Email #6 of 2011 2/7/2011 Week 43

From: Barry Ryan Kreyling
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 10:38 AM
To: Mom

She had a spark in her eye

Hola familia,
This week was pretty good. We are still trying to get our investigators to church. They all seem "flojo" or something. We found one potential investigator named Stacy. She was really nice and everything. She said she hasn't gone to church in a while because she's had some experiences that have left a bad taste in her mouth. Like the passing of collection plates or paid ministry. When we told her that nobody gets paid in the church her mouth dropped. Haha she was surprised. She had a look like she thought it was too good to be true. We told her where the church is and we exchanged numbers. She had a spark in her eye when she was telling us she'd been wanting to find a good church and everything. She told us that she will definately be there this coming sunday. She seemed pretty legit. On saturday we had another one of those spanish trainings. Elder Cornish, who is our area seventy, gave us a training. He knows spanish really well. He was a Mission President in the Dominican Republic. We learned quite a bit of good stuff from him. Oh guess what! We had dinner with a family, los Angola, in the branch this past week. He is the second counselor and she goes to the english ward. But, they both served their missions in El Salvador! That's how they met! It was pretty cool talking to them about it. Speaking of that, in your next letter can you send the letter of how you met on dad's mission? And dad in future letters can you include some cool stories from your mission? That would be awesome! Oh I just remembered that I still haven't gotten that letter from jake. I will just have to send him a letter. Oh, that reminds me, could you send me darrin's and joe's addresses? I need to write letters to them before their missions end! Well I am about to run out of time on the computer so I need to get going. But, I love y'all bunches! Tell everyone I love them! The Church is true!

Love,
Elder Kreyling

Tiempo par alas preguntas semanales de la madre:

Q. Algo nuevo con Caity? Sabes si ha leido el BOM y ah ido a la iglesia?

A. No, hace como una semana que le hemos hablado con ella. Hemos tratado de textear y llamarle por telefono unas veces. Tambien hemos tratado de pasar su casa para visitarle unas veces. Pero, no podemos contactarle por el momento.
Q. como estan Natanel, Adrian y David ? tienen noticias de ellos?

A. Todavia no hemos hablado con Natanael y Adrian. Solamente hemos hablado con David. El no ha asistido la iglesia los dos domingos pasados porque el fue a la pulga (flea market) para vender cosas.

Q. ya le escribiste a tu abuela?

A. No todavia necesito escribirle.

Q. Alguna experiencia spiritual esta semana?

A. Fuimos a Dalton otra vez para recibir un entranamiento de espanol. Unos lideres de la mision nos ensenaron como podemos mejorar nuestro espanol. Un setenta, Elder Cornish, estaba y el nos dio un entranamiento tambien. Me encanto el entranamiento!

Q. Cual fue tu escritura favorita de esta semana? Yo tengo 2 capitulos! Juan 3 & 4 abla del amor de Dios. Y Nefi 11: 25 abla aserca de la fuente de aguas vivas que representan el amor de Dios.
A.

Q. Como estuvo la iglesia esta semana?

A. Bien. Pero no habia ningun investigador en la iglesia otra vez. Y no habia un maestro de la ultima clase. Entonces, la iglesia termino temprano por una hora. I think that's how to say it haha.

Q. llegaron nuevos investigadores?

A. Si, visitamos a un hombre se llama William. Vimos su nombre en la carpeta del area (area book, I think that's what it's called in spanish haha.) Creo que el va a progresar. El nos dijo que va a asistir la iglesia. En la iglesia vamos a comprometerle por bautismo.

Q hablaron muy seriamente con Natanael?

A. No, cada vez que hemos ido a visitarle el no ha estado. Pero, creo que vamos a hablar seriamente con Adrian porque el es "flojo" y el necesita un kick in his behind haha.

Q. Como esta Victor? Hay algún progreso con él?

A. Bien, si el nos dijo que el iba a hablar con su gefe para pedir libres los domingos. Creo que vamos a visitar y hablarle sobre eso manana.

Q. Sabes si Markis, Megan y Caity fueron a la iglesia esta semana?

A. No, Markis y megan no asistieron ayer. Y como dije antes hace un buen tiempo que no hemos hablado con Caity.

Q. Qué hay de nuevo con los hippies? Los han visto otra vez para ver si han leído el BOM?

A. Tratamos de visitarles dos veces creo, pero no contestaron cuando tocamos su puerta. Creo que ellos bebian cuando pasamos. Creo que vamos a tratar de visitarles otra vez cuando estamos en eso area.

E-mail #5 of 2011 1/31/2011 Week 42

"it's the mormons! Hey guys, the mormons are here!"

Hola Familia!

This week was pretty good. We saw Caity and watched finding faith in Christ with her. Then, we taught her the majority of the Plan of Salvation. It went well. When we saw her she said she was going to church yesterday. Because she is a single adult she meets in a different building. We tried calling and texting her (we have texting I can't remember if I told you haha) but she didn't answer. So, we don't know what's up right now. We also found two new investigators. Their names are Markis (sorry about spelling) and Megan. One of our nights fell through and we weren't sure what to do. We have been asked recently to get familiar with mormon.org. So, we went to the library to check it out. After we finished we walked outside and just outside the doors there they were! Markis started talking to us. He was like, "Are you church people?" We said yes. Then, he said "Mormons?" Yes again. Then, we started talking about the church and everything. We gave them a card. Then, we asked if we could do anything for them. Like 99.9% of the time people say no. But, they asked if we could give them a ride to their apartment not too far away. We were like of course! Then, we suggested a quick church tour because that was about in the same direction and not too far away. They agreed so we swung by the church and gave them a church tour. They said they would be at church yesterday! But, when we called them they said they couldn't go yesterday but that they will be there for sure next sunday. The thing about Caity, Markis and Megan is that none of them will be going to the ward/branch that we cover. Markis and Megan are in the area of a different ward and Caity is a young single adult so she will go to the West Hills building. So, we are handing Markis and Megan off to the sisters that cover that area. The Zone leaders were supposed to take over teaching Caity but I guess some stuff is going on in the mission right now so we get to continue teaching her! Hopefully we can get back in contact with her soon. I'll let y'all know what happens. Oh, this past week when I was on an exchange with Elder Phippin we taught some hippies! Haha! As we were walking up to the house we noticed their hippie van. We knocked on the door and one of them answers and he gets this kinda excited look and starts saying, "it's the mormons! Hey guys, the mormons are here!" Then, he says to us, "Hey guys come in we've been waiting a while for you!" By the way he was talking and stuff we thought we were about to walk into a bash. We were like oh great haha. But, it turned out that they really like us. We taught them a bit and left them a Book of Mormon and they said they would read. It was pretty cool haha. Oh and after we taught them we took a pic with them in front of the hippie van! Haha it was funny. Anyways, the work here is going a bit slower than we would like but hopefully we can change that this next week But, I need to be going now. Love y'all!!!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

P.S. Have y'all checked out mormon.org and made profiles yet? If not will you check it out and make your own profiles for it? Soon? I promise you that something you put on their will help someone in their conversion.

Mom’s questions of the week:

Q. How was work for you last week?

A. Asi asi haha. It's a bit slow right now but it's ok we'll get things moving along here soon!

Q. Did you have exchange last Thursday? And how did that go?

A. Yes, it went well. Elder Sexton went to Morristown, TN to interview a family for baptism. Elder Phippin came here. He is a cool guy. We mostly tracted. We ran into this one guy who just tried bashing with us the whole time. He was saying that he's read this and that about mormons, Joseph Smith and everything. We were just kinda like well that's great and all but in order to really know you need to read, pray, and ask God about the Book of Mormon. He said that he only goes to God's word, the bible, for answers. I didn't think of this while we were with him but he's saying that he only believes what the bible says yet he is believing all the lies that MEN have written about us. Haha I wonder how he would have responded if I'd thought of that while we were with him.

Q. Did you have new investigators come to church?

A. Sigh. No. We are working but it seems like they just won't come right now.

Q. Any spiritual experience this week?

A. When we found markis and Megan. That was pretty sweet.

Q. Favorite scripture of the week? Mine is D&C 75: 10-12

A. 3 Nephi 18

Q. How are David Garcia, Natanael and Adrian doing?

A. We haven't been able to meet with them very much. Most of the time it's just David. He has been talking with Jehovah witnesses lately so he's been get more and more confused. It's pretty frustrating. We taught Natanael the Plan of Salvation but it seems like he's not really wanting to accept what we teach right now. We may have to lay down the law with him next time. We haven't seen Adrian in a while.

Q. Did you visit Nataneal and Adrian on Monday night and how did it go?

A. No, just david was there. We saw Natanael on the exchange. That was it.

Q. Did David make it to church again this week?

A. Nope

Q. Have you been able to commit Adrian?

A. No. We haven't even been able to meet with him in a while.

Q. Did Victor make it to church this Sunday? And is he still on for the 6th?

A. No and no. He wants to be baptized and everything but he hasn't come to church. We are seeing him tomorrow and we are going to teach him about the sabbath day. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Q. Did you get to meet with Caity last Wednesday and was she able to make it to church this Sunday?

A. Yes, i talked about it above. We taught her and I thought it went well. Oh<>

Q. Did you finally get our last letter with the letter from grandma and the talkin it?

A. Yes, thank you! However I still haven't gotten the letter from Jake.

Q. Is the pictures card in the mail? We’re in need badly of new ones.

A. Haha oh man I forgot to send it. Yeah I'll send it today.

E-mail #4 of 2011 January 24, 2011 Week 41

Hola Familia!

It's good to hear that things are going well back home. I have not recieved a letter from you or Jake yet I wonder why it's taking so long to get here. Oh well, hopefully the come today. But, things are going well here. We've been working with a less active member named David Garcia. He is a cool guy. He told us that he usually doesn't come to church because he doesn't have an alarm. Well, we fixed that for him and what do ya know he showed up yesterday! He also has some friends, Adrian and Natanael, that we have been teaching. We are going to see them tonight and we are hoping to commit Adrian for baptism. I'll let ya know how it goes. I can't remember if I told you before but we saw Victor and committed him for Feb 6th. He had to work again yesterday so we are really hoping and praying that he will have sunday of the next few weeks so he can be baptized. We also found a college girl named Caity. She seemed really cool and she seems to have a sincere interest in learning about the Gospel. She was planning on coming to church but something came up and she wasn't able to come. She asked if she could come next week and we were just like of course! Haha. She said she grew up half Jewish (Dad) and half Baptist (Mom). She said she doesn't agree with a lot of the beliefs she grew up with. From what she was saying and from the questions she was asking I think the Plan of Salvation is really going to hit home with her. We already shared a little bit of the Plan of Salvation when we first found her. Oh, we found her tracting btw. We are planning on seeing here one wednesday so I'll let ya know how it goes. Oh, I have someone you should probably know about. Hermano Copeland is the first counselor I believe. He served his mission in Guatemala and he is just the bomb haha. Anyways, things are going well here. My spanish is steadily getting better. We should be going on our first exchange this thursday. Elder Sexton is going to give an interview to some investigators. We are getting along well and working well together. Mom, you'll be happy to know that we cleaned the apartment today! It was kinda bad, not horrible, when I first got here. I bought some cleaning stuff and we cleaned a bit last p day and some more today. Ahh it feels so much better now haha. Anyways, like I said before things here are fine. But, I need to be going now. Tell everyone I love them. I love y'all!!!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

And now without further ado, here is the best part of this week’s email……Mom’s questions yay!

Q. Como te va con el frio?

A. Bien

Q. Are you able to keep warm?

A. For the most part

Q.What did you do this past week?

A. Missionary work!

Q.What new words did you learn last week?

A. Loor, amistad, ummm... there are a few more that I just can't remember right now haha.

Q.Have you had any new contacts this week?

A. Caity is the only one but she seems pretty awesome! I'm excited to teach her

Q.Any spiritual experiences this week?

A. Probably just finding Caity. It was pretty sweet.

Q.What was your best and worst food experience this week?

A. I didn't really have anything bad... Elder Sexton on the other hand did haha. A member took us to her friends who sells food out of her house. She made us Honduran tacos. They were quite good but Elder Sexton got sick that night and was throwing up and everything. She brought out some hot sauce and he used it and I didn't. That was the only difference in our food so maybe that was it? We both thought it was really good but it just didn't sit well with him for some reason.

Q.How was church/Sunday this week? Have you been asked to interpret recently?

A. It was good. No, it was just in Fort Payne that we interpreted. Although two gringos the past two sundays have spoken and Elder Sexton went up and translated.

Q.Favorite events of the week?

A. church. I like church because it's all in spanish now!

Q.Which was your favorite scripture for the week? Mine is D&C 66:7 missionaries are literally going every place and unto every people in the name of the Lord

A 3 nephi 11 : 3 the voice or spirit of the lord is so gentle yet it pierces. (I think that's the right reference haha I don't have my Book of Mormon with me)

Q.Favorite hymn of the week? Mine is #30 sacrifices for the sake of the LORD’s work.
A. We sing in spanish so excuse me if I get the title wrong. Abide with Me tis eventide.

Q. How are your investigators doing?

A. They are doing well. There are a couple who need a kick in the rear end or something though haha

E-mail # 3 of 2011 1/18/2011 Week 40

Hola Familia!

Yes, I got the card from Grandma. Mi espanol esta bien pero todavia estoy aprendiendo mucho. Aprendo algo nueve cada dia. Haha I don't know how to put the accents or anything. But yes everything is going well. We had one investigator with a baptismal date for the 23rd of this month but he didn't come to church on Sunday because he got called into work. So, we are going to have to commit him for another date. His name is Victor. He seems pretty cool. He lives with a recent convert. We are also working with a few others who show good potential. Adrian I believe is the friend of a less active. He has been soft committed and is reading in the Book of Mormon. He has was going to come to church twice but one time his car slid off the road and I believe church was canceled due to snow the other time. Those are probably our top investigators right now.

-editor's note:

It seems that he must really be trying to get this language down because he's having some trouble configuring his sentences in English now.

Now it's time for mom's weekly questions.

1. Now that you’ve been out 9 months, what changes have you seen in yourself, spiritually, etc. and what hasn’t changed.

Well, I know the doctrine a bit better than before. I love the people for who they are. And I've become/am becoming more spiritually sensitive.

2. Where you affected by changes last week and if so, what happened.
Details, Details

I'm not sure what you're asking so I don't know what to give details on haha. Are you talking about weather or transfers or what? They weather slow us down a bit but we were still able to work.

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

Pleasant Ridge seems like a pretty sweet area. We have our general proselyting area which covers part of eastern Knoxville. In our own area we cover english and spanish. But, the cool thing about our area is that we cover all of the spanish work for all of Knoxville! So, if some missionaries are tracting in their area and they run into a hispanic they give us a call and we go check it out. That actually happened the other day and we taught the Restoration and got a return appointment from it. We are going to see him today his name is Moises. We live in the basement of some members, the Nicho family. It is pretty nice. It's got pretty much everything we need right there. It is all tile so it is a bit cold right now haha. But, it is nice and I like it. The Branch is pretty small. There were like 15 people at church or something like that. But, I've really like all of the members I've met. It's a good little branch. I hope it will grow quickly.

4. When you study at night/morning, do you study specific things for the people you are planning on teaching or just study in general

Both.

5. Weird/new or yummy food of the week?

Nothing weird. I've had some pretty good mexican food but I can't remember what it was called.

6. Favorite Scripture for this week? Mine is Alma 38: 1through 5 it gives me comfort to know the Lord is on your side while you are on this errand. I believe the reference is 2 nephi 2: 6 through 8. In verse eight it talks about the importance of letting everyone know of these things. Which reminds me. If y'all haven't already you should get on mormon.org and make profiles for each one of ya.

7. Did you have p-day last week; and since the weather was bad what didyou do for fun?

We did have p day but it wasn't anything special haha. We couldn't leave because of the snow. We were in the apartment pretty much all day. I got to do a little more scripture reading though so that was good.

8. What were your favorite events of the week?

Meeting some members has been pretty fun. There are some pretty sweet members here. Just being in a new area is exciting.

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

Moises. He was referred to us by some other missionaries. We contacted him the same day and had a pretty good lesson and got a return appointment. He seems to have pretty good potential.

10. Where is Elder Sexton from and how long has he been in mish, etc. and how are things going after almost week together?

Chino Valley, AZ. He has been out for about a year. He's the District leader of the spanish district. So, when we have district meeting it's all in spanish! Technically, we've been comps for almost seven weeks. But, this past week has been good. We get along pretty well I think.

Yeah, I haven't gotten that letter from Jake yet. Last week was transfers and they don't send any mail a few days befor and a few days after transfers. So, hopefully I get that today. Yes! I'm getting a letter from my long lost bro Mckay! Woo hoo! That will be the first from him. Do you know if he's gotten the ones that I've sent him? Nope. No letters from ward members yet.

These are Dad's monthy PPI questions
1. Are you being obedient? Yes.

2. Are you working hard? Yes.

3. Are you writing in your journal? Yes. I'm still working on catching up too.

4. Are you taking lots of pictures? No. Probably not as many as you would like. I'll send the memory card next p day.

5. Are you praying often? Yes.

6. Are you being a good companion? I believe so. You'll have to ask Elder Sexton

7. How long do you have on the computer on p-day's? We usually try to keep it around an hour.

Bueno familia. Creo que es todo. Les amo muchisimo! Love all y'all! Y'all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

E-mail #2 of 2011 1/12/2011 Week 39

Hola Familia!

Yes, there was a snow storm recently. In Fort Payne we got like eight inches or something. The members said it hadn't snowed that much in maybe twenty years! Anyways, that is why it has taken so long for me to email y'all because the library was closed. So, to bring you up to speed we found out transfer info on saturday. Elder Wilkinson was made district leader and I left Fort Payne.... today actually. My new area is Pleasant Ridge (Spanish still) and my "new" companion is..... Elder Sexton?! Yes, I am with Elder Sexton again woo hoo! It was a bit of a surprise because we had already served basically a full transfer together. But, that is what happened so I'm excited. It should be a good transfer because we already know each other and everything so we already have unity and all that good stuff. But yeah, Elder Sexton is the District Leader too so that's exciting. I can't tell you too much more because it's my first day here. But, I can tell you that I'm as excited as ever to be serving a mission for the Lord!!! I hope everything is going well and that y'all have a good week!!!

Love,

Elder Barry Kreyling

Ta da!! And now for mom’s weekly questions.

Q. Do you have any funny, crazy, weird, or spiritual experiences to share this week? Details, details please.

A. For spiritual, yes. We had a BAPTISM! It was a child of record baptism but a baptism nonetheless Her name is Paulina De La Cruz and she asked for me to baptize her. So, I had the privilege to Baptize her. It was awesome

Q. Favorite scripture for this week and why? Mine is Psalms 82: 6

A. Can we do whole chapters too? Haha. 3 Nephi 17

Q. Favorite hymn this week? Mine is How great Thou Are.

A. Two. Come, Follow me and Families can be together forever. Those are the ones we sang at Paulina's baptism.

Q. Do you have transfers this coming week?

A. Yes today in fact haha.

Q. How are the investigators doing?

A. Alfredo is doing pretty well. His wife needs to come to church. The Fort Payne Elders are going to see them on Saturday.

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

A. Storm, because of his name haha. And he showed some good potential.

Q.What is your favorite lesson to teach? Is there a particular lesson that you find touches the hearts of people more than the others?

A. The Restoration. That's what it all comes back to. I think also the Plan of Salvation touches the hearts of many. When you tell them that they can be with their loved ones you can see that they want that. But, much of the time they just don't want to change.

E-mail 1/3/2011 Week 38

Hola Familia!

This past week went really well! We went to teach Alfredo and we had his wife and daughter come out for the lesson. We committed all of them to read the Book of Mormon and pray. We had Tania Corona come with us and we had her bear testimony on the Book of Mormon and invite them to church. We watched the Restoration DVD with them and it seemed to spark some interest in Patti. Alfredo and Frida came to church yesterday. We were going to give them a baptismal committment at church but we wanted to do it when they were all there and Patti was at home not feeling well. I can't remember if I told you but she is pregnant. So, we are really hoping she is feeling better next Sunday. We also had dinner with a part member family and we asked the husband if we could teach him and he said yes! Our numbers are starting to go up so it's looking really good! Everything is going well and the work is as fun as ever! Elder Wilkinson and I originally thought we would be together for his last two transfers. But, aparently there are six new spanish speaking elders coming this next transfer and none are leaving. So, we don't have any idea what's going on for transfers anymore. We will be finding out soon though so I should be able to tell y'all next monday. Anyways, the work is going well and we are fine here. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY Haha but we need to get going because we are getting a ride to a zone activity. Just know that I love y'all!!! Tell EVERYONE I love them! Thanks!

Love,

Elder Kreyling

Mom's list of questions for the week.

Q. What is your favorite scripture for the week? mine is Acts 3: 19-21 it shows that there was an apostasy and restoration was need to be made.
A. Mosiah 2:41 basically says that when we keep the commandments we are happy and blessed temporally and spiritually. So true!

Q. What is your favorite hymn for the week? Mine is # 250 we are ALL Enlisted-we ALL need to help do the Lord’s work.

A. I am a Child of God

Q. Did you get Jack'ee's Card/?

A. Yes, thank you!

Q. How are you doing with money? Do you have enough?

A. Yes

Q. How are your shoes holding up?

A. My church/meeting shoes are doing well. My tracting shoes were looking pretty beat up so I polished them and now they are quite a bit better.

Q. Did you send a card or letter to abuela? I have not seen one yet.

A. No, I'm still working on it.

Q. How many new words do you try to learn a day?

A. I'm hoping to learn five new words a day. If it goes well I'll bump it up.

Q. Are you still taking an hour a day to study Español?

A. Por supuesto! (Of course!)

Love you tons & tons!! Mom

Today, Sunday, Sam is here for family home evening & brownies.
Sam’s questions:

Q. Do you get a chance to buy smoothies, or make ‘em?

A. Yes I've had and made a few since I've been out.

Q. Is the place where you are at a place you would like to live, or would you ever go back?

A. I'm not sure about living here but I would definitely like to come back.

Q. Do you consider yourself a good companion or an annoying one?

A. Haha ummm. I think I'm a pretty good comp at least I hope so.

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