans on beating another one this summer. So he's out of town a lot, and thats why he's not getting baptized with the mom and two kids. He says work slows down around October, so we wanted to wait for the baptism for everyone until then. But the mom said that she couldn't wait!!! She is so cool, as well. She's already telling her friends all about the gospel and how much it's changed her. She's even been handing out gospel principles manuals!! Anyways, she didn't want to wait for her husband, so we set a date with her for the 13th. Saturday, when she came to some of the other missionaries baptism, she said that she didn't want to wait that long! So we moved everything up for this saturday. Then last night, she said that she wanted it on Tuesday so that her husband could be there. So the last few days have been crazy trying to set up this baptism for the mom and two of the kids that have come out of nowhere!!! While we were deciding who was going to be baptizing who, the nine year old, comes up to me and says "I claim Elder Denison!! He's baptizing me!!!" It was so awesome and made me feel so cool.

It's so exciting, because I know this family is going to the temple. And if I just cowboy up and work hard out here so that I don't let myself come home, I'll be able to go to the temple with them just before I come home. That will be awesome. So I don't remember if I told you last week or not, but president told me that I'm staying in this area at least until official transfers in a week. I really hope that I stay here for a while though, so that I can see the rest of the family baptized. And so much else is happening in this area. It's in the northern desert over Scottsdale, so only rich people live here. But it's been amazing how many of them are open to the gospel. It's awesome!!! So that's my story for the week. I love you all so much, and I hope to hear form you all soon. (Chad send me that package!!!! haha, jk love ya dude!)

To everyone: Hey guys. Don't worry, this week is doing better. I've started the happy drugs and have been seeing the shrink. Also I actually saw my mission president today. He told me that he's going to try to keep me in the area that I'm in right now, but things are very hectic in the mission right now, so I could be moved around anywhere they need me to go. So if you do feel like sending me anything, SEND IT TO THE MISSION OFFICE!!!! It will take only an extra two days then sending it directly to me, but then again, it will get to me much quicker if I am emergency transfered again. So don't worry, all is well. Love you guys a lot!!!

To me: Nothing too exciting this week. Do you guys even see the Elders in your ward? You should sign up to feed them one night. Just think of it as you should treat them the way you would treat me if I were serving in that area! haha. I have put together on a big thumb drive all of my pictures that I have taken on my mission so far and am going to send it with my next package. The problem is, half of the stuff that I want to send is still in my old area. =( Oh well, it will get there in a couple weeks. That way you can get all of July's pictures as well. So that sucks about the fireworks. The Arizona law changed here, apparantley, and the not for the better. It was worse then Utah. Not only that, but since I'm a missionary (and I had a very obediant companion), we weren't able to light any off anyways. But that makes me excited for when I get back. Anyways, love you guys!

Peace, Lvz, and Dew

E Denison

Sorry Guys. . . . .

Well family, I need to apologize for being such a jerk. Things have been pretty hard the past few weeks, so I haven't felt like writing. But that isn't fair of me, so I'm repenting and writing now. Well, a lot has happened the past few weeks. My companion and I had a few fights, the area has been struggling, but I've been struggling as well. We had interviews with president last week, and I let him know what was going on. For those of you who don't know, I've been trying to get back on antidepressants for the past two months and I've also been seeing a shrink. I stopped seeing the doctor because I wanted to try and do this on my own. It hasn't been working out. I'm seeing the doctor again tomorrow. Also, I was emergency transfered, but hopefully not permanently. It had nothing to do with me and my companion or what I've been going through. There was an Elder who will always remain unnamed who came out with me who has been struggling with his mission all the time. He apparantley met a girl in his first area, has yet to spend an entire transfer in an area due to emergency transfers, and he's been giving president a lot of stress. Well, I guess last week in the middle of the night his girlfriend came and picked him up and they made it all the way to Vegas before President could get a hold of him. So they pulled me out of my area to be with his companion, Elder Weight, who is an awesome missionary. I'm not sure what's happened to the guy, but they did make it to Vegas and we haven't heard from them since. I feel really bad for his family. I can't imagine what they're feeling or thinking right now. Anyways, so I'm here in Cave Creek for a week or two, maybe even permanently. This area is huge and it's right in the middle of the desert. It's pretty fun.

So that is what has been happening for the past few weeks. Again I'm sorry for not writing, and I hope to hear from you guys next week.

Peace, Lvz, and Dew
E Denison

So excited to hear from him, I said this. . . .
Hey you! Are you still at the library?? I have a letter I'm in the middle of writing. I will hurry and finish it. Love ya!

He said this. . . . .
Ok. I will wait.

And I said. . . . .
Ha ha ha. I just sent it. It's super short. :) Here is one of our new pics. LOVE YOUR GUTS!! What do you need??

And so then he said. . . . .
I'm hanging in there. I won't lie though, if I knew the boys weren't looking up to me I probably would have already come home. So tell Carter that I love him so very much. I can't wait to see how big he can grow and how nice of a young man he is to his mom when I get back. Tell Mason that I am safe (especially since I got out of Phoenix where having guns pulled on us was a monthly thing) and that I am okay. I love you guys so much. I also want you to know that I came very close to calling you the other night, but I fell asleep. So just a heads up, if you get a call in the middle of the night from either a 602 or a 480 number, DON'T ANSWER IT!!!! It's just me being a baby. Well, I'll talk to ya later. Tell the boys I love them so much, and that I have felt they're prayers.

Then I cried and said to him. . . . .
You're so funny. I don't quite know what to say to that. I've thought about telling you to call me. ha ha ha. So, if you get an email from your sister saying to give her a call DON'T LISTEN!! ha ha ha Christmas will be here before we know it and we can talk like crazy. There is also a funny thing called letters and email. It's kinda like a phone call, just a little slower. We could try that in the mean time?? (And I sent him our family picture.)

SO he said to me. . . . .
I LOVE CARTERS FACE!!!!! But what is up with his hair? He needs a haircut!!!

I laughed and said. . . . .
Ha ha ha. I just can't do it. I don't want him to have long hair when he's 12, so I'll get it out of my system now! ha ha ha. The boys are sitting here and Mason says, "Hi Scott! We love you!"

What a relief to FINALLY hear from him. Love you Scott!!!