E-mail 12/28/2010 Week 37

Hola Familia!

It was great to hear y'all on Christmas This past week was a bit slower for some reason. We still had some highlights though. We had a Christmas party on Wednesday and there were a bunch of investigators/nonmembers their. Destiny, Breanna and Gabriel were there. They think it's lame that their dad isn't giving them permission yet. They're awesome so hopefully he comes around soon so we can baptize them. We saw Alfredo twice. The first time we talked about the Book of Mormon and answered some questions he had. During our discussions he said, "A lot of people call you "Mormons" because they think you worship Mormon. But that's not right, you're Christians." I don't know if that's word for word but that was about it. He called us Christians! Woohoo! I really enjoy it when people call us Christians because most people think we aren't. It's pretty sad. Anyways, we went back to see him on Sunday and went over the Plan of Salvation and hard committed him for baptism. He's been prepared and he's so ready! But, he told us he wants it for his whole family. His wife, Patti, is nice and everything but she hasn't been showing too much interest thus far. So, we had been trying to get teamups to go over with us and we finally got one. We are going over to see Alfredo and Patti tonight with Tania M. Tania is really awesome and we're hoping that having a female fellowshipper will help with Patti. I'll let you know how it went next week. Yesterday we went to see a callback named Kimberly. We taught her the Restoration and soft committed her and she accepted. She was very involved in the lesson and asked questions and everything. We are pretty excited about her. We are going to see her again on Saturday. I'll let ya know how it goes. Other than them we weren't able to see many people. It was just one of those weeks I suppose. But, everything is going well. Oh, Gracias a la familia O'dell por darme la corbata y la carta and thanks to Jamie and Linda for the tie and also thanks to Jule and Koni (hope I spelled it right) for the card and money Thank you for the ties they are really nice. I'm not sure how appropriate the pink one is though haha. Thank y'all for everything and have a happy new year!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

Christmas Card From Barry 12/27/2010 Week 37

Here is a Christmas card we received from Barry. We talked to him on Saturday for a little under an hour for Christmas.

Christmas Phone Call 12/25/2010

Below are some of the things discussed in Barry's Christmas phone call home. Questions we asked are in red. Things Barry said or asked are in blue and comments from us are in black. It was wonderful to hear from him and he sounds great! Morena tested his Spanish and he is picking it up quickly. The Lord is truly blessing him.

Have you played any soccer?
I've played once at my first zone activity.

How is Journal writing going?
It's going ok I kinda got lazy a little bit. I'm catching up.

What did you do for Christmas Eve?
Went over to new Senior couples house and ate fondue stuff and stuff like that and played a couple of Christmas games like Christmas song games. You have pictures and guess the Christmas song from the picture.

What did you do for today for Christmas?
Elder Wilkinson called his family (parents) in the morning and then went to the Branch mission leader (Bro. Lilly) who had son, daughter-in-law and two grandkids there and helped them put their hot-wheel tracks together.

Recibiste los tres paquetes que te habiamos mandado? (Did you receive the three packages we sent?)
Si, recibi' tres paquetes. (Yes I received the three packages)

How is DVD player working?
Good, we just watched a Joseph Smith movie.

How has the weather been affecting your work?
First of all today it was a white Christmas. But when it snows hardly anybody knows how to drive in the snow. The roads are really slick which is why we got stuck in Chattanooga. Sometimes we don't go out because of driving conditions.

You mentioned your area is huge? Could you use GPS system?
Ummmm. I could but I don't know if it would be necessary cause we already know the area pretty good. There's three main places we go to and we know them pretty well. If there's somewhere we need to go and don't know how to get there we have a member drive us.

Samie's Question: What is your favorite thing about being a missionary?
Favorite thing? Huh. Probably just offering people a chance to come unto Christ.

What do you miss doing the most (worldly life)?
Hugging people/girls.

What is your favorite scripture this week?
I don't know. I'm not good at picking favorite scriptures.
2 Ne 25:26 "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

And why is that?
Because Christ is the reason for the season and it talks of us talking of Christ and speaking of Christ and all that.

Have you written to Ryan or Darrin or Joe or any of your buddies on their mission?
I've written to McKay, I was going to write to Ryan tonight. Which reminds me I need to make sure I have Ryan's correct address.

Morena: I have to give a talk in Church tomorrow and I'm supposed to talk on the benefits of Missionary Life and I want to know what changes have you noticed in you by serving a mission?
I've noticed that I'm a lot more loving. I am able to love people for who they are and I don't judge people like I may have used to. I love everyone now and I've grown a lot here like a lot a lot.

Morena: I want to give you a chance to ask us questions. What questions do you have for us?

Barry: How is everything going?
Paul: Really good. We all got together at the Mandarin Buffet, about 40 people. Pretty much everybody was there.

Barry: What was it that you were saying when I first called you earlier?
Morena: [speaking spanish]
Barry: Ok.
Morena: [more spanish]
Barry: hmm. Ha ha ok?
Barry: She's a nurse and her last name is Clark.

Paul: Your Aunt Koni broke her wrist while walking her dog.

Morena: What else do you want to know?
Barry: Is the grass in the backyard still doing good?
Paul: Really good. We had more rain in the last seven days then we normally have in a year and a half. [Recounts the flooding and the control of it]

Sam: I went on a cruise to the Bahammas and I ran into a celebrity. Did you every watch Bones? You know detective Booth? I saw him at the Bahammas but I didn't have my camera on me. We were supposed to go to another island but the captain wouldn't dock because of heavy wind and ice. Went to Nicolodian resort and Disney World.
I still haven't got my test results back from my arobics instructor test.

Barry: Is Sean still having missionaries come over yet?
Sam: No he hasn't started yet. He's actually here.
Sean: Hello.

Morena: Have you been translating or interpreting in Sacrament Meeting?
Barry: I've translated twice.
Morena: How has that been?
Barry: It is pretty rough cause umm. Louden wasn't really a Spanish area. We didn't really have many active Spanish members so we weren't really speaking. When I got here I really had to practice more.
Paul: I had to interpret on my mission. Pretty tough but helps you to learn.

Morena: What benefits have you obtained so far from being on a mission?
Barry: Probably goes along with what you asked me earlier. Well umm I'm trying to think. Oh I've become a little more outgoing because I kinda have to be.

You're not as quiet?
Yeah everyday your coming up to random people saying hey how's it going?

Has B. L. made progress?
What did I send you in my email?
Tithing was an issue.
Barry: We just taught her the doctorin and committed her to pray about it... She believes it's true but doesn't have a testimony. [relates benefits of praying about tithing] Baptismal date dropped so she wasn't baptized yesterday. Senior couple Blacks are supposed to be meeting her some time this week. She felt like she was being rushed. She believes everything but she is like 80 something years old so she's making a really huge change in her life. We're going to try and do it more at her pace so she feels a little more comfortable.

What is the Very best thing you have experienced so far?
I would have to say my first day here in Fort Payne. We went to Collinsville and had a meal appointment with Vanessa and her mom. I didn't know anyone or what was going on and another Hispanic family was there as well, afterwards we were going to give a spiritual thought and Vanessa popped up and said "oh yeah I want to be baptized". It was pretty awesome because the first 6 months of my mission I was working my tail off and didn't see anything of it and I get here and my first day I get a baptismal commitment?

What is the strangest thing that has happened so far?
Last transfer I was on exchange with my District Leader Elder Carpenter and tracting going from one building to another a guy sitting on some steps waves us over and says "You worship Joseph Smith" and asking us a bunch of questions and the whole time Elder Carpenter and I were calm about it and standing still being calm about the whole thing and he was pacing back and forth like he wasn't in control of himself and he looked at Elder Carpenter's eyes and says "I see a soul and it wants to be saved" after more back and forth he steps up close to me and says something to me that I didn't really understand and I asked Elder Carpenter what he said and he said he said "he wants you to remember what he said" and I said I guess it didnt' really work since I pretty much forgot instantly what he said.

Jackee: how are you doing wanted to make sure you are ok. Any other interesting stories?


Barry: Yes, I am doing ok. Hey I just remembered I got a letter from Victoria when I was out for 6 months. Did you know Joe was an AP? He's awesome.

Janice: Hi Barry. If I sent you a video of the kids would you be able to watch it?
Barry: Umm. I'm not sure. I have to ask President Griffin. Cause that would be awesome.

E-mail 12/20/2010 Week 36

Hola Familia!

Aqui todo esta bien. For most of last week I was in South Pittsburg, Tennessee and Elder Wilkinson was in Chattanooga for leadership trainings. I was able to go to one day of the trainings. It was awesome! The Spirit was super strong and everything! Anyways, we were supposed to come back to Fort Payne on Tuesday. But, the trainings were delayed from Monday to Tuesday because of snow. So then, we were supposed to come back on Wednesday but then we had some more bad weather and I guess all of the roads in Fort Payne were closed! So, we had to wait one more day to come back and that almost didn't happen. Thankfully we were able to come back Thursday and start working in our own area again. So, there hadn't been any proselyting here for about a week so we have been trying to make up for that these past few days. We saw Breanna and Gabriel, Destiny wasn't there, and taught them the Plan of Salvation using a white board. We taught it simply and drew the principles out on the white board. Then, we had each of them draw it themselves and teach it back to us. They're really smart so they were able to do it almost perfectly. We also taught them about fasting and prayer. We decided to fast and pray together to get permission from their parents. We saw Cyn Brown, their grandmother, but not the kids. I guess her son, their dad, flipped out and doesn't want them taking the lessons anymore. Sigh. So, we aren't teaching them anymore for the moment. We also saw Victor and Maria. They are doing pretty good but they still haven't come to church. So, we invited them to the Christmas party so they can get to know more of the members so they feel more comfortable. We saw a guy named Jeremias. Elder Sexton and I tracted into him and we decided to see him last night. We went over the first lesson and soft committed him and he said yes! We also saw Alfredo and Patti. Patti just stayed for a bit of the lesson but Alfredo was completely involved. He's awesome! We soft committed him for baptism. He basically said he's going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and once he does that and feels prepared he'll be baptized! We invited them to the Party as well. That is pretty much everything this week. I will call Saturday (Christmas day!) around two in the afternoon your time. I can't remember when Kaylee usually takes her naps so hopefully it's not around then. I can't wait to hear from y'all! I love y'all and I'll talk to y'all soon!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

Q. Favorite Events of the week?

A. Going to the one day of Training/Christmas party. It was awesome!

Q. Favorite Scripture for this week?

A. I would have to say Alma 5 : 51. I don't have my Book of Mormon on me right now but I think that's the reference haha. Anyways, it was around eight last night and we hadn't eaten dinner yet. We were trying to decide whether we should end our night or go see Alfredo and his family. We prayed and that scripture popped into my head. We went over, had an awesome lesson and soft committed him!

Q. What have you done for p-day the last couple of weeks?
A. We went to Chattanooga once for a Zone activity. We played dodgeball and volleyball! We haven't done much other than that haha.

Q.How far do you have to travel to meet with your district/zone
for p-day, or to use the computer, to do your Laundry etc.?

It's about 50 miles for district meetings. Thankfully we have the blacks and they drive us their and to church each week. It's about four or five miles to use the computer and we have a washer and dryer in our apartment so we don't need to go anywhere for that

Q. Who was your favorite contact of the week and why?

A. Alfredo: We had a good lesson and he accepted a soft commitment!

Q. Will you be sending us more pictures soon? Are you working on sending lots and lots of pictures of activities, the front of the place you’re living, your companion? Anything is good and well received J

A. Yes, I'll send more pics soon after I get the other memory card back. (sounds fair enough :))

Q. Do you have with you, your line of authority? It could come in handy one day.

A. It's in my journal.

Q. Do you know how much we love you and how proud your dad and I are of you?

A. I think so haha.

Q. Tell us about your new area: apartment, city, branch, etc.

A. Fort Payne is awesome. It's quite big and spread out. We cover most of the mission area here in Alabama. The Band Alabama is from Fort Payne. I just recently took some pics by some statues of them.

Q. Have you had any cool spiritual experiences over the last couple of weeks?

A. Yes at the one training I went to. It was just awesome and I hope I can go to another one soon!

E-mail 12/13/2010 Week 35

Take a Leap of Faith

Hola Familia!

Right now I'm in South Pittsburg, Tennessee! They are having trainings in Chattanooga for all of the Senior missionaries so that is where Elder Wilkinson is right now. They had the trainings on friday and saturday. They were supposed to have them today and tomorrow too but it is snowing! So, I guess they don't want the missionaries to be driving around in these conditions. Anyways, Elder Wilkinson said the trainings were really amazing! They are going to have them each transfer for a while longer. I hope I get to go soon it sounds really awesome! This past week we saw Victor and Maria again. Victor had read in the introduction and had some questions. Maria still didn't seem too interested. We were talking for a bit and then Victor asked what we thought about infant baptism. So, we read almost all of Moroni 8 with them. After that, we noticed a positive change in Maria's interest. At the end we had Victor offer a kneeling prayer. It was a good lesson. We just need to get them to church now. We also saw Alfredo and his wife Patti. They had met with missionaries before and so they already knew a little bit. They seem to have some good potential. We also saw Buena Luke, the mother of a member. She has a date for the 24th. We met her for the first time on Tuesday I believe it was. After talking with her for a bit we discovered she has an issue with tithing right now. So, we read some scriptures promised blessings. She just isn't sure if she has the faith to pay because she is on a fixed income and she has a pretty expensive car payment. So, we promised her blessings again and just comitted her to take a leap of faith and actually paying her tithing. Right now she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Church is true. But, we found out she hasn't prayed about the Book of Mormon. So, we comitted her to do that too. Once she has that testimony it should resolve her concerns. But, that was pretty much everything from this past week. Oh, I think I have Ryan's address. I got Jack'ee's addresses recently. I hope that I can make some Christmas cards this week to send to y'all. Well, I hope y'all are having a great Christmas season! I love y'all and I'll talk to y'all next week!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling We sent you a package with Spanish materials and Christmas stuff. Q. Did you get it yet? A. Yes, I got it. Thank you! Q. When is your mission Christmas Party? A. It is tomorrow.

E-mail 12/6/2010 Week 34

Querido Barry,

Como estas? Aqui todo esta bien. Hemos empezado a prepararnos para La Navidad. Es muy extrano no tenerte aqui durante este tiempe pero estamos felices en saber que tu estas haciendo la voluntad del Senor.

(Q) So who is your new companion?

(A) Elder Wilkinson

(Q) Tell us about him. How long has he been out?

(A) He is cool! His mission started out kinda rough but he is a really good missionary now. He's been out for about 21 months. He has two transfers left.

(Q) Where is he from? How are things going in Fort Payne?

(A) Provo. Things are going great! We have the mother of a member who has a date for the 24th! Her name is Buena Luke. I can't remember if I told you about her before but she is not hispanic haha. We also taught a lesson to some grandchildren of a member who aren't baptized. At the end of the lesson they all said they want to be baptized! Their names are Destiny, Breanna and Gabriel. We also gave a Book of Mormon to Victor and Maria. We are going to see them again on Thursday so I'll let you know how that goes next week.

(Q)Hey are the winter clothes we got you warm?

(A) Yes they are pretty warm. I still haven't tried the thermal garments while tracting. That should help quite a bit. But yes they are warm.

Hola Familia,

I need to make this short. Sorry! But things are going great. My new comp is cool and the work is going well. Yes, I have two memory cards and I'll start trying to take more pictures. We had a Zone Activity in Chattanooga and so that's why I'm writing so late. We also have an appointment soon so I need to get going. Sorry it was so short today. Just know that everything's fine and I love y'all!!!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

Letter Received 11/30/2010

Dear Mom and Dad, Nov. 25, 2010

How are ya’ll doing? Here all is well. The branch is pretty awesome here. The Spanish group is really cool too. They are pretty close to becoming a branch themselves. I think they just need a few more Melchizedek Priesthood holders and they will be the Spanish Branch of Fort Payne! : ) This past Tuesday we, the Chattanooga Zone, met with Elder Johnson who is a Seventy! It was like a Zone Conference and he trained us on some things. It was cool! Before that I was on an exchange with my district leader, Elder Carpenter, in the Chat Valley Area. Every once in a while somebody anties us. Some one will anti us to try to “save us” or whatever. Haha. So while I was on exchange with E. Carpenter that happened to us. We were tracting these apartments and just finished one building and were on our way to the next one. Then this guy who was sitting on the steps of another building waved us over. We went over and started talking with him. One of his first questions was, “do you worship Joseph Smith?” We told him no. He asked us several other questions like that, trying to shake our testimony. The whole time we were calm & collected while he couldn’t stand still. He was pacing back and forth the whole time. At one point he stopped, looked Elder Carpenter in the eyes, and said, “I see your soul. It wants to be free,” . Something along those lines. It was weird! Then, he came within a foot of me and was saying stuff that I forgot almost immediately . Then, he prayed that we would “find the truth” and such. During his prayer he spoke in tongues, it was so weird! After our experience I asked Elder Carpenter what the guy said to me. He said that he told me to “remember the things I’m telling you.” It looks like it didn’t work out for the guy because I forgot pretty much instantly. Haha! So that was an interesting experience. Anyways, the work here is going pretty well. My Spanish is improving slowly but surely. : ) I’m learning new things each day. Hopefully I’ll be able to learn faster once those materials get here. Oh man, I just realized I haven’t used my bike once since I’ve been in Fort Payne. Our area is huge haha. One of the biggest in the mission. Also, we haven’t ever tracted after dark. I guess a while back some things happened and so they don’t want us tracting here after dark. Well, I just wanted to let ya’ll know that everything’s fine. But, I need to go now. We have some meal appointments for Thanksgiving! : ) I hope ya’ll have a great Thanksgiving and rest of the week! Oh, I’m sending my memory card too for pics. I love ya’ll! Tell everyone I love them!

Love, Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 11/29/2010 Week 33

Hola familia!

Aqui en Alabama todo esta bien. We got a call on Saturday and Elder Sexton is leaving to be a District Leader somewhere. So, I get to take over Fort Payne! It's so crazy, it feels like I just got here haha. Transfers are on Wednesday so I will let you know where Elder Sexton is going and who my new companion is next Monday. Last Monday I went on an exchange with Elder Carpenter. On Tuesday we exchanged back at a "Zone Conference". We had Elder Johnson, a Seventy, come and give us some training. It was really good! Then, on Thursday we had two meal appointments for Thanksgiving! Thursday was also our p day. I sent ya'll a letter and the memory card with the latest pics. You should be getting it soon. Oh, and my stomach and such have been doing pretty good.

Yes, the printed conversion stories should be fine. Oh, I have one more request and no I'm not messing around. Do we still have that portable DVD player? If so, would it be possible for ya'll to send it to me? Don't worry I'm not being disobedient or anything. We got permission from President Griffin to have them so we can watch the Preach my Gospel DVD's and so that we can watch different church movies with investigators, who may not have a TV or DVD player in their home, according to their needs. If you're surprised to hear that believe me so was I haha. But anyways, if that could possibly be sent to me that would be awesome! Sorry, it feels like I'm asking a lot but apparently President Griffin believes that it will help. And there is no doubt in my mind that he is an inspired man. But that and the CD's and other spanish learning materials should really help. I hope they help because I might have to take over translating at church also.

Well, it sounds like ya'll had a good Thanksgiving and that things are going great back home! Kaylee remembers me yay!!! Haha! That is so awesome! Keep it up! Oh, I'm going to see if I can make some Christmas cards to send to everyone. Hopefully I will be able to. Well, I need to be going now. I hope ya'll have an amazing week! I love ya'll!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 11/22/2010 Week 32

Hola Familia!

Things are going well here in Fort Payne. Yesterday, the Fort Payne building was dedicated. I guess it's been done for about eight months or something but has just now been dedicated. We had all the meetings at their regular hours. Then, after sacrament, which is last, we had lunch! Several members brought food and it was good! Then, we had the dedication. Everything went well. Oh, by the way I'm on an exchange right now with Elder Carptenter DL so I'm writing from the chatt valley area. Anyways, we just mostly tracted this week. Alright I just answered your questions below. But, everything is going good. We should be able to get a couple of baptisms in Dec. I can write Janice and Sam but I'm not sure if I have Jack'ee's address. I'll look through emails real quick to see. But, I need to get going now. Just know that everything is going good, I'm fine and loving Tennessee (well... Alabama) and I love ya'll!!! I hope ya'll have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

Q. So how is the work going?

A. It's going good. We have one lady, Buena Luke (not hispanic) that we are going to see this week with the Blacks (Sr. Couple). She apparently wants to get baptized on Dec. 24th. But, we have to go over there and teach her all of the lessons first. But, usually what we do is tract, visit recent converts and less actives, and visit members. Because of the time zone we are in it gets dark at five! So, we usually tract until dark and then visit people.

Q. How are Victor and Maria doing?

A. We haven't had a chance to see them since that last visit. But, like I told you it went really well. We'll just work through Pablo and set up another appointment. We're planning on committing them for baptism on our next visit.

Q. How about that other nameless investigator whose mom is a member in Vegas?

A. She was in New York when we went back so we haven't seen her either. But, there was a guy there (I think it's his house) who said he spoke with missionaries in Florida before moving here. We are going to go back sometime and see if he's interested.

Q.Have you found any new investigators?

A. One lady named Brenda. She was baptized into a Baptist church a few months ago. But, she let us in and spoke to us for a bit. She bonked us on our return appointment but we'll try again another time.

Q.Are you enjoying your new area?

A. Yes!!!

Q.How is your Spanish coming?

A. It's coming along pretty good. I think those things you were telling me about will help. President Griffin says no earphones but that the cd's are fine.

Q. Are you in a bike area or riding a car?

A. Car. Our area is HUGE! Haha it's one of the biggest areas in the Mission.

Q.Have you had a chance to ride the bike much or is it still like new?

A. No I haven't ridden it much.

Q. How is the weather this time of year where you are at in Alabama?

A. It's pretty nice right now. It's starting to get pretty cold though.

E-mail 11/15/2010 Week 31

Hola Familia!

This past week we found one hispanic lady whose mom joined the church in Las Vegas. Her mom had apparently told her that the church has all of the truth. They were having a birthday party for their son when we knocked on the door. So, we sang happy birthday to her 8 year old son haha. Then, we talked with her for a couple mins and she said we could come back and share a message with her. Yay! Also, I forgot to tell you all but there is a former member here named Pablo (es de Guatemala). He would be a member right now but he is in a crazy situation right now lets just leave it at that haha. He loves the church and knows its true and everything. Anyways, Pablo is a referral machine! The missionaries were working with two referrals from him when I first got here. Then, just this past week he gave us two more! We went with Pablo, his girlfriend Chica, and Vinicio a recent convert, to see them this past saturday. There names are Victor and Maria. Pablo gave them "Together Forever". We shared the first lesson with them. They were asking really good questions, the spirit was there and it was awesome! At the end of the lesson we gave them a soft baptismal comittment. They said yes!!! So yeah it was pretty much awesome. That is the main highlight of the week
Alright these are the Spanish things I have right now. A spanish/english dictionary (electronic and book), scriptures, that red book for missionaries, Predicad Mi Evangelio, and this one spanish book that was left in the Loudon apartment haha. I think the audio CD's will be great! My old zone leader said that's one of the best things you can do. I don't know about the earphones though. If I'm doing it at night before going to bed I think it might be ok but I will ask President to see what he say. That study guide and the 500 verbs would be fantastic too! Oh by the way since we are on the topic of spanish I translated a little bit in Sacrament yesterday. It was rough haha! But, it will come with more time and the use of these couple of things we've talked about.

Alright, I'm going to write a separate thing for Ben.

I love ya'll and hope ya'll have a great week!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 11/8/2010 Week 30

Hola Familia!

This past Tuesday was awesome! We had Zone Conference in Chattanooga during the day. Then, we came back to prepare for Vanessa's baptism. We went to the church to set up chairs and to fill the font. It takes forever to fill the font, about two hours! Then, we had the baptismal service. Before the actual baptism I gave a talk, in Spanish, on Baptism. Everyone said they understood me! Woo hoo! After my talk another spanish member spoke on the Holy Ghost. After that, Elder Sexton performed the baptism. After Elder Sexton and Vanessa were dried and dressed, Elder Sexton confirmed Vanessa. The Spirit was there, good stuff! She's doing really well!

We also had Stake Conference this past weekend. It was good. They talked a lot about the Book of Mormon which is really good. The Stake actually read the Book of Mormon as a whole before this Stake Conference. I guess it was a goal they set at the previous conference.

Nice jokes mom haha Ok, for my Christmas package: The Conversion stories of Bill Carpenter and Glen Beck on CD, that fruit and nut medley stuff from Costco, a couple nice polyester ties and a couple silks, Spanish learning materials for verbs, vocab, etc.(I'm in a different Zone from my old zone leader so I haven't been able to talk to him about what he has), and whatever else to fill the box.

It sounds like things are going great back home! My goodness five years in a row for volleyball. Regan is turning 1 already? My goodness haha. Well, I hope things continue going well for ya'll. I need to be going but I miss ya'll and love ya'll!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 11/1/2010 Week 29

Hola Familia!

Tomorrow is the day! We will be having Zone Conference in Chattanooga. After that, we will come back to Fort Payne to prepare for the baptism and then we will have the baptismal service at 6:30! Elder Sexton is performing the baptism so I won't have to worry about the clothes getting moldy mom I will get to talk about baptism during the service tomorrow. Speaking of talks, I gave a talk on obedience yesterday in sacrament meeting. It was fun and exciting. Anyways, to answer your questions yes mom my clothes are doing fine. All of the food has been good and normal and all that. Nothing extreme yet The oils do seem to be helping. Wow, it sounds like Mckay is having a blast haha!

Well, this past week we found three Guatamalan investigators. The spanish group is about half Guatamalan and half Mexican. So, we are going to get them fellowshipped and see what happens. We went on an exchange so our district leader, Elder Carpenter, could interview Vanessa. We also had a Halloween party for the Branch. There was good food and everything! That is all of the main stuff from this week. It sounds like things are going well back home. Oh, I got Sam's letter. Hey, the lawn is looking good haha! Well, I need to be going now. But, I love ya'll and hope ya'll have a great week! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 10/25/2010 Week 28

Hola Familia!!!

Sweet Home Alabama! Ok, so as ya'll know, transfers was this past wednesday. I found out that I was finishing training a missionary who had been trained for a transfer already in the East Knox area(English). His name is Elder Hart and he is a good guy. East Knox is a good (bike) area. So, ya'll may be wondering why I said "Sweet Home Alabama" at the beginning. Well, I was training Elder Hart for a couple days and things were going well. We were being obedient and working hard. We had some good investigators we were seeing and all that good stuff that is awesome about missionary work. Then, on saturday morning I got a call from President Griffin. He asked, " Do you still want to learn spanish?" I said, "Yes, if that is still ok." He told me he needed a spanish missionary to go to Fort Pane, Alabama. So, I was E.T.'d here to Fort Pane which is a spanish area. My new companion is Elder Sexton. He is cool and he speaks good spanish! Fort Pane is an awesome place and I love it already! We got a commitment the first day I was here which was saturday! Her name is Vanessa and she is hispanic but speaks fluent English. She is 17 and her mom is a member. She has been meeting with missionaries on and off for about five years. Anyways, we had a dinner appointment with Vanessa, her mom, and some of their friends who are also members. We had finished eating and were about to give a spiritual thought. Then, out of no where she says, "Oh yeah! I want to be baptized." Can you believe it?! We committed her for Nov. 2nd. Also, we had another meal appointment the same night with the hispanic group (they aren't quite a branch yet). There were two investigators there and it was awesome! On Sunday there were two confirmations. Their names are Travis and Vinicio. So, the English branch and the spanish group each have new members!

Mom, yes I got the package and thanks! It's going to take me a while to eat all of those gummy bears haha! And I've been using the oils and they seem to be helping. I'll continue using them and let you know how it's going.

Dad, I'm sorry to hear about the girls. Tell them I still love them and I'm proud of them! That's great that Zach and Jordan got there calls. Tell them I say good luck. I should be able to start sending letters again because there isn't much to do on P days here.

Well, that's all for this week. I hope ya'll have an awesome week. I love ya'll!!!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail 10/18/2010 Week 27

Ok, here is the motivational thought. I don't know if it's exactly what you're looking for but here we go. Since I've been on my mission I've been trying so hard to do what is right, trying so hard to help others come unto Christ. There have been many trials here in the Mission Field. One major thing that has helped me overcome these trials and have success is the Charity, or love, I have for this great work and for the people here. This love has helped me do things I never thought I would be able to do. It is the same for you girls. I know you can do this as you must have an absolute love for this game and for each other. I love ya'll and wish ya'll the best of luck!!!

Sorry I couldn't write more. I don't have a lot of time. But it sounds like everything is going great back home! We found a guy named Jeremy while tracting. He accepted the committment to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Well, I got the call and I'm leaving Loudon on Wednesday. Also, Elder Follett got a leadership packet. He's going to be a District Leader! After he got that we got a text saying there was a conference call on saturday morning for all the leaders. So, he tuned in and put it on speakerphone in case I wanted to listen. During the conference call they announced all of the trainers and... I'm training next transfer!!! Haha it came as a surprise because I didn't get a trainers packet and I thought the conference call was just for Elder Follett. But, since I'm leaving it means I'll either be white washing or opening an area while training. Or I could be finishing another Elders training. Elder Follett thinks I'm going to Dalton to do the latter. But, I'll find out at transfers and let ya'll know haha. Well, that's pretty much it for this week. I love all ya'll and hope you have an incredible week!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

BUMP DAY

Today is Elder Barry Kreyling's Bump Day. That means that 25% of his mission is done. How time flies.

E-mail 10/11/2010 Week 26

I still need to talk with my Zone Leader about the stuff he has. At the spanish conference we were all sitting down and he just showed them to us for a min. I couldn't see what it was called and I don't remember him giving us the names of them. The coconut oil is for my dry skin. It's crazy my skin is still quite dry even in this humidity haha. Oh, thanks for looking into that stuff mom I hope that helps out a lot. It's hard focusing sometimes when I have those problems going on. Are you talking about Elder Summerhays? He has been out for about two transfers more than me. He is from sandy and after staying in Loudon with me for a transfer he went to Dalton Georgia. All of the spanish missionaries love Dalton because they cover a spanish and english ward. The members in both are all about missionary work. So, it's good that he went there. He should have a lot of success. Elder Badal is still in Athens and he is training again... I have a brother in the mission! haha. Oh, don't worry mom I'm not planning on coming home anytime soon. I have to baptize all the people the Lord has sent me to!

Dad, that is quite a crazy story. I'm glad to hear that everything turned out ok. Woo hoo the girls took region! I knew they could do it. Well, we've had to drop our two most promising investigators. We had Angel committed for oct. 16th. She seemed excited and all that. But, we've only been able to see her twice since then. And she hasn't come to church. So, we have been giving her a break but will try to see her again this week. The other one is named Mike. He came to church a few weeks ago. He's had a bunch of concerns. We committed him to fast and pray about the Book of Mormon and what we've shared with him. He called us on Sat. and we went over. He said he'd fasted and prayed and he got an answer to stop. So, he's not really investigating the church anymore. But, he told us we could come by whenever we want. So, he likes us but not the church. It's interesting how that works out. But we aren't getting discouraged. Well, I need to be going now. I love ya'll!!! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling