2014-11-22

Thanks for setting up that blog for me, I wish I could see it. I'm glad that Elder Rodriguez is doing fine. His father came to meWednesday and gave me the Christmas concert tickets. I'm not sure I already told you this, but the guest artists are Santino Fontana fromFrozen and the Sesame Street Muppets. If you go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's website each Friday, you will see a reveal for each muppet. So far there's Count Von Count, Elmo, Grover, Rosita, and Abby Cadabby (in that order.)
    I also got that stuff from New York; an "I <3 N Y" t-shirt and a box of chocolates. The Rodriguez family were sure exited to give that stuff away!
    I am running low on soap and shampoo, could you send some more up for me?
    I also have some general idea of what I want for Christmas:

• Socks
• Speaker for tape player
• Small LEGO set or minifigure
• Advent calendar
• Another flash drive (mine broke :(.)

Could you give of the wishlist to Erik and Emily? And as always, keep in touch!

Nov. 19, 2014- Elder Derricott Sighting

(This is from Gil Rodriguez.  He is the father of Elder Rodriguez, who was Jacob's first companion.  Elder Rodriguez is finishing his mission and his parents are in Salt Lake City (from New York) to pick him up. )

Look Who I Saw!
So Elder Rodriguez won tickets to Mormon Tabernacle Choir but the concert is in December. So guess who he thought should get his tickets. Yup his greenie. So sweet your missionary is. We will see him on Friday. Got him a couple things.

2014-11-15

I too have experienced snowfalls this week. I am told that there were at least 20 vehicle accidents when it first started. Thankfully none happened near where I walked and worked.
    For Thanksgiving we are going to eat at the church, so you don't need to worry about getting food for me. We'll try to avoid the Black Friday crowds and instead look at the Christmas lights on Temple Square. I saw some people working on setting them up just a couple weeks after I got started on my mission.
    I have been trying to get the tape recorder to work, but at normal volume the music just sounds unnatural. Perhaps if you send me a speaker I might get better results.
    I have something I have neglected to ask you; which of my ancestors worked on the Salt Lake Temple? I would like to tell others, so that information would really be helpful to know. 
    I haven't really come up with anything I really want for Christmas, but I will try to send a list before the month is over. 

2014-11-08

I just wanted to let you know that I am having a great time on my mission! I know that you wanted a picture of Elder Bowers, so I pulled one up from an email one elder sent us. Both of us are in the back, and Elder Bowers is the one with the sky blue tie. Since it was Halloween, I decided to wear my orange-and-brown tie.
    I have moved every time I got a new elder, but I don't think that will always be the case. Also, you don't need to worry about sending me any Ensigns, we get one each month. I also found where the foot spray was today! It was in such a small section that it's no wonder I couldn't find it last time
    Anyways, here is what my schedule is basically like:

• 6:30 am- Wake up and have breakfast
• 7:15 am- Walk to Church History Library (CHL) weekdays or Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB) Monday for morning devotional
• 8:00 am- Get newspapers from Church Office Building (COB) and take them to the library
• 8:15-10:55 am- Circulation
• 11:00 am- Deliver mail
• Noon- Lunch in the break room
• 1:00-4:15 pm- Circulation, on Wednesdays and Fridays we travel to the JSMB to do linking from 1:00-4:00
• 4:20 pm- Return to apartment for companion study and dinner
• 6:00-8:30 pm- Travel to FamilySearch Center for teaching index research.
• On Saturday we shop at 7:30, clean laundry at 9:15, have lunch at noon, run to the dry-cleaner at 12:30, email around 1:00, dinner at 5:00 and go to sports at 6:00

    I sent an email to the mission president concerning Grandma and Grandpa coming to Salt Lake City, and I am confident that we will do something to avoid an accidental run-in.
That's all I can think of to say. Good-bye for now!

2014-11-01

I am having a great time on my mission so far. I can't believe it has been two months already. I have had two great companionships, and I am confident that this one with Elder Bowers will work out. We teach a nightly class together about the essentials of indexing. I hope to be a good aide with him.
    I gave Elder Rodriguez his gift this week. The funny thing is that the package you sent came on Elder Rodriguez's birthday, but I had to wait for the next day because I had already moved into Elder Bower's apartment.
    Halloween was another temple trip, and we spent this one going to the Bountiful temple. Do you remember that presentation of the Creation of the World inside the temple? The one in the Bountiful temple is an updated version, and I was on the edge of my seat at some moments. 
    Know that I am thinking of you and you will always be in my prayers.