Love of Learning the Language

Hellooooo!

It’s me again, Elder Cappuccio. I’m sitting here in a PC café and the power went out about 15 minutes ago. Hopefully it won’t do it again. :) Anyways, everything is going good over here. My health is good, my hope is bright, and my stomach is full haha. You’re right, it is nice getting a letter from you each week! So much stuff happens in a week so it’s good to hear from you all. I just wish Amy and Crystal would write me too! And what about Cali?!? She can write can’t she? Haha, anyways, each week seems to go so quickly here. I’ve already finished 3 weeks here in Erdenet and they’ve been awesome. Next Monday we’ll be going to Darkhan for our Zone Conference and so we’ll have to write e-mails on Tuesday probably. Then on Thursday is Thanksgiving! We’ll be eating at the senior missionaries’ house and we all have to bring an item to eat. I’m way excited for that.

Yea, I think about being in Mongolia sometimes and I laughed. I never dreamed I’d find myself here but here I am and I’m making a life out of preaching the gospel in Mongolia. Outside of the testimony I gave you from the airport phone, have you heard any real Mongolian? (Mine isn’t real Mongolian). It is such a crazy language! I love it. As I learn more of the intricasies of the language I’m just so glad I was blessed with the opportunity to learn it. I really like learning languages now. It’s because through learning the language, I can talk with people. Through talking with people, I can learn about them. Through learning about them, I can help them! That’s how it works and so I love being able to understand what people have to say, in whatever tongue they say it.

Ahhh, a you found a new boyfriend? What happened to the one that fixed up all the house? Well that’s cool that’s he’s got a good taste in music. I really started to like blues when I was up at Byu. I got a lot of BB king and those guys. Anyways, let me know if you want my opinion on who you should date and I’ll tell you for sure :)

Hmm…I don’t know when I’ll call you, I’m sure they let us know at Zone Conference or some time closer to Christmas. It’ll be an interesting situation though! Man, I’ll be talking to you all on the phone! Crazy. The weather here is finally getting to what it’s supposed to be. It’s almost breaking the negative faranheit during the day but I mean they don’t really go by faranheit anyways. I bought a sweat sweater earlier that was made out of camel fur and it’s way warm. I love it. Also, I bought some sweet Nike boots for the winter but of course they don’ty really have sizes for my feet here in Mongolia so I landed with a size 11. It was hurting my feet a bit and bruised my ankles after a few days but luckily my companions boots were a little bigger and we were able to do a comfortable switch of winter boots. He fits just fine in mine because he’s just a little smaller than me. Amy went on 3 dates with 3 different guys?!? WOW. That’s awesome. Good for her. But, sadly, she hasn’t written me…

Speaking of other missionaries, how are the rest of the ward missionaries? Elder Stock, Elder Clawson, E lder Eyestone, Elder Burgoyne, Elder Fisher, Elder Miller? I’ve asked about Elder Clawson like 200 times and you never tell me anything about him! Fill me in! Is elder Eyestone’s back better now? So this week we had some pretty sweet success finding some families. That’s really what I want to do if I have any control over what kind of people I teach. I want to teach families! In the 1st discussion, the 2nd principle we teach is about the family. How it’s ordained of God and how it helps us to live the Gospel better. Well, Mongolian church members are usually part member families! What that leads to is inactive members because the non-member faily members constantly nag away at the member’s faith. It’s very hard. That’s why I want to bring families into the church. Anyways, we found a family of 3 and a family of 6. They’re awesome. We found the family of 3 one day as we were contacting referrals and I heard someone chopping wood and so I was just like, lets go see if we can help them. It was a wife and so we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to teach be cause we have to have a guy there in order to teach. But her husband was in the ger and so we taught them the 1st lesson right then and there. It was way cool. The other family we found as we were contacting on another day and I just walked up to a guy smoking and leaning up against his fence post and we started talking to him. He said we could meet with him and so we planned for another day that week and it was just BEAUTIFUL! I love this work. At the same time, last night we dropped a family. That was one of the hardest things I’ve done so far on my mission. Sure, puking your guts out hurts a ton, and trying to speak a weird language is frustrating, being outside in freezing weather is tough too; but, none of that hit me as hard as dropping that family we had been working with. We had prayed over them and spend so much time with them and it just never came to fruition. I don’t ever want to have to do that again but sadly it’s almost inevitable…One thing I read just thins morning was something Elder Holland told some new Mission Presidents before they left for the mission field, he said: “I hope our missionaries are so prepared that they astonish their investigators with their teaching”. I really liked that and so maybe if I can get to that level we won’t have to drop any more investigators. They’ll just feel the Spirit of the message and move forward to membership and salvation. Anyways, that’s about it from here. I’ll get my bag and camera and all that next Monday. That’ll be nice. I love you and I love the family! Keep working hard and hold to the iron rod! It’s so important that every single member read from the Book of Mormon at least 10 minutes a day. So important. Once again, I love you and hope everything is going well for you all!

~Elder Cappuccio

Dear James,

It is always good to hear about your week and the work you are doing. I look forward to getting your email every week, so I know you probably are equally excited to hear from home every week, so I hope to make sure you get at least an email from me every week. I was looking at the map of the world by the bishop's office today and seeing your name on the country of Mongolia, made me think of you and all the people's lives you will change on the other side of the world. It's so amazing! You are so far away, but reading your letters brings you close. Thanks for all the neat stuff you write about.

I have to tell you that I met someone just recently who is really wonderful and really nice. His name is Jack and we have a lot in common as far as what we believe and what matters in life. He loves to listen to music so we've been to a really cool Blues Band club a few times already, so I think you would like to go when you come back. Hopefully more on that subject later =).

Thanksgiving and then Christmas! It's close to hearing from you on the phone! What time are you going to call? Because your Christmas is about over when ours is just starting. How is the weather now. I'm sure it's not 70-80 like it is here. This is my favorite time of year here in Arizona. Amy will be coming down for Thanksgiving, so it will be good to see her again. She had 3 dates in one week this past week- with 3 different guys!

I hope you are well. I pray for you and all the missionaries and for those you will find. Thanks for your example and love of the gospel.

Keep the fire burning!

Love always,

Mom

A Thyme and Pine Needle Soda, please(Nov. 9th)

Alllllllright, It’s your favorite Elder Cappuccio serving in Mongolia, writing you again! Well, to those that won the election, congratulations; to those who lost, accept my condolences. Anyways, while Election stuff is interesting, Mongolia, and more specifically, Missionary Work in Mongolia is more exciting! This week has been pretty good. We put our shoulder to the wheel and received blessings for it. Of course, everything is not where we’d like it to be, but things are improving. In particular, one family that we’re working with is doing really well. It’s a husband, wife and their daughter. He’s the one that we extended the commitment to obey the word of wisdom. So far, to our knowledge, he’s been keeping it! No doubt it’s been hard, but he really wants to be baptized. In fact, just this past Saturday, he was at the baptismal service and one of the speakers talked about how through baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we become new people. After the service finished, he said to both of us, “I need to get baptized, I want to become a new person, Got it?!” My mouth almost dropped I was like, wow, he just said that. Haha, it was awesome. Now everytime we meet with him he talks about that all the time. Then his wife reminds him that if he wants to get baptized he’s got to start reading the homework we give them and all that other stuff. Haha they’re funny. Anyways, we also extended to his wife the commitment to not work on Sunday and honor the Sabbath. At first, on Sunday, we thought she wouldn’t come even though she promised because her husband came with the kids but she wasn’t there. Then, like 5 minutes into the meeting, she slips in quietly and found a seat. I wanted to shout for joy but of course, it was sacrament meeting and so I didn’t. I just smiled. It was awesome. We have one person going in for baptism this week. We were supposed to have two but we need to work with the other a little bit. Nevertheless, I had never seen the former so happy before! After she exited the Baptismal Interview, she was just beaming. I can only imagine how she’ll be after the baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh, and to answer your question, we have baptismal fonts in the churches here in Mongolia ;). Once upon a time it was rivers though…

So yea, that’s kind of been how our work is going. Our biggest struggle is finding new investigators but I have a good feeling about this week! As long as we keep following the rules and giving our all, the Lord will bless us. Alright, so now that I’ve talked about our work, I’ll mention other miscellaneous items from this past week.

#1 I had this soda the other day called Selenge. That’s the name of a region out here, but anyways, the contents of the soda made me kind of laugh. It was: wild oats, wild thyme, medicinal perennial grass, and pine needles! Haha, it was a different taste, but I warmed up to it.

#2 There is a senior couple in our district out here. They don’t speak Mongolian. What that means is that they need a translator whenever they need to talk with Mongolians! So sometimes, when my District Leader is busy with other business, I have to translate for them. I can only describe that experience as humbling and humiliating. If you just have to understand yourself and speak for yourself, it’s not too bad. Still hard, but manageable. When you’ve got to translate for an outside body, it’s so much harder! Everytime I get done translating for them, I just feel terrible. Now one of my goals is to be a good translator. Haha so yea.

So…tell Brother Young I’m going to send him a letter today. I wrote him one but I wasn’t able to send it yet. Anyways, it’ll take like 2 months old or so so yea.

Well, I love all of you! I hope that everything goes well for you and you keep thriving in the Gospel. That’s the only source we can turn for for peace in this day and age. Any other source will leave us wanting. I know this church is true and I’m loving the opportunity I have to serve a mission here in Mongolia!

~Elder Cappuccio

Dear James,

Obama won the election, oh well, at least Cali is happy. What do you use for baptismal fonts in Mongolia? No icy rivers, right? Read the story below......

love always,

mom,

Church History Gems

Church History in Canada

"One of the great families to join the Church in Canada was that of Archibald Gardner. From his journal, we learn of the family's experience in Canada during the year 1843."Robert Gardner describes the day of their baptism: 'We went about a mile and a half into the woods to find a suitable stream. We cut a hole through ice eighteen inches thick. My brother William baptized me. . . . I was confirmed while sitting on a log beside the stream. . . . " 'I cannot describe my feelings at the time and for a long time afterwards. I felt like a little child and was very careful of what I thought or said or did lest I might offend my Father in Heaven. Reading the Scriptures and secret prayer occupied my leisure time. I kept a pocket Testament constantly with me. When something on a page impressed me supporting Mormonism, I turned down a corner. Soon I could hardly find a desired passage. I had nearly all the pages turned down. I had no trouble believing the Book of Mormon. Every time I took the book to read I had a burning testimony in my bosom of its truthfulness.' " Thomas S. Monson, "Days Never to Be Forgotten," Ensign, Nov. 1990, 68 Topics: Book of Mormon

Hole in the Lip, Teaching by the Spirit and real PIZZA in Mongolia!(Nov 2nd)

Dear Mother, Well, my health is recovered and I am the more thankful for it. I believe that which each passing sickness I gain a greater appreciation for the health the Lord blesses us with and the aide he gives us in times of distress. My health was in full swing by Tuesday morning and so I was very happy that day. I am loving my new area and my new companion more and more everyday. Just because I want to, I thought I’d let you know about one of the Elders in my group that wasn’t as lucky as I was to just get a bit of bad food in his stomach. Somehow, this Elder got a staph infection in his lip. It started small, just like a zit or pimple would. Then it just kept growing and growing and growing. As it swelled, his lip grew to gigantic proportions. Eventually part of his lip gained a black strip of color and he was able to squeeze juices out of a whole he had produced every now and again. The last I saw of him, he was sticking a heated pin from a pin cushion about halfway into that whole before reaching the back. It was sweet. Anyways, they took him into the city where he received a surgery and removed most of the infection. Now I’m told that each morning they suck out any new juices from the area and then scrape around on the inside of it all. So, compared to that, throwing up and stuff for two days really isn’t that bad is it? :)

Anyways, on to the work! As I said, I love this place. The branch is pretty strong here and we have 6 Elders and 4 Sisters in the Missionary District. My companion, Elder Byambadorj, is amazing. Everyday I feel compelled to thank Heavenly Father for him being my companion. We get along very well and our purpose is one. From the last transfer we had two investigators with a baptismal date set but they apparently didn’t understand the Word of Wisdom well and so we had to delay it a bit. We’ve been meeting some very tough resistance in the work lately. It’s been hard to find investigators or even catch people to meet with. Our two progressing investigators both had problems of their own that we were worried about. With another family of investigators, we just taught the Word of Wisdom and extended the commitment for the father to quit smoking. It’s going to be really hard for him, he’s been at it for 20 years. Needless to say, our prayers have been full of petitions to help these people we are working with. This work is such a rollercoaster. The joys and elation we get from seeing people receive the Word and act upon it is unspeakable. And yet, just as soon as it comes, disappointment and sorrow come when we see an investigator suffer in misunderstanding and disobedience. It’s tough. The thing that holds me firm through it all though is my testimony of Jesus Christ. If they’ll just come unto Him, he’ll help them, I know that. So, at the present time, we are laboring to bring them to that realization and bring them the joy that comes from living the Gospel.

We had a neat experience the other day as we were teaching an investigating husband and wife. One of their biggest concerns is that when they read the scriptures, they don’t understand them. As we talked about the importance of reading the scriptures daily, I was able to level with them and relate my own experience of growing to love the scriptures. I told them about how earlier I didn’t like reading the scriptures too much, that sometimes it didn’t make sense. But as I understood what they did for me, I begin to read more and truly began to love them. I don’t think what I actually said did anything for them, but somehow, the Spirit was there as I talked to them about that. From the Spirit I think they felt the truth of that message: even if it may be hard to understand, you can learn from them. It really was a great moment for all of us there. That’s one thing that I’ve really been becoming more aware of. We as missionaries must rely so heavily on the Spirit being there to back up the truth we teach. Our words won’t convert. Only the Spirit can do that. We have to work day in and day out to be pure enough, to be in tune enough, to be prepared enough, to deliver the message that the Holy Ghost can testify of to them. And of course, their hearts have to be open. But on our end of the deal, we really are nothing without the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Oh, in Erdenet, there is a pizza place called Eden’s Pizza House. It’s quite possibly the best pizza in Mongolia. It’s pretty legit! We ate there last Monday and I was like, “wow, this is good”. Haha, anyways, I like Erdenet. Also, my bag was found, so I’ll be getting that with the next Elders that come up this way! Alright, well that’s about it for now. I love all of you and hopen that everything is good for you in America. I hope your work gets better and I’ll be praying for you. And yea, I’ll finally get a call into Wells Fargo, sorry I keep postponing it…

~Your Son, Elder Cappuccio -----Original Message----- From: Marathomom@aol.com To: james.cappuccio@myldsmail.net Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 15:22:31 EST Subject: Lost backpack, lost fluids Dear James, I hope you have found your health and your backpack. I have been praying for both for you. Thanks for the vivid description of your suffering, it's almost like being there! Maybe you should do your own cooking for awhile and now I understand why when listing the contents in your missing backpack, you listed the tuna fish first!

We just had stake conference, but it was a regional one from Salt Lake City for all of Arizona. You would have liked it....when it first came on the feed was in Spanish and President Jones had to get up and announce that they were going to have to fix the problem, but that we should try to get the spirit of the message....unless you actually could understand Spanish, which you probably could have, so you would have liked it. They got some audio in English before the first speaker finished but it wasn't from the video source, so the audio lagged behind the speakers lips. They finally figured it out by the end of the 2nd speaker and it came blasting through.

There were some good messages. Brigham Young sent a group down to settle Arizona. They got to a pass in the mountains and were out of water, so they camped and prayed for water. The next morning they awoke to snow and enough water to fill their barrels. The expedition then turned around and returned to SLC and told Pres Young that Arizona was uninhabitable. Pres Young then asked another member of the group, Bro Jones, what he thought. Brother Jones said that he would have filled up the barrels and continued on and then prayed again and continued on until he reached the area in Arizona. So, Pres. Young put him in charge of the next expedition and in settling AZ. So, we need to pray, fill up our barrels and then press forward and then pray again, etc.

So, I hope you like your new area and looking forward to hearing some good stories of the people you teach there and hope you feel much better. I don't like the stories of your lurching your lungs out as much as the missionary experiences.

Love always,

and keep the fire burning

Love,

mom

Lost Backpack, Lost Lunch, Found Faith(Oct 26th)

Ah yes, the weekly e-mail! Well, quite a bit has happened since last week. As I said, our transfer was finishing up last week and so I would either be staying or going. The call came on Thursday morning. President asked to speak to me and then told me that I would be going to Erdenet. My new companion would be Elder Byambadorj. So, that’s where I am right now; Erdenet. If you go to a map of Mongolia, you’ll probably find erdenet in the northern middle west part section, ya know? It’s north of Ulaanbaatar and west of Darkhan. Most importantly, it’s the place that every Mongolian missionary wants to serve in. Why? Well, it’s pretty much a small town, with pretty much all the comforts of a big city! It was built completely by the Russians, or so I’ve heard, and in Mongolian, Erdenet, means treasure. So far I like the place a lot! So…my last week with my old companion, Elder Alexander was alright. President challenged us to do better on our weekly numbers, especially contacting people on the street. As we did this, things really started to improve for us! So I gained a testimony of the importance of daily talking with people on the street. So then on Saturday, it was transfer time. The days before I had packed up all my stuff and prepared myself for departure. Saturday was spent mostly at the mission home because our train didn’t leave till later that night, around 8. So, I ran around with other missionaries doing whatever. I ran into a new member from my old branch at her work (The Golden Pen shop). She’s such a sweet girl! We talked for a bit and I told her I was going to Erdenet. She then gave me a pen from her store for free and said it was her gift to me! I was like, thanks! She’s awesome. Anywayssssss, the rainy cloud on that Saturday’s, Sunday’s, and a little bit of today’s parade is that my health streak has ended. After eating some of my companions cooking, I contracted something not very nice. Therefore, I spend a large portion of my time on Saturday, Sunday, and the connecting nights, expelling everything not secure stowed inside my body. Luckily, my kidney, lungs, heart, intestines, and other vital organs were fastened well enough to withstand the constant lurching. Other things, such as every item of food I had eaten for the last 2 days, was not. And, as it was before, it came out wherever was easiest. Anyways, It’s quite amazing when you realize exactly how much fluids are in your body. It’s also amazing to experience how weak you feel with all those fluids are gone! Haha, anyways, that’s all really gross to you readers I bet. The most important thing about all of this is that I am ALIVE! And that if I can laugh about it, so can you! I’m here in Mongolia serving a mission and I’m not going to let some pesky stomach virus stop me! In fact, we still taught two lessons yesterday (and the 2nd investigator didn’t mind at all that I threw up in her house!). That’s how wonderful these Mongolian people are.

On another sad, less playful note, one of my bags was taken. The odd thing was that it was taken from the mission home. I brought 3 bags to the mission home and only left with two. We looked for my backpack all over but either it was intentionally stolen or someone mistook it for theirs and headed off without checking. If it’s the latter option, I’ll be greatly relieved because there was some good stuff in that bag: a tuna fish pack from home!, my cds, Mongolian scriptures, flashlight, photo album, and camera! Other stuff as well, but that’s what I remember most. If it was stolen, well, I’ll probably never get it back and someone at the Zax will get a nice camera for pretty cheap. If it was just accidentally taken though, I could have it all back to me as soon as a few weeks which would be way sweet. Anyways, if you would all pray that the bag turns up with everything intact, that would be greatly appreciated and I’m sure things will turn out ok.

As for missionary work, I’m getting settled into the area and my companion is Mongolian. He’s a lot like me so I think we’ll have a great time. I expect my Mongolian language to greatly improve with his help! Anyways…I’ll let you know more about our investigators and new members as I get to know them more! Most importantly, I know this church is true and no matter what happens here or abroad, I’m going to keep doing my job as best as I can! I hope that everything is going well for all of you back home. I love you all very very much and I miss you a bunch. In about 2 months, I’ll be able to call you! Sweet eh? Alright, well keep working hard and I’ll do the same. Just remember that we’ve been called to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places, to mourn with those who mourn, and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort. ~Elder Cappuccio

Dear James,

It's that time of year when you get 10-20 calls a day from people or groups wanting to get your support for their candidate or proposition. We have a few propositions to vote for, but the one getting the most publicity seems to be the Marriage amendment. We are voting to change the Arizona constitution to define marriage as only between one man and one woman. This would make it impossible for a judge to be able to rule in favor of a same sex marriage. The church is taking a stand on this and asking us to not only vote for it but try to influence others to vote for it. Speaking of marriage, Ashley Richardson got engaged last night. I don't know his name but he seems like a really nice guy.

Anyway back to missionary work. I am curious to find out where you are beening transferred to or if you are staying in the same area.?Do you see the missionaries you were in the MTC with on P-days? We do need some more picures, if you get a chance.

I ran a 12 miler last Saturday, but only 5 this Saturday, so to stay on track for my marathon goal I have to run 14 miles this next weekend. I run (if you can call it that these days) very slow, but it isn't hard to keep running at a slow and steady pace. I always wondered about the scripture in D&C 89 about running and not being weary and walk and not faint. Seems like you would be more apt to faint while running, but then I ran a marathon and it made sense. If you run within your pace you have trained, you can run and not be weary and then if you do have to stop and walk the stiffness and aches catch up to you, so you have to keep going even though it feels like torture, so it's actually harder when you start walking.(after running 20 miles)at least it has been for been for me. So if I train well enough I won't have to walk. You could probably relate that to life in many ways.

I have also been reading the " The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Covey. I found it in your room, so I decided I could use some extra help in many areas of life and try to read some each day. Well I got to go to choir practice now. I hope you are well. We pray for you always and are grateful for your dedication and desire to serve the Lord.

We love you,

Keep the fire burning,

Love always,

mom and family

Pray for Missionary Work(Oct 19th email)

Hello! I hope that you all are having a great time in America. I'm doing my best to enjoy my time here in Mongolia. This week we had our interview with the mission president. It was wonderful! You should be so grateful that I have President Andersen as my mission president. Everything he does pertaining to this work is guided by years of experience, care, and most importantly, the Spirit. He helped me to see this last transfer in a good light and to turn bad situations into great ones. This week is the end of one transfer and the beginning of another. In the Mongolian mission, the transfer are every 12 weeks, not 6 like with every other mission. If things need to get changed, he'll change them at the 6 week mark or, if it's an emergency, he'll do it right away, but usually, everything changes ever 12 weeks. So, next week I'll have a new companion! He'll most likely be a Mongolian, but either way, he's going to be awesome and we're going to do some really good work. I might stay in the area I'm in, and I might go, I don't know yet but it doesn't really matter. As long as they still speak Mongolian where I go, I'll be ok!

So don't you think it was neat how President Monson asked us to pray for the opening of nations to missionary work? THat's awesome. I can see it in my mind how through the faith of the church members, China and much of the Middle East and the rest of Africa will be opened to the glorious message of the restored Gospel. It's something that is so important so don't forget to petition the Lord for it! It will come because the prophet said it would through our prayers!

This week has been an interesting one. We've had some success and we've had some failures. I'm definitely learned to love my companion more which is such an important thing to have. Like the talk in General Conference, unity is essential to work progressing in the church and ultimately, salvation. There was a talk 2 or 3 conferences ago by Elder Hales, I believe, that talks about how Salvation is a personal matter, but Exaltaion is a family matter. To an extend, that branches to missionary work. If my companion and I don't pray for each other and work together, we could both be the best talkers and scriptorians and not get a single baptism because of our disunity. The Lord says that if we aren't one, we are not His. Thus, how can we pretend to be His representitives if we are not one? That wouldn't make sense at all.

Anyways, why I won't share specific accounts, suffice it to say that the Lord's hand has touched our work. When one appointment fell through, another was found that yielded great potential. Never underestimate the power of sincere prayer and faithful acting on that prayer. This week I really wanted to meet with an inactive youth that is incredible hard to get a hold of. No cell phone and he usually doesn't get home till after 10 each night. I decided on a time on Saturday when we would stop by his place and prayed to the Lord about it, asking for him to bring it to pass so that we could help get him back to church. Saturday came, and when the time came to visit him, there he was, in his family's store! We came in and talked with him for a bit, introduced ourselves, and set up a time to meet with him! All I did was listen and then do it. Hopefully this will continue and we'll be able to bring him back into activity and bless his life.

Mom, as well as the rest of you all, I love you! You are all awesome and if you weren't a member of my family, I just wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now probably. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior. He came once before to save us from our sins and he will come again. God is our loving Heavenly Father and he wants to hear from each and every one of us everyday. Seek him out in prayer, because He always listens. I love you all!

~Elder Cappuccio

Dear James,

Sorry about not getting my last email. I guess you have it by now. I really liked your email. Thanks for writing down stuff to share with us.

I didn't dig any toilets, but I tiled the upstairs bathroom this week and when I get done grouting, I'll be buying a new toilet to put in there.... I have been digging in the garden this week and planting some new flowers. Also, Glenn( a man I'm dating) fixed the ceiling in the study and then painted the ceiling, the walls and the baseboards for me. It helps that he's a professional painter, but he is very nice to help me. With moving peoples homes and digging toilets you'll keep in good shape, at least when it's warm, not sure you can do that stuff in the winter. ...and take it easy on the pickaxes.....and hopefully you'll have better success with Meekers....

At work I was having a slow week, hadn't sold a loan all week, then on Friday, I sold a large loan to a Greek family in New York. Having Greek heritage and a name like Athena has helped me sell a few loans =). and also prayer came in handy for me too. We'll keep praying for you and you for us.....thanks for your dedication and example you are to all of us.

We love you. keep the fire burning,

love always, mom