August 11, 2000

Dear Family,
Happy birthday Christian, now you are an official adult ready or not. Its crazy that you are 18 and I am 21. Time passes so quickly. I hope by now you received your birthday card. Eat some of mom's banana cream pie for me!
This week has been a little crazy. We spent the first few days seeing people in the ward to say goodbye in case one of us got transferred. We were able to get some pictures for you so you can see some of the people that we associate with. Tuesday night we were at a member's home for dinner. We were eating their special family burgers that are super huge; like almost a pound and a half of meat on a bun. While we were there President Hobbs called and Elder Brown said he would call him back once we got home. We finished eating, shared a message and then we left. We called the President and Elder Brown has been called to be a Zone Leader! He wasn't expecting it at all. He has only 4 and a half months left on his mission and thought that he would be done with responsibility after training me, but the Lord had other ideas. Elder Brown packed up Wednesday and then we left for transfers on Thursday, We got to Statesville and saw that Elder Brown would be Zone Leader with Elder McKee. That means that he is Zone leader for our Zone, and he will still be in my District. It's great that he will still be close b. Sister Astle and Sister Wolfensberger (we share the car with them)are still are in the same place. We all get along great. Elder Terry is my new companion, he is from Cedar City. He was also trained by Elder Brown. He has been out a year and seems to have things going all right. I hope that we both can do well in this area and serve the Lord. Nothing else really has happened. We will be helping a family move into their new home tomorrow. That is about the biggest thing that will happen. I'll keep you posted on anything else and look forward to your next letters. I love you guys. Thanks for everything!
Love Elder Colton

First Letter for August 2008

One thing I wanted to share was an experience this past week. It was a big morale boost! We went up to Lewisville to go on a team with Bro W. and his son. We had planned to go see Bro B. who is a very shy, very kind and loving person. Earlier that day we had tried to see a woman who had ordered a "Lamb of God" DVD. We were trying to see how she liked it and if she would be interested in us teaching her. When we went over she said that she didn't have time. We could smell alcohol on her breath and felt like we shouldn't go back. When we found out that Bro W. was bringing his son, (his son is 19, might possibly go on a mission don't know for sure) we decided that we should go on splits. We decided that I would go with the son and Elder Brown would go with Bro W. I said we might as well give the potential investigator another try. We had told her that we would try and make it back that night if we could. So I would take our car to go meet her, and then Elder Brown would go to see Bro B. with Bro W. Once they got there we split up. His son is a cool kid. He is into video games and that sort of thing, so we were able to talk about it as we drove to the appointment. Once we got there I told him what we knew about the investigator. She lives with her boyfriend and had a father who was a minister. She says she wants to get back to church. We got there and she was anxiously waiting for us. She had been expecting us earlier and was worried that we wouldn't show up. I had to run the visit since I was the missionary, that was nerve wracking! It was seriously the first time I had done that. We started with prayer and it didn't go like a typical lesson because we talked for a little bit first. We found out that she had 3 brothers in prison, 1 brother that had passed away from from cancer, and both her parents were dead. She felt like she had no where to go. Her relationship with her boyfriend had gone downhill. She didn't know why she was still here on Earth and she admitted to us that she has a drinking problem; she had been drinking before we got there. I don't remember all of what I said, I taught her about the Atonement. I told her that Christ knew what she was going through. I admitted that I never had been in her situation like hers, but that I have had struggles of my own. I know I have gift of the Atonement and I can turn all of my worries and problems to him and he can take them away. I bore testimony of that and told her that Christ had not and will not give up on her, because he loves her so much. What was said brought her to tears. I was in awe of what had just happened, and still am. I asked her to read the Plan of Salvation pamphlet that we have and to pray to know if what is in there is true. The pamphlet talks about eternal families. She said that she would and was very insistent that we come back to see her. She walked us to our car and then we left. I hope that Bro. W's son was touched by the visit and maybe give him a little bit more of a desire to serve. Since then we have called her once, and she couldn't see us that day. She hadn't read the pamphlet, so we reminded her to read it. We told her that we would call her again later to set up a time again to see her. More may come from her if she will follow that commitment to read the pamphlet. If she does that will tell us that she is willing to change her life for the better. So that was a good experience one of the few that I have had so far on my mission. I have a feeling that its going to be like this. Most missionary work is not going to be a ton of success stories. There is a chance that more will happen with her, but that isn't up to me. And it may be awhile before I have another experience like that.
Thanks for you letters, they mean so much to me. I love you-Elder Colton

The Rolling Stone

A kidney stone,
A thing so small
Is hardly worth a mention.
Unless your trying to pass the thing
It quickly gets your attention!!
There is a cure
I promise you
That this is not a joke;
Puree a bunch of broccoli
And chase it with a liter of Coke!

If only this little ditty had been true for Elder Colton. The last ten days for him have been filled with pain, a hospital stay and a test of his patience. Here is his account of what happened.

I thought that you would like to know exactly what happened past week. It started on the 4th. I had a little bit of pain in my lower abdomen. I spoke with a sister who is a nurse in the ward and she thought that it might just be a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection). She brought over some Cranberry juice and she said to "drink a lot." Then on Monday I had a big shot of pain. And it was really lingering so that made me worried. I called Dr. Dawson our Mission Doctor. He told me to rush to the ER just in case it was something serious. We went, I was seen and it was determined that I might have a UTI, so they gave me an antibiotic. The next day we went around doing other stuff and I had really no issues. The next day was really our first bike day after P-day and we rode a lot. We rode just about 10 miles. We stopped at a few places and took pictures as well as a little bit of tracting. One of our appointments was at the Stricklands. They are the older couple that we love to visit. Brother Strickland is in his 80s and seems to be doing rather well for his age. He welcomed us in and we sat down and started to talk. Then the pain started to rush in again. A little bit in my left kidney but not so bad to worry me. I hoped it would go away. As I tried to shift my legs back and forth, the pain just kept getting worse and worse. The more I moved, the worse I felt. I tapped Elder Brown on the arm and asked for the phone. I ran into the bathroom and laid on the ground. I put my feet up on the tub to try and have my legs elevated to get more blood flow there because I hoped that would fix it. I called Dr. Dawson and eventually he understood that I was in a lot of pain. He said that he would call the Hospital and get a Urologist to see me once we got there. So I gingerly walked out of the bathroom into the living room. I told the Stricklands that I needed to get to the hospital. They rushed us in the car and we were out on our way to Wake Forrest Baptist. I got to the ER and it was a waiting game. I sat there waiting and thinking I was going to die from the unrelenting pain. They finally called me back and got my information. As I talked with them the pain suddenly disappeared, which made me nervous. I was worried that they would think I was faking it or something. I was there for about an hour until they finally saw me. I was glad the pain had left me. I don't know what I would have done if it was still there. A Nurse Practitioner saw me and she checked everything again (oh what fun it is! NOT!) and she thought that it could possibly be a Kidney Stone. I'm thinking "heck no! You're crazy!" They scheduled a CT scan and I went in and got scanned. The results came back, and as luck would have it I had a stone. 5 mm to be exact. It looked like it was close enough to pass on its own. They told me I had been through the worst part of the pain. They gave me some pain meds and said that I should just drink a lot and it would pass within a few days. So they sent me home. I slept alright that night. The next morning we had Zone Conference and it was a really good meeting. I was still in a little pain but I went and tried to have a good attitude. I met with President Hobbs afterwards, a great visit. As we got into the Zone Leaders car to head home the pain came back. This time with a vengeance! It was a direct line of pain. It felt like something was tightening the grip. I prayed it would quit. But as soon as we got to the apartment, I told them to turn around and get me to the hospital. I got into the ER again and had to wait. That was the longest hour of waiting I think I've ever been through. No matter what I did the pain kept aching and aching. Finally after 3 days of visits to the ER, I got to see the team of Urologists. They examined me, and decided to admit me. They hoped that the stone would pass, if not then they would go in and remove it surgically. As I was waiting to get into my room, the pain shot up again. Luckily I only waited 15 minutes to get a shot of morphine. That got rid of the pain! I got up into my room and basically sat there for 2 days. The next morning they went in and removed it. Thankfully I was put under! I went home Friday afternoon. Elder Brown and our Zone Leaders were so supportive, this was hard for me. I knew I was hindering the work, I really felt awful. I still ache in my kidney but other than that I'm alright. I will have a follow up with the Urologist once the lab finishes analyzing the stone. I'll find out what to do to prevent any future stones. I'm glad that we have the car this week so I can still work on recovering. It means a lot to have all of your prayers and your love and support. I'll keep my fingers crossed that there won't be anymore hospital visits and everything continues to more forward. I love you guys and hope to hear from you soon!
I love you,
Elder Colton

An unusual sound...

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A tidbit from the field June 30 2008

Here is a snippet from Elder Colton's last letter:
I really can feel all the prayers offered in my behalf. There have been a few times when I could have been in danger and been protected. I want to share was something that happened on Saturday. We went back to see a guy who had asked to see us 2 Monday's ago. He is a minister of sorts. He went to school to study the Bible. We had seen him Thursday of this past week. Our visit ended quickly because we had another appointment to get to. We felt bad that we had left him before we had answered his questions. So we called him back the next day and set up an appointment to see him on Saturday.When we got to the appointment he had a bunch of notes with scriptures laid out to use to try and convince us that we were wrong. He told us that we don't understand at all the Gift that Christ gave us by offering his life. He said that he never felt pressure or felt that he had to try and be better because he was already saved by Christ. He asked me "Don't you want that? It makes it so easy." I bore my testimony to him of the Savior and of the truthfulness of the Gospel. He had already made up his mind that our message wasn't for him. As I was getting my things together in preparation to leave, the Spirit whispered to me "Jordan, you're doing the right thing". That was all I needed. It was such a strength to reassure me that the Lord is with me. Elder Brown said afterwards he could tell that he had spent a lot of time at Anti-Mormon websites. We don't think we will be seeing him again. He just wants to bash with us.
I don't know the scriptures as well as I think I should, but I have the spirit with me and a testimony. I am thankful for the experiences I have had in my life that have confirmed to me that Jesus Christ is my Savior. He provided a way for me to return to him. He wants me to be like him, and I am working towards that goal. He will make up the difference in any area that I lack.
We are having a special fast in our ward this Sunday for the missionary effort. It would be great if you could also remember this in your fast too.

News from the Field-June 23 2008

Hey Family!!

This week was about the same as all of my other weeks. It felt like it did when I was in the MTC: Weeks are like days and days are like weeks.

Today Elder Brown and I came up with a system to help us study better. There are 3 people that we have made friends with or talk to that are very deep in their understanding of the scriptures. Elder Brown talks with them fine, but I still struggle to understand exactly what they are talking about. Or why they are turning to such and such scripture as they discuss things. I'm going to be spending some time studying the New Testament. I want read through the gospels so I can know more of what exactly each Apostle is talking about and then go back and dig deeper into what they are saying. I read Matthew 1-6 this morning. After I finished each chapter I wrote down a synopsis of what was going on, so I review them when I start up again the next day. For companionship study we are reading through 3rd Nephi together and writing a synopsis when we finish a chapter. We got through chapter 9 today, which is when Christ is speaking to the Nephites who survived the destruction. It really is helping me out and I hope that we will continue to do this. I want to get a better understanding of the scriptures and feel like I have that spiritual backing to my testimony.

We are meeting with our investigator tomorrow. We saw her on Tuesday last week. She is finally opening up to us more. We are still trying to get that connection for her with the couple from the ward. We let them talk and help us teach a lot. I think is great for her because she needs to hear it from someone else besides us. She is still praying to know if she needs to be baptized. We continue to pray for her daily that she will find the answer. She had her granddaughters at her house the last time we were there. We got to meet them, but they stayed in another room and watched TV as we talked about the Gospel. Before we left to go meet with them Elder Brown couldn't think of something to talk about. I thought about it for a second and said that it probably was a "Stupor of Thought." I felt we should just go and the Spirit would direct us to what we needed to say. I sure hoped that I was being inspired. Elder Brown accepted that and we left to go see her. It worked out well. We got to focus on her concerns. The couple gave a very strong testimony how we need to be baptized into the proper church in order for us to gain all of the blessings that Heavenly Father has for us. And we also clarified a few words that she may have not understood like when we say them. For example: Saint. We believe that it means a follower of Christ; its not a title saying we are holier than anyone else.

I think that our talks went very well. I had written down what I wanted to say, but ended up saying only half of that. The rest just flowed out of my mouth and I feel that I said what Heavenly Father wanted me to. We were supposed to share any experiences that were like those good missionary stories, but I couldn't think of any. So I shared a little bit about my story of getting out here on a mission. We got a lot of compliments on our talks afterwards. I'm hoping we motivated them to try and find people for us to teach.

It is stinking hot out here! We had the car this week so it was nice!!! It rained last night with a really cool thunder storm. I hope we are going to have a milder week while we are biking around. I got my Camelback, thanks so much for sending it. Speaking of service we went to one of the members houses this weekend and helped with yard work. I found a copperhead snake in their front yard. Brother T showed it to his kids, and then he killed it since they are pretty dangerous around here. I was glad I those gloves that I bought. I was protected in case it tried to bite me.

I really do love you guys and thanks so much for your continued support and your prayers. I feel blessed to have the love of home while I am out here. If there is anything else I can think of I'll drop a letter in the mailbox to ya later today. Love ya! Elder Colton

News From the Field-June 16, 2008

Hey Family!
Well its good to know that my Camelback wasn't stolen or lost in the mail. I was wondering when it would come this week. I got a little worried that it didn't show up at all. It will be way nice to have next week when we are on bikes again.
So this week was pretty interesting. If you remember one of the Sister missionaries was having some health problems. She was sent home this week because she had a seizure. She should have gone home when she had one the first month or so that she was on her mission, but she felt blessed that she was able to stay out longer. I don't think we will be having a full car. That would be such a big wish to come true for me! However things continue to get better with my bike riding. My thighs are killing me right now, but I have a week for them to recover. They should be a lot stronger than they were before.
On Tuesday we went and visited with a lady who is interested in the Church. She had told us then that she knew that the church was true. That really did get me excited, but I don't know if she fully understands that yet or not. When we asked her if she wanted to be baptized, she said that she didn't think she needed to. We had the some members from the ward(a husband and wife) with us. They are an African American couple in our ward that have been members for over 30 years. And it was so nice to have them there because they were able to connect with our investigator. She is an older African American too. They could teach her about the differences of our church to the church she goes to. I felt that it was a very good lesson. They are going to come with us again tomorrow to visit with her and we hope that she will come to understand her need to be baptized into the true church here on the Earth. We just have to give her time.
On Thursday we went and helped a new family move into their home. They are up in Yadkinville and it was nice we didn't have to bike all of the way up there. They drove all the way from Snowflake AZ to here. It was fun to help them out and work hard to unload all of their stuff. Everyone complimented me on sticking it out in the truck and climbing around and handing boxes to people. That made me feel really good that I had accomplished something. I guess they thought id be a lazy missionary and just help out here or there.
On Saturday we went with a family from our ward to Little Richards BBQ, and must say that was awesome! It was so good!! I had my official first basket of hushpuppies here in the South. I got a picture of my meal, but not a picture of me eating it. The place was swamped with people and I didn't want the owners thinking I was doing something weird. Elder Brown and I plan to go back sometime.
We found out Sunday that we are going to be speaking in church next week. That will be fun. I have my talk already planned out for the most part. I don't have to speak as long as I did for my farewell which will be nice. We are going to be speaking on missionary work and will be trying to motivate the members to find people for us to teach and fulfill our ward mission goal. It is to have 6 baptisms by the end of the year. We are already halfway through the year and only have had 1. Its' going to take a little bit of work to reach that goal. I think that this ward can do it though. They are so helpful and it just amazes me how willing they are to help us in the work. It really motivates me to work harder so that their efforts don't go in vain.
I haven't had to teach any formal discussions yet. Most of the time we are just dropping by people and trying to see if they would be interested in meeting with us or less actives who would be interested in us or home teachers. So that is kind of different. But as I was biking here to write your email, I got a call from a guy who somehow got our number and wants to meet with us tomorrow night. We don't know what about, but we hope that there is a possibility that he would want us to come and teach him. So that is kind of exciting!
This next week will be the end of my first transfer. I won't be getting transfered because I'm still in training. It gets me thinking of my next companion will be.
So now onto some worldly things. I bought a GPS system that really has been handy to help us find out how to get to places and things. Its a TOMTOM and we named him Andy, after this British dude from London who keeps calling us and trying to convince us that we are part of a Cult that leads people away from Christ. He is a cool guy and we usually talk about something else with him and he will only sometimes mention things that are wrong about our Church. I'm still trying to use my camera to take pictures. I want to fill my card up a little bit more before I send it home. Well I love you guys and hope all is well for you back at home. Thanks for all that you do and I miss you. I realize that I'll be coming home sooner than I felt I was when I first set foot in the MTC. I hope to hear from ya'll again soon. And if you ever feel so inclined to also write me letters during the week that'd be nice too :) Its always nice to get letters.

Love Elder Colton