This is all we got today:

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!!!

Shoes

Do you think Scott has been working hard enough?!?!?

Home Sweet Home!

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

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

Long Time, No E-Mail. :(

Scott hasn't sent out his weekly report the last two weeks. We've gotten SHORT personal emails, but that's about it. Here's what we do know:

-He's all moved into his new house. We googled it, and it's HUGE. But he says, "In all honesty I'm not sure about the geriatric landlord. The space that we're in is very very small, we have no dresser and a very small closet so we are living out of our suitcases. Oh well. I'll probably only be here for another transfer."
-He has a new Companion. He says, "The new comp is awesome. He's from Indiana. He's been out around 18months and is pretty relaxed."
-He also says, "And hey, if you ever think about sending food, don't hesitate. =) Food is probably some of the best packages I get."
-Spencer is finding all kinds of restaurants for Scott to try. Lots of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives places are in his mission!
-He got the flu last week and said it was pretty rough, but today he said he's feeling better.
-He keeps forgetting to bring his camera cord to the library, so we don't have any new pictures.
-We miss him A LOT and hope he is doing great!!

Here is a photo we found of the house we think might be his right now:

A little Arizona Randomness

Here are a few random pictures from Scott. Looks like he is having a blast and keeping himself busy. We sure miss you little brother!

"Elder Hay, a missionary in my district, pretty much already has a wife. She sent him this really awkward picture.


Another AZ Sunset


Brother Padilla, the ward mission leader. He is an awesome guy.


The map we made of our district.

The Light Show

Missionaries need entertainment too right? Why go somewhere to be entertained when you can make your own light show in the bathroom sink? Or tease a dog with a laser? Elder Denison and Elder Shupe star in their very own light show. I don't think this is the last you'll be seeing of these two talented young men!

Email of the Week

Hey guys.

So, I guess according to some people (don't worry, Jenny, I won't name names ), my letters haven't been enough about me. They've just been about what baptisms are coming up. Well, BAPTISMS ARE KINDA ALL I'M CONCENTRATING ON RIGHT NOW!!! haha I'm just kidding. I've been doing great. It's a really fun area and I'm getting into the swing of things nicely. This morning I got up and ditched my companion (don't worry, he was with other elders and so was I) and hiked up Camelback Mountain. It's this random mountain all by itself in the middle of the valley. You can see the entire mission except the northern areas. I got some pretty cool pictures, but you only get the one. I'll send the rest next month (by the way, January's pictures are being mailed today, Jenny).

The other picture is of the baptism we had Saturday. Her dad and step mom are less actives that we've reactivated. They're a super cool family. One of the little girls is so awesome. So We tell Nick the Dad that he should say the opening prayer for the lesson that night. He agrees, and then sits there thinking about what he wants to say. Marrisa (the seven-year-old) asks him, "Daddy, do you need me to help you?" It was so hard not to burst out laughing! This family has pretty much adopted us. There have been some nights (I am ashamed of this) that we've been super apostate and just spent 3 or 4 hours there. And we sat next to them in church, and I'm also sorry to say that I spent all sacrament meeting playing with their little girl. Oh well, I need some friends while I'm out here. haha

Also that day we were attacked. Don't worry, we weren't hurt. We were stopped at a stop light when suddenly we hear this loud crash. It was kind of funny the two different reactions between Elder Shupe and I. I start looking around and am about ready to get out of the car. I see that there are these two homeless guys fighting with each other (so they didn't actually attack us) and one threw a rock at the other, completely missed, and hit our car. I don't know why, but this made me super mad and I was about to get out and start yelling at both of them. But the next thing I know, Elder Shupe is pulling away!! It was probably a good thing though. After we got out we looked at where the rock had hit and amazingly there was only a small scratch on the bumper. It was pretty impressive considering how fragile new cars are. Maybe mission vehicles are protected just like missionaries? haha

Anyways, thats my week. I love you guys so much!! Hope to hear from all of you soon

More Pics from the MTC

I have a bunch of pictures from Scott, I'm just trying to figure out which ones are which. He sent a list of what they are all of. Here is a batch of photos from the MTC. Enjoy!

Elder Hunt and his "Evil Missionary." Scott will have to expound on this one day. I have no idea what the story is here. ha ha ha.

Pictures on the wall in their classroom.

Scott's desk.

Scott's bed at the MTC.

The Spectrum SLAM!!

I'm assuming this is a source of entertainment in the MTC these days. Scott will have to correct me if I'm wrong in a few years. I've never seen anyone else attempt the challenge, but I'm guessing Scott was among the top competitors. He fought to the bitter end. (I'm sure drinking some of those juices really was bitter after drinking the sweet ones. ha ha ha.) Anyway, I hope this brings comfort to you all to see Scott growing as a person and obtaining new skills that will improve his everyday life and spirituality. ;)

Surprise Monday Email

So I know that it's monday, and I usually email on Tuesdays, but we have training meetings and exchanges all week, so they put our PDay on Monday this week. Next week I'll be emailing on Tuesday once again.

Anyways, life in Phoenix goes great!! We had a baptism on Saturday!! I'll see if I can attach a picture. I baptized her and Elder Shupe confirmed her. It was a really neat experience. We also have another baptism on Saturday as well! Well, hopefully. She has to meet with the mission president for her interview today, and hopefully we get the go ahead for Saturday.

So how are you guys doing with your reading every night? I haven't heard back from some of you in a while. Also, I have an article here by a guy named Cleon Skousen. He wasn't a general authority or anything, but his knowledge of the gospel just baffles me. The article is called "Building Blocks of The Universe". Basically, it has changed my entire outlook on the gospel, on what he explains as "The Mysteries of The Scriptures", and so much more!!! Holy cow, it has some really really really really deep stuff about the atonement, about the pre-mortal existance, and about the true nature of Heavenly Father. It is intense. I have a copy of it so I am going to mail it to you, dad, and then you need to make copies of it and send one copy back to me. The rest you should disperse amongst the family. Like I said, it is really intense.

Also, one last thing that someone could do if they really wanted to help me out, if anyone has some Peter Breinholdt CDs, it would be really cool if you could send me a copy. But if not, don't worry about it. Love you guys!!!

Elder Denison

To Transfer, or not to transfer. . . .

"This was the night we were waiting to hear about transfers. We got bored and
started taking pictures."

Needless to say, Scott did NOT get transferred, and neither did Elder Shupe. 6 more weeks together for them.