All Is Well.... and Letter from Skidmore's

Hello Family!!

Sounds like all of you have had a great week!!  I have had a pretty good week and all has been going good!!  We now have two investigators that will be getting baptized very soon and we are doing well!!  The mission is awesome and it is moving along very well!!  We are working on a family which we found but we will see how that one goes!!  Transfers are coming up here next week not sure if I will be affected but I am hoping that I don’t get transferred until later plus I like the current companion so I am not really ready to leave!!  Anyway other than this all is going well and I am having fun!!  I got the package by the way and it was awesome!!  The jerky is finished, I finished it the first two nights I had it and then I slowed back down!!  It has been a while since I have had jerky!!  

I am going to miss the family reunions but I hope that you guys have a lot of fun for me!!  And my opinion on the tradition part, I like the Bar J Wranglers idea I haven’t seen them since I was little!!  But I also like the Bear Lake Idea so either one will be awesome!!!  Oh and mom Yes I will want to try water skiing.  When I went with Matthew on his family reunions, if you remember we went tubing and wake boarding and even skiing!!  So I will be looking forward to that!!  So tell grandpa not to worry, I will do it when i get back!!  

That is weird that summer is practically over there and that you will be moving towards OCTOBER anyway and it is weird to think that school is already starting again but I hope you guys are getting everything done!!  Yes Caleb, Nathan and Kaden are all going to be just as good as I was and maybe even better.   That was a funny story about Caleb I wish I could have been there to watch his games!!  Hopefully I won’t miss them in the summer after next anyway have a good week family and I hope everything goes well!!!  Oh and have fun with Jill’s family!!!!!!

Elder Welling


From Elder Skidmore...

     It is nice to know someone other than our kids are looking at my blog.  I would love to write about all the wonderful missionaries here in Zambia but I sort of feel like I might show favorites or be critical so I am a little careful.  Elder Welling is an outstanding missionary.  His gospel knowledge and skill at teaching improves daily.  I love to watch these young missionaries catch the vision of their work and rediscover scriptures and the information in "Preach My Gospel".  I will tell you his flat is "not the best" but it is safe and pretty clean.  From the first day Elder Welling has had a great attitude and his many new experiences just flow over him like it is no big deal.  If you have any more children like him, just send them over.

All the best,

Elder David Skidmore

Baptism and Crazy Pics..

Hey family,

I don’t have much to say this week so I am going to keep it brief and I will send plenty of pics instead!!  My week was good and all is going well here!!!  It sounds like you guys had a fun fourth of July to bad I missed the war zone of Evanston anyway have a good week love you all and here are the pics of the week!!  Africa is great and I am loving mission!!  Oh and I baked a cake from scratch I felt pretty proud of myself!!!

Is Africa starting to feel like home?

I am getting used to it but the driving on the left side of the road is still weird!!

Does the food taste fresher and better there that you buy in the open markets?

The fruits and vegies are very good and tasty but the meat is still weird!!

Elder Welling

Mathew and Luka - Baptized June 29th 

Some Crazy Pics

Hey Family....

I am glad that everyone is doing well and all is good!!  The baptisms went well but it wasn’t me or my companion that baptized them it is a long story that is kind of still making me mad but I will tell you about them later!!  Anyway other than that we have another investigator that has a baptism date and is progressing towards it!!  We are working on a family right now so we will see!!  My companion is still good and I could be training here in the near future!!  Yes the pic with the dish on a tree was pretty funny there are other weird things like that all over here!!  The two boy’s names are Mathew and Luka both 13 years old!!!  Other than this all is going good and I am excited to play sports today and get rid of some stress!!!  My toe is healing but it is formed a little weirdly,  Remember how I hurt my leg during soccer season it happened just the same this time only I was bigger than the kid so the only area that was affected was the toe!!

I heard Nathan is getting taller and bigger that is awesome that means he will be able to contend with me in sports I am excited about that!!  Sounds like he had a great week in Mesa!!  Anyway I am glad that the week was great mom told me about girl’s camp and what Katie had said while they were in the pool I laughed really hard that was funny!!!  Also the mouse story about the fearless priesthood holders haha!!  Wish I could have been there!!  Sounded really awesome!!!  Any way I wanted to tell you I received an email from Andrew today he is wondering if he can buy the truck and restore it?  Which is ok with me if you sell it as long as Grandpa Hatch okay’s it and you guys are ok with it!!  If you sell it give grandpa at least half of the earnings because of all the time and new parts he put into it and with the rest of it I would ask if you could put it into a fund so that I can purchase a good vehicle for driving around when I get home!!!

Thank you for the quote it was one of my favorite scripture masteries in seminary!!  I like Caleb’s little army things that he sets up preparing for war that is really funny!!  It sound like the little guys Kaden and Caleb are doing well in soccer and are having fun!!  Tell everyone hi for me and I will try and get some pics sent home today as well!!!  Have a good week family love you all!!!

Elder Welling

Baptisms this week.....

Hey Family!!!

I am doing well and Africa is awesome I am finally on a computer that will work for pics so I am going to keep this short and upload as many as possible!!!  The week is good and all is well!!  Don’t worry the homesickness comes and goes and I’ll be fine!!  Mainly it is when I see something that I use to have at home and then I get to thinking what it was and how it was!!  It is ok though the feelings come and go!!  That is awesome that it snowed there, good old Evanston in summer!!! haha.  The weather here got to 58 and it was awesome it felt really good!!!  Other than the Africans were ready for a blizzard!!  I think I may have fractured my toe 2 weeks ago in soccer but we shall see how it turns out!!  Looks like dad is going to have some fun with the little boys this week haha that will be fun!!!  I hope girls camp goes ok and that all goes according to plan!!!  It usually does so it will be good!!!  How is Katie doing I haven’t heard from her for a few weeks?  Anyway I am loving the mission though so don’t worry about that!!

I am sorry to hear about Chase that really sucks, but I know that if he does get back out there he will be just fine.  He didn’t write me but if he does hopefully I can talk to him in a way that will help!!!  Like I said I am sorry for the shortness of the letter but I think you would like to have some pics so I am going to take the rest of the time I have and send them. The first picture is of a village where we have taught some young men that will be baptized this Sunday.  Have a good week family love you all!!!!

Elder Welling

By the way I have two baptisms from this village this Sunday!!!!!!! They are both boys and 13 years old!!!

Winter is in Full Swing...

Hello Family!!

I am doing well and Africa is still awesome!!  I still am scared of the drivers here they are crazy and half of them look like they are drunk all the time!!  I will say nice truck wish I had one!!  haha That is good though at least you have a nice one that works and has a four wheel drive in it!!  I got the vitamins and I am using them so it is all good!!  No we do not have a car we are still walking everywhere which really sucks!!  Sounds like a crazy week there but I am glad all is going well!!  The winter month is now in full swing and it feels awesome although people look at me like I am crazy!!  These people down here are all bundled up and ready for a blizzard!!!! haha But I walk outside in the short sleeve shirt and tie so it is quite funny!!!

I hear that Nathan, Kaden and Caleb are all still doing well in soccer and from the looks of it they are all going to be just as good as me or better at soccer!!  I am still playing soccer here and I am getting a whole lot better at soccer here!!  It is fun and I surprised some of the new elders at how well I could play!!  I have yet to find a missionary though that can match my level of basketball so far they all are about the level of Kaden so it isn’t to fun to play basketball here!!  It is also weird for the professional basketball players down here who make a lot of money!!  They are not any better than Nathan, so i am, thinking I will come down here to play ball for a career!!! haha

Anyway It is fun down here and even though homesickness is there I am enjoying every second of it!!  Plus all the knowledge that I am gaining!!  I see the scriptures now at a whole different perspective so it is awesome!!! I am determined to get photos on this week so I am going to!!  Have a good week family I am excited to hear from you guys next week!!!  Love you all!!!!

Elder Welling 

Transfers Came...Not

Hey Family,

First and foremost Happy Anniversary to you mom and dad sorry I missed it last week but I remembered this week!!  I hope it was good!!!  The week here has been good and all is going well!!  Transfers came this week though!!  I am still with the same companion but it is ok because i really like this one!!  He is the new district leader though so it is pretty cool!!  I don’t know if the father’s day letter was long enough but I hope it was!!  Happy father’s day since I probably didn’t mention it to you in the letter home last week!!  I read that mom and dad look like lobsters!!  You two know there is a thing that was invented called sun screen I would suggest you might use that next Saturday!!!!! hahaha 

That is cool that you saw some of my friends I have not seen them forever it seems like, but it is ok!  That is cool to hear that all my brothers are still playing soccer and things!!  I don’t have too many experiences this week this week was pretty normal so we shall see for the next one!!  I am staying healthy I have not caught any sickness yet so it is kind of nice!!!  Yes mom I am brushing and wearing the retainers every night!!!!  I am trying to stay in shape as best I can, I do exercise every morning except Sundays so we shall see what happens!!  I also get to play soccer every Monday!!!  We don’t ever get referrals from members but we are working on it!!  We rarely meet with the branch president but we are working on that as well!!!

We have one person committed to baptism and he is still progressing so we will continue to work on him until the spirit gets him!!  Other than all this the work is good and I am learning a lot of new things as the days go on!!  The area is hard but we are doing our best to work it!!  I hope all is going well there and that it will continue to be well!!  I will try to send some pics this week, but until next week we will talk later!!!  Have a good week Love you all!!!

Elder Welling

The Teaching Goes On...

Hello Family!!

How is all going?  That is pretty cool that Bekka is going on a mission and yes she sent me an email about it!!  She will do great and all that will be going down!!  It is pretty cool I have been talking to Jeffery for a while we have been communicating so it is awesome!!  I am still in contact with my friends the only ones I have not heard from is Chase and Tyler!!!  I was also wondering if you could ask Heather Johnson for Matthews email and tell her that I am going to write him, thanks!!  I have two weeks left of training and then I might be able to train others, which will be fun to throw the greeny into fun situations haha!!  Anyway I will try and get some pics off to you before my time expires!!

I miss playing sports everyday but I am getting used to it!!  One story from this week is, my companion and I about two days ago were out tracting and were heading to an appointment, Well when we got there we saw our investigator with a JW!!  So we walked in sat down got our bibles out and told him we are here to learn too!!  Well he finished and then we thought he would leave so we could correct his doctrine!!  He insisted on sticking around so we started teaching!!  We made it through the whole lesson and at the end he said I HAVE A QUESTION?  Both me and my companion looked at each other and said " oh boy here we go"  Well the discussion lasted 3 and a half hours but we stopped him in his tracks answered all his questions and even gave him something to think about as he walked out the door haha!!  After that we corrected the investigator and we were ready to meet another JW!!  It was fun!!!!   On another note I have that scripture you tried to quote marked in my scriptures.  I found it after a month on my mission it is in D&C I think I will have to look but it is a great scripture!!!  It says “whoever shall search for his life shall lose it, but whoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it!!!"  It was a cool scripture!!!  The work is progressing and it is moving very well!!  I am enjoying the mission even though it is tough!!  That is cool that there were basketball games there I hope that all is good Nate said someone broke the backboard haha!! 

I hope everything is going good there as you all say it is!!  I am not sure when father’s day is but happy father’s day to dad if it was last week or the week to come!!  I am not going to write a huge letter this week instead I am going to end it here and try and get some pics to you!!!  Love you all and I can’t wait to hear from you next week, Thanks Mom for your quotes they are really uplifting!!!  

Colton