Travel Plans and goodbye MTC

Wow...ok so the travel plans came on Friday and I've been excited ever since. As of now, i only have 5 days till I leave! We leave on the 29th, instead of the 28th like the originally said. Not too bad at all I'd say. So lemme give you the travel itinerary in case you care to know:

-Leave: SLC 8:55PM 29JUL2008 -Arrive: LAX 9:57PM 29JUL2008 -Leave: LAX 12:30AM 30JUL2008 -Arrive: Seoul,Korea 4:50AM 31JUL2008 -Leave: Seoul,Korea 12:05PM 31JUL2008 -Arrive UlaanBaator,Mongolia 2:35PM 31JUL2008 Ta daaaa! Isn't that just the coolest thing ever? I think so. As you can see, we'll be in Korea for quite a while so I asked some of the Korean missionaries to write down some missionary phrases. I'm gonna practice them then put them to use in Korea. It'll be pretty cool. The airlines have changed their baggage policies lately which is really going to hurt when it comes time to fly. I'm probably gonna have to pay over 100 dollars due to their baggage policies so I'm not excited about that.

Oh, and here's the new address if people want to send me stuff. I believe Amy has it too but just in case:

(letters through the pouch) must be postcard, or single sheet letters folded in 3 panels and taped at the top only (no envelopes)

Elder James Ammon Cappuccio Mongolian Ulaanbaatar Mission

POB 30150, Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150 USA

(packages) Elder James Ammon Cappuccio

Mongolian Ulaanbaatar Mission

5th Fl, LDs Church Bldg, Tokyo Street 6

Bayanzurkh District, 1st Khoroo

Ulaanbaatar Mongolian 210349

Oh, and so yesterday, I probably got the best package ever. Dad sent me this box of New Braunfel's Smokehouse Jerky. It is amazing! I'm sharing it, but I'm not letting it out of my hands too quickly. That stuff is AMAZING! Anyways, that definitely made my day yesterday.

Let's see...what else. On Tuesday, our Devotional speaker was Elder Gene R. Cook. I'm sure you've heard of him. Anyways, apparently he lived quite awhile in Arizona which is probably why he is such a great man. So he shared a story about this Elder that served in his mission while he was Mission President there. He said how everywhere he put the Elder things would change for the better. The attitude the missionary had and the way he did things just worked everywhere. Even when they sent him to Paraguay (which had been struggling in growth at the time), he still was able to work hard and get results. Elder Cook said it involved a lot of things, all of which were founded on Faith. As we discussed it in our District after it ended, there were many great testimonies shared that were prompted by this talk. One thing I thought of was that if I, as a missionary, am on the Lord's time, and this is the Lord's work, then I'd also think that I could use the Lord's talents should I be sufficiently humble and willing. That being said, if you have the Lord's talents, what isn't there to have faith in! If it is all the Lord's how can it fail? The answer is, it cannot. I've chosen to be the vehicle in which the Lord can deliver his message to some of the Mongolian people and he's promised to steer the entire operation. That being said, it's going to be hard. Without a doubt. But honestly, that excites me.

I just can't wait to get to Mongolia! I know my language needs help but I'm not going to let that stop me. The Lord called me here and I'm going to give it everything I've got. When I think about it, it's hard to believe that I'm about to head out into the mission, that I'm actually at this point, both in the mission and in my life.

Well, I'll probably call in between landing in LA and leaving for Korea. I'll buy a phone card and all that. Depending on what time it is in Arizona when I get to Korea, I might call ya again, who knows?

Anyways, my time's almost up. I just want to let you all know that I love you! Mom, Dad, Crystal, Amy, Joseph, Cali; I love you! And I love this Gospel. This is absolutely a gospel of peace, of happiness and of love. I know that it is true, and with the help of the Lord, the rest of Mongolia will know that in not too long!

~Elder Cappuccio

P.S. Tell Brother Young he can expect that letter very soon! haha

BON VOYAGE

Dear James, I guess this is the last email you will get from me before you leave for Mongolia. It sounds so far away, but by email it's just as close =). It will be exciting to hear about your experience when you get to Mongolia. I got a few replies back from people on my email list for you when I sent my last email out. Here are the ones I received:

If you would, tell James: Go dude go! Enjoy, and dive in to the work - you'll love Mongolia. Just don't eat any eyes... Leslie Hodgson

Please tell James how much the Oakey family thinks of him. He's a wonderful person. He'll be a great missionary. My parents "adopted" a young woman from Mongolia when they served together on a mission in St. George Utah. She's 30 now and was married this month. The church seems to be strong and growing there. James will be a part of all that.

Daniel is having a great time serving his mission just a few miles from you! I'm amazed at the success. I think the church is growing very fast in Arizona. He loves it!!!

We love you and think of you often. Have a great day.

--Joan Oakey

I have to say it's exciting reading about how excited James is about his mission and all the various stories he tells. It's like having the missionaries at my home except through James. It's cool and exciting. Hopefully without naming names, he can tell us about some of the people that he will be witnessing too and those experiences.

-Jacque

Plus I got Brother Young's address: Duwayne Young, 615 E Del Rio, Chandler, AZ 85225, He asked me why you wanted to write to him and I said I didn't know....'cause he likes you? He smiled and said, "maybe because it is because I told him if he writes me at least every 3 months, I will send him a box of food!" =) makes sense, but I still see you chewing on an eyeball in a few weeks.... I don't know when my package will arrive, because I haven't sent it yet, so hopefully the other elders will share their good fortunes with you, sounds like you did a lot of the sharing with the treats in the MTC.

So here's my cell number 602-793-5880. What time do you think you will be calling? I think this is your dad's cell # 661-225-7601.

I am so proud of you and know that you will be a blessing to many people in Mongolia. I love you.

Keep the fire burning,

Mom

Raising your Ebeneezer

Alright! Another week has gone by and I'm getting closer and closer to leaving. I cannot explain how excited I am. I still can't speak the language like a Mongolian but man I can't wait to get off the plane and try and talk to someone in Mongolian. If you think about it...We're supposed to leave on the 28th, and that's like 11 days away. Man, how sweet is that! Ok, so really quick i'll address your questions: About the mission presidents address. I don't have it necessarily saved on my computer but it will be on my gmail account. Amy should be able to go on and get it for me. She could just search 'mission' in the search box and it'd pull it up i'm sure. -I already have a copy of the Church News, we get one every week actually. So i'm set on that! Oh, and all the stuff in the room...haha honestly I don't really know what to do with it. I would say take the clothes home and whatever else you can. Textbooks probably can stay because I have no need for them until I start school again. Just use good judgment I guess. If i end up needing something some place, we'll take care of that when I get back. Something that would be really helpful is if you made an inventory of the things I had there. Just so i know what I have when I get back. It doesn't have to be very detailed, or detailed at all. Just so it's easiler for me to know when I get back. It sounds like your New York trip was pretty sweet! I think you and Amy did more than I did with the choir in 3 days! New York is an awesome place though. I loved walking on the streets with all the people, it's a great experience. Oh, and thanks for telling all about the food you ate there, that didn't help one bit. The MTC is remarkable for its spiritual learning atmosphere but it definitely lacks in the type of food it serves. None of it will kill you, but it will kill your tastebuds. They serve some sort of burger EVERY DAY. kinda frustrating. haha. I'm excited to get out to Mongolia and try some Lamb-some head, some hoof, some eyeball; the works. :) Oh and I'm glad you had a good birthday! I made sure my class knew when it was haha. Feel honored because it's very easy to forget dates in the MTC, like Father's Day, the 4th of July, Haylee's Birthday...you know, things like that. Very easy...but I supposed that's a good thing right? Oh, and please tell the Clawsons "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" That package was very warmly welcomed. I love that stuff, heavenly hash is what they called it, i believe. Anyways, she left a card saying that it probably wouldn't make it out to Mongolia and I'd have to agree with her but if she's willing I'd say it's worth a try! :) Ok, so since I'm leaving so soon, I think it would be good to give me some numbers to reach you all at when I get to the airport. In the airport I can call people and I'd like to be able to call the family. That means I need your number and Dads number (the one he'll answer). I still know yours but it's better if you just send it. So yea.

Alright, so now my side of the week: Starting on last Saturday, we have been speaking nothing but Mongolian except for in certain situations when we need to talk to someone that doesn't speak Mongolian (Front Desk, Branch Presidency, Interviews). It has been so fun. It is very difficult though. You're constantly trying to pull together the grammar and words you've learned to make a coherent sentence so the others can understand you. It really is amazing to consider how much we are able to say. We can teach the 4 lessons, and hold a decent conversation and we've been here almost 3 months. It's so awesome. I can only imagine where I'll be after two years.

Oh, I got that picture of you and Sister Finuf! How'd you arrange that little thing? haha, that's pretty cool though.

This past Tuesday, we had a really great Devotional/Testimony meeting. The speaker was Elder Porter, an Emeritus Quorum of the Seventy. For the last 3 weeks we've had Emeritus Quorum of the Seventy speak to us. At first glance, you might think that we get the short end of the stick (as I did) with that because they are...well, old. However, it has become my understanding that these men know SO much. They have been serving the Lord all their lives and have doctrinal knowledge and testimony to prove it. Each of these last three devotionals has been excellent. To start the devotional off, the choir sang "Blessings" which is more popularly known as "Come, Thou Fount". It is a beautiful song. As we sang it, and gave feeling and emotion to those lyrics it was powerful. The choir director, while we were practicing, told us not to sing it for how much we liked the song, but for what it was saying. And it really says a lot. I encourage you to look over the words and ponder them. Especially the part about raising your Ebenezer. That was something he talked to us about in the choir-raising your Ebenezer. Something, some monument to yourself that demarks your change of course to be completely focused on the Lord, to be "fixed upon the mount" as the song says. That's what I am trying to do. In this mission there is no room for my concerns or needs. Every concern of mine that I address means there's one less concern from an investigator that I can deal with. The more time I spend on things for myself, the less time I have for the Mongolian people. That's a lot of what Elder Porter said on Tuesday. He said how the mission is not for you to a language, not for you to go to a new place, not for anything dealing with yourself. It is for the Spirit of the Lord to touch the hearts of the Mongolian people, using you as the instrument. It always brings me back to Isaiah 10 and Alma 26. We are just the instruments the Lord uses, by ourselves we have no sufficient strength. But, if we have the Lord's strength, we can do any and all things pertaining to the Lord's work. Well that's about all the time I've got. I love you all. I'm very happy for Jacque that is so great for her. Keep up the missionary work on the home front and we'll take it to the rest of the world ok? Bye!

~Elder James Cappuccio P.S. I'd really like Brother Youngs address....pleeeeeeeeease.

NY Trip and sorry about the late email

Sent July 110th at night after realizing he didn't get my 1st email...

Dear James,

It appears I was writing you an email while you were writing me an email. So you might not have got it until after you sent yours. I didn't get a chance to write you until Thursday morning(Joseph was on the computer). So you'll probably get 3 emails next Thursday morning because I will try to write you when I get back from NY from my parents house. I haven't heard about Ben, but sister Clawson is going to stop by and drop off something for me to bring up to you at the MTC, so I'll ask her. My birthday was pretty good, we went out to eat lunch at My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then in the evening I went to the temple with Dan Cuny to do initiatories and then he took me out for dessert and to the dance. Crystal bought me some gourmet chocolate covered pretzels which everyone helped me eat and a cute potted Gerbera daisy plant.

Jacque is getting baptized on August 23rd, she just called me today! I need to get a copy of the Church News. My parents get it so I'll see if I can locate it when I get there. I can always order a copy from the church distribution center. Kathy Finuf says your teacher told you the Ewoks on Star Wars speak Mongolian....is that true, not that I could tell the difference, but if it's true when you get back we'll let you translate for us....

I know you will make lots of friends in Mongolia- it was part of your blessing from Pres Jones. Your group of missionaries going to Mongolia look like a great bunch of Elders. It will be cool to hear your experiences when you get to Mongolia. I haven't posted any pictures to the blog yet, but will do it soon. I heard some Elders in Mongolia post to there own blog, so you might be able to post from there. Let me know and I will give you the sign in information.

Got to get packing.

Keep the fire burning!

Love Always,

mom

Sent July 16th: Dear Elder James, ( I know it should be Elder Cappuccio, but just for me it's Elder James)

So we had our big little trip to New York, just got back late last night. The Phantom of the Opera was definitely the highlight of the trip. We saw a few sights like Times Square, Ground Zero, the Manhattan Temple, the Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building( but didn't go up to the top), walked around Central Park, visited China Town and Little Italy, took the Staten Island Ferry out and back to see the city lights and the Statue of Liberty, took a tour of the UN, visited the NY library and Metropolitan Museum of Art, went Swing Dancing in a club on Saturday night, crossed over the Brooklyn bridge in a Taxi because our legs were to tired to want to walk that late at night, rode the Subway(Metro) and a few buses with the crowds, but still walked a lot( with the crowds!), ate some NY Cheesecake at the famous Juniors, real NY Pizza, Deli sandwiches and pastries, and stood in a long line to get Ice cream at supposedly famous Brooklyn Ice cream place( Amy says Cold Stone is better, but this place had to turn people away, because they closed at 10pm and the line was still out the door!). I hope we did enough walking to make up for the indulgences, my feet and legs feel like I did. I got shin splints and blisters and Amy's hamstrings were really sore. If we had more time there were a few more things we could have done, but then I would have spent more money...I hope Amy wasn't too annoyed that I didn't spend more money....I backed out of the Empire State Building view from the top, I got a little uneasy about it being a big tourist trap and waste of money and time as we were standing in line with a zillion other people to see what NY looks like from really high up. It would have cost $40 and I just imagined seeing a bunch of tall buildings and smog and thought it was a waste of time. When I went with Crystal to Switzerland, we rode a Tram to the top of one of the mountains and didn't see much because of the clouds, but at least we got a Tram ride up the mountain with beautiful views before we hit the cloud layer. Being packed like sardines in an elevator going up 100 floors just didn't sound like fun. So anyway the trip to New York was amazing, we learned a lot, saw so much in a short 3 days, took some cool pictures and basically had a great time.

So, I have noticed you have a ton of stuff you have left at my parents home. Can you tell what stuff you want me to take back to Chandler and what stuff I can just leave here until you come back to school. I figured you probably don't need the coats, so I hung them up in the closet. You have some dress pants and shirts, should I bring those down? What clothes do you want to leave here? The bedding can probably stay. How about your lacrosse bag? What about the Amp? you mi ght want to practice some guitar when you get back before school starts.... anyway if you can give me a few ideas on the matter, that would be helpful.

I found the Church News with your picture and showed everyone. =) My parents get the Church News and had saved their back issues and had a copy. Do you want me to mail you a copy? There were some good articles in there. I read a few issues on the plane ride. I read the articles about setting the Mission Presidents apart and teaching them how to be good leaders for the missionaries that are in their charge. It was a good article for me, because it showed how much the Prophet, General Authorities and Church leaders care about you, the individual missionary, and want to help you in anyway they can.

Do you have the email from your mission president saved on your computer? I didn't save it and need their address and phone numbers. I know you are in best place and am excited for you to preach the Gospel to the people in Mongolia in a few weeks. We miss you but are so inspired by your letters and example.

Keep the fire burning always,

love always,

mom

Missing Home but ready to see his New Home in Mongolia

Alllllrighty, well I'll just pretend you sent me an e-mail for me to respond to. :) haha i'm just teasing. Сайн байн уу? It is really hard to type in Mongolian cuz the keyboard is not on here and you just have to guess till you get it right! Anyways, I did get your package. Thank you! That candy was seriously gone by the end of the day despite the fact that it all had melted egregiously. We took it out of the bag and placed it on the heat register to cool. The beef jerky is almost gone but I hid the rest so I could enjoy it in the solitude of my residence hall.

It's been another great week at the MTC. I hope you had a happy birthday! I sent pictures home along with my old name tags. We got our new, all Mongolian nametags and they are SWEET. Now no one but the Mongolians and people that already know me know what my name tag says. I like it. Oh, and I forgot to tell you but for that singing thing I did, I ended up in the Church news from a week or so back. page 6. haha, you know it's big when it's in the church news right? anyways...

Elder Fisher is already gone! It was awesome to have him here but now he is out doing what he's supposed to be doing and I'm really excited for him. He told me something about Ben being on crutches? Do you know anything about that? I'm going to write him anyways so we'll see. Oh, and Elder Spencer Quinn is here now! I've run into him a couple times and it seems like he's doing great here. He's only here for three weeks and then he's off to Spain to the MTC there.

Whenever I get on the computer to write an e-mail it's like everything I remember about the week slips out. It's probably because I keep seeing the ticking clock at the top of my screen and it unnerves me.

starting at the end of this week, our class is going to be speaking nothing but Mongolian and I am excited/worried. I can speak Mongolian alright, and I know a good amount of grammar rules and vocab, but do I have enough to speak nothing but Mongolian? I'll find out soon i guess! Anyways, over the past week I've started to love the Mongolian language so much more. As I understand more bits and pieces, I just look toward the day when I can speak it fluently and I can't wait. The teachers said that if you can speak the language well you'll make so many friends with the Mongolians and that being their friend is one of the biggest contributions to bringing them to the Gospel. That's kind of the position you're in Mom. You're friends with Jackie then you just nudge them along on the right path. Maybe sometimes they need more than a nudge, but maybe sometimes that's exactly what they need. The good thing is, we don't have to make that decision by ourselves. The Spirit is there if we invite it and he will guide us in the best course of action.

So, next week we could very well get our Travel Plans which is very exciting. We finish out this week, then we have two more full weeks and then the week we leave. Can you believe it? I sure can't. I've started to feel as if this MTC experience is my mission and i'm about to finish it and go home. Maybe in a lot of ways I will be going home though. Mongolia will be my home for the rest of these next two years and I hope and pray it feels just like home.

One thing that I've been thinking about while I'm up here is just ho important family is. In fact, I've had a lot of regrets about not spending as much time with you all when I had the opportunity. I think back to the times when I had the choice of spending time with the family and spending time with my friends and wish I hadn't chosen friends. I really miss you all. I miss your smiles and your sad crying faces when I beat you in fooseball. :) Most of all, I just miss being in the house with you. Sometimes it's on the computer with one of you at my side or its eating dinner or its out in the street trying to catch Hopper or Phantom. Whatever it is, I miss it. So I actually want to apologize for that. For not spending as much time with the family. Being on a mission definitely chages priorities and makes you realize the truly important things. and YOU, my family, are the most important to me! So, I'm sorry. If I could rewind, I definitely would make different choices and spend more time with you.

However, I'm here on a mission and this is where I need to be, so there no coming home to spend time with ya. But, I know one thing that we both could do to feel of each other's presences more. If we will both strive our best to cherish the scriptures, to read from them each and every day and to read lovingly, not grudgingly, I know that we'll be able to feel together as a family. That's what this Gospel does, it brings families together for time and eternity. And reading the Book of Mormon will accopmish that in more ways than we can imagine. It's kind of hard to imagine that huh? That a book could do so much for a family both here and in the eternities. However, I testify, as one that has been blessed to experience it's wonderful truths day after day, the Book of Mormon is powerful. It is God's true, pure, restored Word. It points to Christ at all times, that constantly flowing fountain of everlasting life. I urge you Mom, Dad, Crystal, Amy, Joseph, Cali, and anyone else who reads this; go to the Book of Mormon, read it's teachings. And once you've read them, live them! That is the way it was intended to be! If we could just live all that the Book of Mormon taught us, what a wonderful place this would be.

Family, I love you so very much. I've come to a deeper realization of that. I also love my Savior immensly. He is the way and the means wherein we can acheive exaltation and eternal life. I know it, and I know that there is no other way. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and I know that is was translated by a chosen prophet of God, Jospeh Smith. I know that the priesthood was restored through him and that I now hold that priesthood. I know that all the keys of the priesthood are in the hands of President Monson who presides over this Church on the earth. It is true, I feel it and i know it. I hope everything is going well with all of you and I hope to hear from you soon. I will probably write some letters to the family as well. Have a fun summer vacation!

~Elder James Cappuccio

Blessed and Busy

This was sent July 10th( probably about the same time he was sending his email to me...)

Dear Elder James,

I love getting your letters and emails. Serving a mission to Mongolia doesn't just bless the people you are teaching or associating with, it also helps and inspires us at home to hear from you and know you are doing a great work. Cali bore her testimony on Sunday and mentioned that she didn't cry when you left on your mission, because she knew you were doing the right thing and she would be sad if you didn't go on a mission. I know I am getting extra help with work, because I have been doing much better on my commissions since you started your mission.

I met elder Finuf's mother yesterday after work. She is very cool and we shared pictures and a few stories. I'll have to admit she is more on the ball than me. She already sent a package to mongolia with normal food, so when Elder Finuf gets there he will have something to eat. She was worried the traditional food would be too weird and he would starve to death. I am glad I sent you some goodies while at the MTC to fatten you up before you leave, because you won't probably have a package waiting for you when you get there. I am leaving tomorrow on vacation and don't have time to put anything together. You won't mind eating a little Sheep's head will you? =) I hear the Yak milk is nasty too, but I'm sure you will survive....let me know if there is anything in particular you want sent.

Keep the fire burning!

Love always,

mom

Month 3 in MTC-still loving it!

Hello again! Well, it's the 3rd of July and hot air balloons are filling the sky here in Provo. It's really cool to see. Our expected departure date is the 28th of july so technically we have 25 days left here! But who's counting, right? It was really nice to get that e-mail from Tyler and to hear about his experiences. I've been able to talk to him a couple of times up here and it is so good to hear and see how well he's doing. I'm sure he's going to be an amazing missionary. He leaves this upcoming week which is sad, but I'm happy for him. This wednesday a few new Elders came in that I knew. Elder (Robbie) Low from my BYU ward and then Elder (Spencer) Quinn. It was really good to see Elder Quinn in the MTC, he looked really excited to be here and I can't wait to hear how he changes Spain as he goes there. He is great. So, my time as Zone Leader is just about up. This past Sunday, our branch presidency told us that we would be released this upcoming Sunday in order to give opportunities to other missionaries to serve. It has been a great experience. One thing that has stood out in my experience as a zone leader is that everyone has something to learn from. Each one of the missionaries in our zone has some sort of quality that helps me and by getting to know each one of them, I grow tremendously. Now i have the opportunity to learn from our other elders as they take leadership roles. Elder Finuf (my companion) and I have also decided that with our extra time we're really going to pick up our studying and learning. Elder Finuf is amazing. he is such a great companion. We definitely have different personalities but we are both very driven and motivated. This past week we have been waking up at 6AM instead of 630 in order to have more time. As soon as we are dressed and ready, we head down to our classroom and we usually pick up an extra 30 minutes of studying which comes in handy. His mom asked for your cell phone number so I gave it to him to give to her. You should probably expect a call sometime soon! Uhm, so about those girls camp letters, I still haven't gotten them! so yea, I don't know what's up with that, but maybe they just didn't make it. I'm writing this in the morning so they could still be getting here but its kinda funny to know that somewhere out there there are a bunch of letters meant for you and they just aren't here. Anyways, in case I haven't mentioned this to you before, I LOVE the Missionary Training Center. It's one of the best places ever. Everyday we learn more new things. The language is continuing to progress and I am excited with anticipation for the day when I get to speak with the people of Mongolia. As for the political situation in Mongolia, our teacher from there told us a little bit last night. Apparently the old communist party won the elections and so there were riots in the streets; 4 people were killed, 20 policemen were hospitalized, and a government building was burned down. It was really shocking to hear because we had just heard all these things about how wonderful Mongolian people are. It is sad to hear that they are having this trouble. She said that we shouldn't be worried about our visa situation but that we should pray for the people. So that is what we are doing. The other day I was able to talk to Aca Mcdonald again. After about a month or so it was hard to remember where to start from and I was hoping that he had taken my invitation to read the Book of Mormon more seriously but when I called he was in 2 Nephi. He is a man that is very interesting in the historical/geographical aspects of religious material and uses it as a sort of verification for himself. So i worked with him to identify some of the things I knew to validate its authenticity. Next we got into how those facts eventually fade and you must have faith to carry you the rest of the way. This eventually led into our ideas on salvation. He is of the belief that salvation comes after having faith in Christ and then through your salvation you just naturally do good works. I tried to explain to him the need for works before you can expect salvation and I used some scriptures in James. We ran out of time but I gave him two chapters in Alma to read that talk a bit about how our faith works within us and how our role fits in with Christ's Atonement because that was one of the things that we disagreed on the most. It was really good to talk to him again, and i care a great deal about him. I just hope and pray that I might be able to communicate our gospel in a way that he can truly feel the Spirit of the message. I'm calling him in two weeks so we'll see how that goes! We had Elder J. Richard Clark speak at our Devotional on Tuesday and it was so good. He gave us his "SKWASH" formula for being a good missionary. It was: Spirituality, Knowledge, Work, Attitude, Skills, Habits. The part that impressed me the most was Attitude. He told a story about a Russian train worker that accidentally locked himself inside a refrigerator car. No one could hear him and so he figured he would just be left in there to die. As he slowly passed away, he wrote out words on the inside of the car. He would say things like, "getting colder" "still colder" "these may be my last words". Things like that. When someone finally opened the freezer car, they fould him dead. The sad thing was, the refrigerator car was malfunctioning so the temperature in there was only 57 degrees. He could have easily survived if it wasn't for his preconceiived notion of what would happen in that car. That has so much import fir all of us wherever we are. Our attitude largely determines how we will do in any arena. Mental Attitude accounts more for success than Mental Ability. Well, I don't have much time left. But in closing I just want to say how very grateful I am for you and the family. I love each one of you so much. I absolutely know that this Gospel is the true Gospel. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a called prophet of God and that Jesus Christ stands at the head of this church. I know that by following Christ's footsteps in Faith, Works, and Covenants we can live with our families and with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again. It is a possiblity for all of us. God did not send any of us down here to fail. Each one of us has something great to do if we will just go to the Father and find out from Him what that is. At the time, my job is to teach the Mongolian people His Word, and I am grateful for the chance. Once again I love you all and I hope everything is going good for you. Love, Elder Cappuccio

Love from home

James, I just sent you a package today with some contacts, goodies and a letter. you probably won't get until Tuesday. I hope you have a good Fourth of July even though you are in the MTC. We won't be up in Utah until the 11th and then me and Amy are flying to NY right away.? Cali wanted to know if we could go by and see you in the MTC and I told her we couldn't, We miss you but are so proud of your great example.I got a lot of responses back from people I forwarded your email to, but haven't had a chance to read them yet. I heard from someone that there was some problems in Mongolia about the election, have you heard anything about that? I haven't had time to check the news. I don't have much time right now, but I wil email you later. I hope you got some email and mail from others because I didn't get my stuff mailed until today. Keep the fire burning! Love always, mom