Happy New Year! 2014!!!

I loved the Christmas letter so much. It was awesome to read Emma's point of view. I hadn't realized how much she really has grown up. It made me also almost tear up when I read what she had said about me. Things are going well for me. I found out that on Wednesday I will be getting transferred to my last area. I will be serving in Idaho Falls in the east stake. I am excited to get to serve there. When I came to the Idaho Pocatello Mission, the two areas that I wanted to serve was Pocatello and Idaho Falls. I will also have a car in this area from what I have been told. No more walking in the cold. I have a feeling that this transfer is going to be one of my most busy and best transfers I have had. We will have to see.

So I'm not really sure what to talk about. The only bad part about calling home is the next email I send I have nothing to talk about. I'm glad your talk went well. If there is one thing I am still freaked out about its talking in sacrament meeting. 

It is weird to think of how little time I have left. I felt when I first came on my mission that this would never come and that was ok. Now that its almost here I would almost love to switch places with the missionaries coming out now, but I am supper excited to come home and be with you and Emma and the kids to. Even though it freaks me out how much time is left I am using this as a motivation tool to work even harder then I have before.
Thank you for all your love and support. I cant wait to see you again.

Love,
Jonathon Felton

Elder Felton's Thoughts on Gratitude For Family Christmas Letter

Recently another missionary taught us on Gratitude. He asked us what gratitude meant. I raised my hand and said. “It is having a grateful attitude.” He hadn't thought of this and neither had I until he asked. For me it really means to be grateful all the time. To show it in how you act.

This year I am truly grateful for family and friends. As I have been on my mission it has been my family that has brought me strength to work as hard as I can. My friends who motivate me to never give up. Both of them have taught me to push through trials and look to the future. I receive blessings daily from that. As it is winter and I am walking, I am also grateful for people that let us come inside to warm up and especially for hot chocolate. What I have come to know is that all these great things come from God and Jesus Christ. I am also grateful for this and to know that I am a child of God. That he loves me and cares for me. That he is always there for me and anyone who lets him into their life.

Christmas!

This past week has been interesting. As you know I am serving with two other missionaries. It has been fun/crazy. Right now we cover the Indian reservation. It is a cool experience. The people we are working with I already feel this huge love for them. The members have been really great to us. We have great people to work with. We are working right now to help a family get married so that they may get baptized. They have lived together for 5 years and they both say its about time. So we are hoping to have a wedding and a baptism soon. 

So here are some funny stories from this week: 

Friday our zone leaders came over so that we got to go get some lunch with them. While we were over, they delivered a couple packages and letters to us as well. In one of the packages there was this spray air freshener that smell weird. One of our zone leaders (Elder Sweeten) started spraying Elder Nettesheim with it. this led to a him wrestling with him to get it. (All this was done in good fun and everyone was laughing) So after that we were tossing a potato around and it accidentally got Elder Sweeten in the eye. Now Elder sweeten has one of the best black eyes i have ever seen. 

This is not all the next day Elder Nettesheim got food poisoning. Later that night we went to our zone leaders house to give him a blessing. While we were there, right when one of the zone leaders is giving him the blessing, Elder Nettesheim throws up on me, and the floor. It took all my will power not to throw up myself till at least I could make it outside where I manged not to throw up. Before the blessing I had taken off my coat so the only thing he got was my pants and a little on my shirt. It took us a while to clean it up because Elder Sweeten and I were doing our best not to "make matters worse" if you know what I mean. The zone leaders also said they don't think they want us to give blessing at "their" house any more but will gladly do it at our place. 

On to Christmas stuff.  We will be calling/skyping/maybe face time at 11 our time here. I believe this is 12 for you. Is that ok? I will be check this email again tomorrow to know if that is good for you. I will not be able to call granna this year. I feel bad but they just want us calling our parents (and siblings don't worry Emma lol) 

Well I love you so much and I cant wait to talk to you. I love you sooo much.

Love,

Jonathon Felton

Travel Plans and a Little Panic On the Side

We are still working with our investigators and they are ready to be baptized. We just need to have an interview and they will be all good to go. It has been great working with them and fun to teach them more about the gospel.

Elder Thorpe was great his last week. Today he goes to the mission home and tomorrow he will fly home to his family. He is excited and sad a little as well. I can't believe I will be doing the same thing next transfer. So a few days ago I got my flight itinerary in the mail. When I saw it, I freaked out a little and dropped it on the ground. A couple of missionaries here have helped me to kinda cope with it and Sister Wagner has given me encouragement in some emails. She goes home today as well.

It is getting cold. We had a few days where it warmed up but today it went right back to being cold. Oh well, I wont have to worry about it to much longer. I am so glad I will get a car for at least about two weeks. I am excited to be serving with Elder Clevenger and Elder Nettesheim (sounds like "net a spy m"). We are going to have a blast but no worries we wont play pranks. (At least not bad ones or big ones.)

I love the package you sent it has been fun trying to guess what is in it by the scripture. Very clever. The only ones that were open were the socks but i think it was because the wrapping popped as it was traveling. Sorry you had a rough class to teach. that would drive me nuts trying to teach someone who is trying to be a pain.

I love you so much I hope the crazy dog doesn't eat more crazy things lol. I am so excited for Christmas when I can talk to you. I love you so much.

Love,
Elder Jonathon Felton

Lesson Learned? Prepare BEFORE Your Mission

Ok, so this is my last week with Elder Thorpe. He has been a great companion. I am so very grateful to have gotten to serve with him. This last week we were finally able to set up some lessons that had been falling through. We might have to move our baptism back but that's ok. We would rather move it back and make sure they are really ready then baptize them when they aren't. We are making preparations for the chaange when it comes, and I am trying to keep my companion form getting trunky. (trunky means thinking about home to much).

It is COLD! It is awesome walking in the snow while it is snowing, but not once it stops. When it stops the temperature drops but the good news is that the weather is supposed to warm up a little this week. Bring on the 1 degree warmer weather! lol. We are going to see some homes today that have a bunch of Christmas lights up and take some pictures. We are also going to play some basketball and Monopoly today for a P-day activity with our district. Tonight we are going to stay the night in Idaho Falls for Elder Thorpe's Departing temple trip tomorrow. I am excited to go to the temple it is so much fun.
Tell Cody he needs to start shrinking. He isn't allowed to be taller then I am. Especially if I ever play basketball with him lol. I am planning on playing in the soccer alumni game. That would be awesome.  I can't believe Ben is going on his mission WOW! I mean I knew he would go on one, but not so soon. I guess he is old enough which makes me feel old. If I could give him advise it would be to get to know "Preach my Gospel" This would have saved me a lot of trouble before I went out, if I had done that.
Tell Brett I would love to take him fishing and play soccer and basket ball with him.
I will obey the rules of the boxes lol. No worries I want surprises.
Things I need, I'm not sure what, if there are things I even need.
I love you so much
Love Jonathon Felton

Fun Video's For Elder Felton

Emma scraping the car windows.

Gypsy Working Hard for a French Fry

The City of Lights!

So things are going well. We had a great Thanksgiving. We got to just kinda chill out for the day. I was able to get some much need rest. We had a lunch with one of our bishops and had a dinner with a member of one of our wards. In between things we hung out at our apartment and listened to so Christmas music. It was a really nice day.
We have two people with a baptism date. It is super exciting. We have worked hard to be able to find someone who would except baptism. It is a mom and a kid. They are really great. They are easy to teach and are really open to the gospel. their baptism date has been set for December 14. I am happy to be able to work with them to be able to help them with this.
As it is getting colder we are trying to limit the time we spend outside to avoid getting sick. I have also started taking vitamin C to boost my immune system. I have been staying well but Elder Thorpe got a cold about a week ago. He is/has gotten better. He is just trying to kick the cough.
I hope you are having an amazing day. I love you so much.
Love,
Jonathon Felton 

 Oh and there are tons of Christmas light up! YES!

Getting Into the Pineapple Spirit!

Missionary Homage to psych!

Elder Felton

I know you know!

PINEAPPLE GOODNESS!

Staying Warm, and Busy

So this was a slowish week for us. We weren't able to teach much however, we did get to work with a lot of members! So it was a good week. Wednesday was a good day. We were able to split up to get a couple things done. Each of us had a member with us as our companion. My companion went to the temple with some one that he had taught and I went to do service with a family that was not active in the church. It was funny because I was with some other elders during this for a part, and then we all went to dinner with 2 other elders. It was a funny dinner. Probably the craziest one I have had in the mission.  Things have been going well So I am staying in Chubbuck for another transfer. Elder Thorpe and I will be together for only half a transfer and then I will be put with the other elders that cover the other half of our stake. The other elders have a car so that means I wont freeze the entire transfer. Yay! We are working hard to get a couple of people ready for baptism. I feel we will be able to get them ready. 

Things are just kinda same old. Nothing to big or exciting happened this week. OH wait I did get a pineapple this week. yummy. I am adding a picture of it in this email.

I love you so much hope you are doing well 

Love,

Jonathon Felton

PS. I hugged a horse  while we were walking down a street this last week.

"Winter Wrap-Up" Part One

Transfers are coming and Elder Thorpe and I are staying together! (at least part of the transfer) Half way through this transfer Elder Thorpe will be going home. Darn him for getting to go home early. Anyway this means that I will be put with the other 2 missionaries that cover the other half of our stake. This will be fun serving with 2 other missionaries. It is going to be... interesting... to figure out how to coordinate all the wards and our two schedules. The other two that I will be serving with is Elder Clevenger and Elder Netasigm. They are so much fun we are excited to be put together. 

Other news this transfer is that this will be my last Zone conference. This means at the end they will have all the missionaries that are going home before the next one share their "departing" testimony, about our mission and what it has meant to us. I am not looking forward to this because 1. I don't have as many experiences in this mission and 2. It freaks me out thinking how close I am to the end. What I do know is that I will miss ALL the people I have met. I am so grateful that I have been able to have this experience. Enough of that...
So this Wednesday we are going with a person to the temple to get his endowments out. He has been really less active most of his life and missionaries have been helping him get back into the swing of things. We are excited to go with him and share that moment with him. I loved the Idaho Falls Temple. It is so beautiful. It was a blast to be able to add that to one of the temples that I have been able to go to.
Things are definitely getting colder as time goes on. We are staying warm by dropping by members homes and giving them spiritual thoughts. This gets us out of the cold and into a nice warm house. That is only when we have an appointment fall through or have a few minutes to spare. The member have been treating us really well. They have helped us a lot more in finding new people to teach. Other than that I think things are just about the same. We are walking around trying to teach as much as we can.
I know that this work is inspired and is a great work. I am so happy that thing are going well for all of you. I thank you all for your love, support, prayers, and letters. They have made the difference for me.
I love you all so much!
Love Elder Felton

Little Successes and Puppy Love

We have had a rather eventful week. Although we didn't teach much this week we were able to get some new investigators. The most promising one is Rick. He grew up catholic and has a basic understanding of Jesus Christ. After we taught him about the restoration and the Book of Mormon, he told us how he had met with missionaries before but he never felt they had answered his questions. He said that we had answered all his questions and that he felt what we had taught him was true. He later made a point to let us know that he would read the Book of Mormon to find out if it is true for himself. 

Well I am having a hard time thinking today. We had a fun day filled with dodge-ball and basketball. Our activity we did as a zone was earlier today so that some of the zone could have enough time to get back. However, they didn't show up or tell us. Oh well what are you going to do.

Its time to get that fat puppy on a diet! lol It will be hard to not give here treats all the time when I get home. I am glad that she is healthy. I love playing with the dogs out here because I cant play with her. Good news about the move is that Gypsy doesn't dig anymore. No more worries about that lol.

Soooooo.... Were the sister missionaries cute? lol. I'm just kidding. It seem that every meal we have with someone that has a daughter out on a mission, or a granddaughter, they always seem to say "You would be perfect for my daughter/granddaughter." I think its so funny how that happens out here.

Well I'm not sure so much what to write about. My mind is a little scattered today. I am sending the memory card out this week along with some letters as well. 

I love you so much. I am sorry this email doesn't have much to it but I am hoping to be able to fill in more with some letters.

I love you as big as the ever expanding universe.

Love,

Jonathon Felton

The Shenanigans Were Had!

Ok, so we had a really good week. We had a member invite a nonmember to take a church tour. It was amazing! She had some really great questions and even offered the closing prayer at the end. The spirit was so strong. She told that she was looking for religion in her life. We will be following up to see how she is and if she would like to take lessons from missionaries. We have also found two new people to teach as well. This is great. My fear was that with winter coming that work would slow down. This has not happened  We are really seeing the members "Catch the Wave" of missionary work.
I have not met the Colliers yet. I am more in Tyhee than Chubbuck but I will ask the missionaries that are more in Chubbuck if they know them. 
Halloween was awesome! It was so much fun to watch cartoon movies with our whole zone. It was like watching movies with family. I guess that is because while on the mission that is about as close to having family as you get. We had snacks food and sports. It was a blast! I'm not sure about this Les Miserable business... I'm kidding. I have heard that it is really well done so 'Im down for it.
Well that's about it. I'm not sure what else to type. Oh! We had dinner with one of our office workers and the the wife said she was able to talk to you about your plans for me coming home. Well I love you more then words can say. I hope you all are doing well. This I know, The Lord know each one of us. He loves us. He wants us to be happy and if we let him in we will be happy.
Love,Jonathon Felton

Elder Felton's Favorite Scripture!

Mosiah 4:9

Halloween Shenanigans!

Ok, part 2.

About the family with all the kids that follow us around. Two of the kids got baptized this last Saturday. It was stressful at first because they almost didn't come. So we had to work that out. Then some members got on to us about being at the church because they were having a wedding reception. We then had to tell them that we were having a baptism and they were more accepting of it and were OK with it.
A cool thing is on Halloween we get to be lock inside a church at night. This is to make sure that we are OK and cant be blamed for anything that might happen. But this means that we get two watch 2 movies with our district and or zone. I think this is one of the coolest things about this mission. We will be watching Wreck-it Ralph and Monsters University. Yay for movies!
Other than that not to much is going on. We are slowly getting more work in our area and this is keeping us busy. I will be sending a letter this week and the memory card in 2 weeks. I will try to get you some pictures of what is going on and where I'm at now.
I love you and hope this is better than what I sent yesterday.
Love Jonathon Felton

Bribing Young Children Comes Naturally

Don't worry about falling asleep in church. I have seen so many people, including bishops and stake presidents, falling asleep during church. I myself have almost fallen asleep on the stand before I was to speak in a ward. Tell Drew that if he wants to know something I will take letter and send replies as well. I got your package and loved it. I have been decorating our apartment the last few days. It was good to get the suckers as well. They make nice bribes for kids if they behave during lessons lol. I will Send the memory card as soon as I can. I am wanting to get some pictures off first before I send it out. We Are doing well here. We had a baptism this week and have gotten some new people this week to teach. This area is a good area it just need some time to get moving a little more.
I will send another email out that has more info. We are having a rushed day today and I will send you a better email this week PROMISE!
I love you so much and hope that you are having a great day.
Love you so much. Thanks for the names for family search.
Love Jonathon Felton

Service With a Smile!

We are both walking everywhere we go, AWESOME! This is good because I have decided that I will go running in the mornings or the evenings (if I have time) when I get home. I am hoping that being at such a higher elevation, my endurance will increase when I get home. Well anyway, things are continuing to go really well. We are working with a few families that we are trying to teach the importance of baptism and the commitment behind it as well. Things are slow because we are no longer allowed to go tracting in our mission. This means if we are going to get any new people to teach, the members are going to have to find them for us. They are doing this in only 17 missions and they are mostly Utah and Idaho ones. Oh well. So this last week we helped with a lot of service. On one day we helped to cut up a HUGE tree that had fallen down in a less active members yard. Another was to dig up two fence posts and to straighten them out. This meant that we had to dig up several large rocks and some we had to break apart in order to lift them out of a hole that was much deeper then we had planed on. Now for the best one! Today this morning we helped a member to cut up a deer! We had to cut bones out of it and to cut the fat off it as well. It was gross but fun at the same time. I was surprised how easy it was to cut it into different parts.  So Elder Thorpe is from Austin Texas. I don't remember if I told you that. One thing we are doing in helping to be able to teach more is we are becoming familiar with family history. Yay for finding info on ancestors. (I am still very confused on how to do all of it.) Other than that we are just working away. 

Know that I love all of you so much. That I pray for all of you and hope that you all will have Great joy in your lives.

Love the coolest missionary out,

ME!

Ok maybe not THE coolest, but pretty darn close,

Elder Felton

A New Area and a Good Perspective

Well It sounds like you have been having a really good week. I am so glad that thing are going well for you. I loved the part with the girls poking you on the forehead. The girls sound absolutely adorable. Things have been going really well. My new companion is Elder Thorpe. He has been out 22 months. They put two old farts together lol. We are serving in Chubbuck. It is just on the outside of Pocatello. The area is great I love the feel of it. I feel at peace and comfortable here. We are in the biggest walking area in the mission. This will be good as I will get some exercise everywhere I go. We have been having a blast (except for a few annoying things) all is going well. Me and Elder Thorpe are getting along really well. I am staring to remember specific people and am getting to better understand our area each day. I am loving the Idaho Pocattelo mission just as much as the Utah Ogden mission. The people we are teaching are great. They are so funny. We are teaching this family with a bunch of kids in it and they are the best. After one of our lessons with them, we were walking and the kids were following us everywhere in the neighborhood. And in the neighborhood there are a lot of apple and plum trees. So the kids were asking us to pick fruit for them at every tree. It was one of the funniest thing I have seen on my mission. It was like having a gang but of kids lol. Well that's about all I can think of right now. Things are a little slow but they are picking up more each day. 

I love you so much! I am going to be sending a letter with a memory card in it "soon". I would say today but you know how I am. I Love you all SO much!
Love,
Elder Felton

CHUBBUCK IDAHO!

So this conference was probably my favorite one so far. I loved President Monson's priesthood talk and also Sister Carole M. Stephens talk. They were both very good but Sister Carole M. Stephens was my favorite. I loved how she put the importance on women receiving a priesthood blessing even if they don't have a Priesthood holder in there house. It brought me comfort knowing that you and Emma still have the right and access to it. Since you two are some of the most important people to me I felt relief and strength knowing that the ward will always be there for you.

So I am moving to Chubbuck, ID this is an area that most likely will not have a car. This means that I will need my bike more for a time. I will also be covering only a couple wards instead of an entire stake. I am so happy to be moving back to the city. The country is nice but I need to be around people lol. This will most likely be my last area as far know. I don't know much about the area or about my new companion. I will be moving on Wed. When I figure out the bike info I will let you know. My bike isn't hard to take apart and that is something I could probably do.

I did get the card with the money in it. This is another blessing to moving right next to Pocatello. There will be STORES! I will be getting my shoes as soon as I can while I am up there. I'm not sure what else to write. My brain is in like 20 different places. I am going to pack most of today and get ready to move.

Oh so you have been talking to Sister Wagner. She is such a great missionary and she is funny. She is a great person for advise. She often times gives me advise and helps me out.

Well I love you and hope that all is going well.

Oh I do have pictures but I need to know your apartment number as well as your address. If you don't have an address number then I can just use your address.
I love you all,
Elder Felton

I Love the People

Things are changing here. It has gotten cooler now, and it is really nice for walking. (when its not windy) We are on our last full week of the transfer. On October 9th we will have transfers. I am a little nervous to see what happens but I am not going to let it get me down. I don't know what will happen but whatever it is the Lord will guide us to do His work. I have really enjoyed this week as we are working with several less active members who are starting to come back to church. I love seeing the Light of Christ come into their lives. I love the people up here. When I first came to this area people told me it would be hard for members to trust us because we were new people. This was most certainly not the case. Everyone here has welcomed us as if we are their own family. I have grown attached to them and know it will be hard to leave them.

It is crazy to think that winter is just around the corner here. I cant believe that things could cool off so much up here. We are going to be splitting wood for some people and are helping others with some home repairs. I love doing service. It gets us doing something different and we can wear normal clothes lol.

My favorite scripture this week come from Mosiah 4:9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.I love this because of how simple it is. I feel if we break down anything we do in the gospel it comes down to just this Belief.Well I love you so much. I am so grateful for your love and support as it has given me strength to do all that has been required of me. I love You and pray all is going well and that you have a very blessed week.Love Jonathon Felton

Always Remember to Laugh

     I will continue sending emails because I know you like them and I think I would be in big trouble if I didn't.      So last Monday we went to play paintball. It was a blast. We went as a district to Afton Wyoming to play. There are sisters in our district so we had to find padding for them but they said they didn't want to wear the life jackets we found them. It was fun. We got painted pretty good. a member let us play with his stuff and showed us a place with trees to hide behind while we played. So that was a cool thing for us AND something new. Then throughout the week we had lessons almost every night! This is great because it means we have more work! Some lessons fell through and we are working to set them back up. We have been invited to do some service for people splitting wood. As it is getting colder I am getting happier. I am super excited to be able to do some service and to be able to find all the people who live in our area all year. Most people only stay in the summer or just a couple weekends. So now that its cooling off people aren't as excited to go swimming in the lake.     I am happy to hear your story about Emma's bike. It made me smile. My companion and I get along really well. Most of the time we are laughing about something. We have met a lot of funny/interesting/crazy people in our area. This fills our days with some entertainment. We asked one time for directions to a house and found out people give funny directions out here. We were told to turn were the old Johnson's barn burned down. Found out it burned down 10 years ago. We got lost for a bit but found the house we were looking for.     Well I don't know much else to tell you. I will keep my eyes open for stuff in the mail.I love you so much!Have an amazing day! Love,ElderJonathonDavidFelton <(^.^)>

Bowling Cheats!

AHHHHHHHH! I cant believe the Carters are in the MTC. I am so happy that so many other member from the greatest stake in the world are serving missions. I can still remember when some of them were still in middle school. I am glad that thing are going well for you guys. I know that the peace you have been felling is truly from the Lord. So I will try my best to tell you what has been going on. Last Monday Elder Chernan and I went bowling. It was funny because our lane had something wrong and it kept knocking down the pins so we got really good scores with little effort. That night we had a lesson with a cool family that are coming back into the church. They are a young couple that had a kid about 6 months ago. They want to be able to go to the temple someday and be sealed as a family. Wednesday we along with some members went to go visit some people and to try and find more work in their ward. This helped us to find a lady we have been trying to find for a month with no luck. The rest of the week was just more knocking on some doors and find a lot of members. (There really are a lot of Mormons in Utah/Idaho lol) We are picking up work but for the most part it is still a little slow. This is fine because we know that as long as we continue to work hard the Lord will bless us.

The only need I have might be shoes. I have got a couple holes and cracks in my shoes so I am working on finding a place i can get some. everyone says i need to go to pokey to get them.

I love you so much and hope you have an amazing week.
Love Elder Felton

Sometimes a Loss can Strengthen a Testimony.

From your PS I am guessing that you heard about the missionary that got in a wreck. If not I'll tell you what happened. This last Tuesday we had zone conference in Pocatello. While there I met a lot of the Pocatello missionaries. Being in the farthest south area you don't meet many of them. While there I met an Elder named Elder Ward. I said hi to him talked a little with him then didn't talk to him again. When we got back to our area we got a call asking if we had made it home ok. We then were told how Elder Ward had gotten in a bad wreck and was unconscious. We were asked to fast for him and his family. Two days later he passed away. You could feel the effect of it throughout the mission. My companion and I talked about it for awhile and talked how he was now doing a great work on the other side teaching his past family. We then felt the promise from John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. I am truly glad to have a knowledge of the Gospel.  It makes it so much easier to deal with things like this. I know God lives. I know that He knows all of us by name. He cares for us and wants us to be happy. I am going to leave you with this testimony in the Sacred name of Jesus Christ  Amen.
I love you so much and we will be careful in all we do. As the scriptures say Fear not little flock; do good. I hope you have a great week and that you are able to get all your work done. I remember from School I hated falling behind in work. Which I did too many times lol. I love you.Elder Jonathon David Felton

Where Are My Grippo's?

The investigators that we have been teaching have been great. The sad part is that they are going to be going home soon. They were here as workers for the summer and that is now passing. They will be going back to Mexico and Bolivia. It has been great to get to know them. They were amazing to watch as the spirit touched there lives. Work is slowing down as people are moving out for the winter months. They are like birds, as soon as it get to cold they go and move away. So to answer your question about the packages I got one of them. If one was a box of Grippos I didn't get it. I will be calling the office to see if they got it in up there and just forgot to send it down. I love you so much and hope you have a good day.
Elder Felton

This Time and This Mission

We have been having a great week. Mostly because we found out that me and my companion Elder Chernan are staying together for another transfer. I am excited to be able to be here in the Paris stake. I have really come to have a love for the people. (even if I think living in a tiny town is crazy lol) So last Monday (not today) we went mini golfing. We found out that one of the resorts here lets us come and play for free so we went to do that on p-day. Ya we stink at mini golfing but we still had fun.On Tuesday we had our district meeting. That day we talked about some of the people we were working with and talked together about how we could help the come closer to Christ. It was great. We got some good advise on how to help one of the families we are working with. On Friday we had a ward party. It was great to be able to get to know the members more. We even got to meet some people who were not active. As I have been here I have felt a change in the members. They are becoming excited to do missionary work and help us as best they can. This Sunday was great. We had gotten to go to a couple of ward councils and were able to teach a lesson with one of our investigators who is really excited to learn more. He has great questions and is really excited to be baptized. We are hoping that everything will work out for him. He has truly been touch by the spirit.  I am so glad to be able to be here at this time. I know that had I gone earlier or later, I would not have met the people I have and I wouldn't ever trade the time I have been here, for a chance to have gone earlier. I love every person I have ever met. Even the people who don't like missionaries. I know that God still loves them and He wants everything for them and I am willing to go and bring that love to them.

I hope that this week will be filled with excitement (the good kind) and love and joy. You are the best mother I could ever ask for and wish nothing but the best for you.
Love always,
Elder Jonathon David Felton

So this has been a great week. We have been blessed to find 2 new people to teach. I am starting to think I might have to learn Spanish... just kidding. I say that because most of the people we are teaching speak Spanish and their English needs work. We have also been able to help this family with a summer home they are building. It was fun this is the second time that we have been able to help them with this project. We have been enjoying serving in Paris. The people are great. We also were able to speak in sacrament on following the spirit. it was great. The work is truly moving forward here in the stake. I am so proud to be apart of it. I know that this work is inspired of God. I am so grateful for the choice I made to be here now.
I hope all your dreams come true I know that all of us can be successful in all we do as long as we try our very hardest.
I love you so much
Jonathon Felton

A Little Bit of Everything

Elder: 
So this week has been so amazing. We have found a couple of people to start teaching and they all seem super ready for the gospel.  We Have been super blessed. This week we have done service and we have knocked doors in the heat. We have been teaching and giving guild of the tabernacle in Paris. Needless to say I have been super tired but I have reflected on the scripture in Alma 26:12 "... for in His strength I can do all things..." He has kept me moving and and given me strength.  I am so happy for Him.

I want you to know yes I got your package. I love the water flavors you put in there. Some places were I fill a water bottle around here has some funny tasting water lol. It was been a good week. Mom, you are a white person. The sun burns people like us silly goose. You should have put sun block on. I'm just teasing you. I don't wear sun block here. I'm surprised I haven't gotten burnt on my mission.

I know that He lives. That Christ lives. That They have a plan for us. I know that it is by Revelation that we learn this through a living prophet today. I wish that all people would let missionaries into there homes because they will feel God's love in there life. I love you so much and hope your week is filled with love and joy.
I love you momma you are the best!
love Jonathon Felton

Mom: 
You are the most awesomely coolest missionary on the planet! SERCH PONDER AND PRAY ELDER!!
Love you to the moon and back!
Momma!

Elder: 
I love you too mommy you are the coolest of cool (that's where I get my coolness)

Birthday Wishes to Momma

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am such a bad son. I forgot your birthday was this last weekend! I am on my way to get you a card a soon as this email sends! Other than that I am so happy that you had a good birthday. I hope yall are enjoying that pool for me because seeing this lake and getting invites from people to take us out on the lake is killing me. I wish I could but sadly its a no no. ah well maybe one day. So things here got a little slow with the Raspberry Days celebration. It was nice we got to get a funnel cake but a bummer because all our lessons canceled on us because of the celebration. This week is looking really promising because nothing special is going on in the area. Yay for nothing lol. We are loving going out and walking and knocking doors. We have met so many amazing people. Well I am having a hard time thinking of stuff to write about this week as it was slow but I do know one thing I want to tell you, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!!!!!

How great you are, for all you have done for me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6xLYt265ZM

The Little Things Count Too

I am sending picturess today along with a letter. I want to be sending more letters out as I have reached the last quarter of my mission. I will keep my open for the package. Potato Pearls would be awesome. I got some pictures from Emma's trip and it looks like she had a good time. I was happy she was able to have a good time. Things are looking up for this area. I am loving the people. We are starting to teach more lessons and are getting some service in. I recently have met several people from the mid west. Some were even close enough to home for them to know about Hoilday World. I talked to some one who recently went there and they told me how they had loved it. I was like dang I want to go there again! lol. I have loved my studies lately. They have all seem to kind of tell me that that we don't need to do big things. That all we might do is a small thing, but as long as we do all that we can we will be blessed for it. I love this because I have felt at times that I wasn't doing much even when we had been trying hard. I know that the Lord has blessed me even with the small progress we are making. I am grateful for his love.
I love you so much and hope that you have an amazing week this week.
Much love,
Elder Felton

Ice Cave Fun

I'm glad you had a good time. So I have a new companion. His name is Elder Chernan. He is a blast. We have been out and about knocking on doors for the past couple day to get to know the people and to hopefully find some more people to teach. It has been a blast! We had a good time even though the last few day have been above 90. I'm just happy there is hardly any humidity so walking is a little bit easier on us. Today we went to check out some ice caves in our area and had a fun time. We were also able to have a lesson earlier in the day. I am so happy that I got to stay in this area for a little bit longer. From what it sounds like the mission president doesn't like moving people that often so I might only get moved one more time. I hope that I get to spend a bit of time here because the people are so nice all the time. I got a call about getting a package in the office so hopefully it makes its way down here soon. Don't even feel bad missy! I do not want you to worry. I love so much You are the best ever!
love Elder Felton

Not So Perfect!

So I'm perfect? Guess not after that mix up. lol But I do like the sound of that. I'm perfect. Ya! I like it! Ok, now that I just inflated my head let me stick a fork into it to let some air out. Ya, you guys are a lot more fun then I gave you credit for as well. We are going to be silly goofball heads when we are all together again.

No way that sinker kid! I laughed so much that my companion and 2 other missionaries asked what was so funny and I told them and they laughed too. So was the visiting family members? Here we get a lot of nonmembers that come to church here. The problem is shortly after they are all out on the lake. Let me tell you that big thing of water makes it a little hard to be able to teach those people cause we can't get close to them. Darn beautiful lake.

So transfers are going to be Wednesday. I am going to be staying and getting a new companion. I am excited for this transfer. I think it going to be great. Things are getting better up here each week so it should be a good transfer.

Things I need would be food. Everything is super expensive here. Peanut butter is always super lol. I'm not sure what else I need. Oh wait I do need to get a messenger bag. The church (or this mission I'm not sure which) has said the 2 shoulder backpacks are no longer allowed. They told us that they want us to look more professional and not like a collage student. I cant find any in this area so I'm at a loss what to do.

I have been studying the strength God gives us and the faith he has in us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation ^ataken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be ^btempted above that ye are able; but will with the ^ctemptation also make a way to ^descape, that ye may be able to ^ebear it
Alma 26 :12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all^ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
I learned from this a couple thing. 1. There is nothing we can't do in our lives because God gives us the strength to do it. 2. God has faith in us that we will make the right choice. A person can do anything. God is willing to let us make a choice even if He know it will hurt us in the long run. He still exercises faith with us. This taught me that faith is forever. We will need to always strengthen our faith even in the next life. I am so happy that our Father in Heaven showed us this. I am grateful for all He has given me. He has made me strong. On my own I would not be able to do what I am doing. He helps me each day. He talks with me and listens to me when I need Him to. I love Him for that. I know this church is true. I know God Lives and that he truly desires us to be happy.
I love you so much. Thank you for all the help you have given me in my life. I wouldn't be where I am now with out you.LoveJonathon Felton

People, Places, and Things

Ha ha I'm so happy that you got to talk to (or type) brother McKee. He is awesome. He is the ward clerk in one of our wards. He and his wife have been a great help in teaching the neighbors. They recently just had a kid. But yes things are going great. I have loved this area so much. It has been so great to get to know the people in this area. Granna isn't fibbing when she says the color of the water is amazing. I can definitely see myself coming back to this area to visit some time. Elder Curtis and I are truly blessed. The members have been so much help. We are staring to find a lot of work here.

Ya, if I serve in Pocatello I will definitely go look them up. It would be so cool to be able to see them. We are going to have transfers a week from this Wednesday but we will know what is going on on Friday. They give us more time to be able to get ready for transfers than we had in the Ogden mission. I am so happy things are going well. I am working on getting some envelopes to send pics home and letters but I'm trying to find a place that sells them cheaper because everything here is so expensive. So soon I hope to send yall some pics and a letter.

I love you so super much. Have a fun week this week.
Love Elder Felton

Welcome to the Idaho Pocetello Mission!

A lot is going on. First, I have the new address and it is:

Elder Jonathon David Felton
Idaho Pocatello Mission
1246 Yellowstone Ste. F-3
Pocatello ID, 83201

This will be how you can now get mail to me in the new mission. The other thing is starting next week P-day will be on Monday. So emails will start coming on Monday. We met the new mission president and he is really nice. His name is President Brinkerhoff. His wife is really nice as well. It is going to be different having to change to a new mission and doing things the way that they do up here. I am looking forward to seeing what new info they will have to give us.

Tabernacle guilds are going great we had 4 people from China come by, 2 from Germany and several other places including Utah and Idaho. When grandpa set me apart to be an elder and get the Melkezedic Priesthood I remember him saying how I will teach many nations. This is happening now, and it gives me comfort that the Lord really knows what we are capable of doing. I am so happy to serve in Paris and hope that I can stay for a while here. I know if the Lord has other plans I will go where He wants me to go. I am SO HAPPY to have served in the Ogden mission and am happy for the chance to serve in the Pocatello mission.

I love you so much! I hope all is well.
Much love Elder Felton

Feeling at Home in Paris

Things have been going really good. We have started speaking in wards and meeting the members. We have been told about some families that people want us to go meet and teach so our days are becoming a little more full. This is great because now we aren't going crazy trying to stay busy. Elder Curtis has been great. He has been a huge help in starting the area up. Even though he has only been out a couple of months he is an amazing missionary. The Paris stake is really beautiful.  I love this place but I have a feeling that I wont be staying here too long. I am still working on getting the new mission address. I hope to know very soon. I love my new shirt. Thank you so much. You are super awesome. I hope all is well. 
Love Elder Felton

Slower Pace

Thank you for the pics of the house and the new place. I am super excited to see it in person. I will miss the old one but I will ALWAYS remember the times spent there. Memory is the key.So things are slow in our area. This is a fact I am slowly coming to terms with. I am definitely not on Ogden anymore lol. I Love the Paris ID stake. The members are so great. They have been a big help. We are currently working on just building trust with them. We have realized that most of if, not all will have to come through the members. The view we have of our apartment is amazing. I am going to be sending pics here soon. Other then that not to much is happening. I am sorry I don't have much to say other than we knock on a lot of doors and then no one is at home.I love you so very much. I hope all is well.LOVE!Elder Jonathon David Felton

Elder Felton is in PARIS... Paris Idaho That Is!

Mail should for now should still be sent to the Ogden mission. A week before July people should stop sending mail to the Ogden mission. By that time I should know what the address is for the new mission. Things in Paris are nice. We are actually living in a place called St Charles  We are really close to Bear Lake and we have an amazing view of it from our apartment. We are currently just trying to get to know the people and get to know the area. We will also soon be working as Tabernacle Guides in Paris. My new companion is Elder Curtis. He is great. It is easy to get  along with him and I'm glad to be able to get to serve with him. He has only been out for 3 months.  Other than that I'm not sure what to tell you. Its kinda different starting up an area for the first time.
I love you so much,
Elder Jonathon David Felton

Transfers and a New Mission!

Things are going to get a little crazy here to in a bit. I am going to be in the Pocatello, Idaho mission!! I will be moving from Soda Springs to Paris, Idaho. I hate that I am going to have to pack even though I'm not there lol. Recently we have had a couple of baptisms I am excited to see what is going to happen this transfer. Oh I am also no longer a District Leader. They have me just as a regular missionary again. That is a lot of stress off my shoulders lol. Other than that, not too much is going on here. I will be packing tonight to get ready for tomorrow.

I love you soooooooo much. And thanks for the clip from the talk. I had been thinking the same way this whole week!

Much love Elder Felton

Two Years to Baptisim

Things have been going really well. We recently had a baptism. It was kinda funny because the lady had been going to church for 2 years and people thought she was a member already. So she wanted to keep her baptism a secret. but I think she ended up telling more people then than anyone else. Things have been going well. I have one more week till transfers but I think I will be going back to Utah. This is both good and bad. I will not be able to visit the people that are here afterwards. We are currently working on getting things ready for the baptism that we are having this weekend. Work is increasing but it is still a little slower then I am use to. I am at a loss as to what to write lol. It seems we don't often do many big things. Mostly we visit members to see if there is anyone we can teach or knock on doors. Whoo hoo lol. I hope things go well for you. I am excited to see what the new place looks like it will be fun to come home to a new place. 


Oh by the way. I LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! Kirby hug <(^.^)>

Mother's Day Visit Followup

Things have been going really well. Today I am going to play soccer with some other missionaries so that will be fun. Like I told you not much would happen from Sunday to today, but I really enjoyed talking with you. I was so excited to realize that I will only have to call one more time. Serving a mission has been the best thing that I could have ever done. I love you so much and hate that I don't have anything to talk about so I will send that letter that I was supposed to send  a while ago. I love you so much and hope all is well.

Love Elder Jonathon David Felton

Straight To The Point

Mine will be short as well. LOL we have been starting to get more work and so I am super happy about that. We are teaching some really great people who are ready for the gospel.  I love being in the right spot at the right time. We also have been doing a lot of service here. I have been doing good. I am really enjoying the "warmer" weather lol. We have transfers on the 29th of may. I have that feeling that I will be leaving and going back into Utah  Conference was amazing I really enjoyed the talks given. Sadly I haven't had that many potatoes. I am a little disappointed. 
I look forward to being able to call you.
All the love in the world,
Jonathon Felton

The Snow is FINALLY Leaving

Thank you for your help. I am kinda not surprised that you put off packing. I do that every time I get transferred   I am going to try and not do that this time because it gets harder and harder each move. I am so relieved that you are going to have help for moving. That takes a lot of stress off my back. I am surprised that even though I am so far away, I still get stressed over you LOL. That is a good thing though, and I love that things are going well for you. I am so happy for the weather to start warming up. I think that with all the snow I have seen this winter I can now say that I hate snow. (At least for now. I am sure I will love it by next winter. Oh that will be a good one!) Thing are going great. I have really loved this transfer here. I recently got to help brand some cows it was so much fun I will be working on getting you some pics of it. it was nice to be able to get some sun on my arms. I got a nice tan. It was a blast helping to brand cows. While we were helping one of the missionaries with us got chased by a baby calf. I thought it was funny but apparently he didn't.  Aside from that we are starting to get more work. I think it is because it is getting nicer and people are starting to come back. I want you to know that I love you so much. I will be writing a letter here soon so I hope to be able to send it before Friday.
I love you and pray for you.
Love your boy,
Jonathon

Being a District Leader

Wow... That is big news. What brought this on? That will be cool to come home to a new place. Hey make sure the missionaries help and the members help with the move. We helped someone move yesterday and it was fun. It reminded me when Shaun Findlay would drag me into things like that. I am so happy that you guys are doing what you guys feel is right. Always listen to the spirit it will guide us in every thing we do. Not much is going on for us. Elder Tovar is great. Being a district leader has gotten a lot easier for me. It helps when you have a great district. The members of my district are great. I love them so much. I have been  having a good time even if it is going slow at the moment. The snow is slowing down and the grass is starting to turn green so that is helping. I love you so much. Thank you for the birthday package it was great and made me smile so much. You are the best mom ever. Thank you again.
Love Elder Felton

Birthday and Transfers

In case you didn't get the first one yes I got my social security number. It was so that I could go to a chiropractor for my back. It seems that it is helping less and less, but I might be trying something different soon. Thank you for your love and smiles. You have helped me so much I don't ever think I'll be able to thank you enough. Things have been going great! We found some people in a small  town and we are hoping to start teaching them soon. I am excited to get your package soon. So news about exchanges, I am staying here and getting a new companion. His name is Elder Tovar. I am super excited for this transfer and I cant wait to see what blessing are to come.Love,Jonathon

Soda Springs, Idaho!

Elder Felton gets to drive the ONLY truck in his mission!

                  

Elder Felton and Companion                         Elder Felton and Companion

                  

Mailbox in Soda Springs, Idaho!                         Napeolean Dynamite's house

                  

Get together for missionaries in the area.

More Snow... Really?!?!

Wow you seemed to have had a good weekend. I am so happy for conference. It was my favorite one so far. Things are kinda getting warmer but alas it seemed to have snowed last night. Oh well, I am starting to just not care about the snow. Its just another day in the mission. Things are a little slower here but we should start to pick up a few more people to teach. I am warming up more and more to the area. And it is slowly become apart of me. Not much is new for me. I am just taking it one day at a time. Today I did get to go fishing and that was a fun 2 hours and we only caught 1 tiny fish lol. It was fun to just kinda chill and relax. The fun thing about the quote you put at the bottom of your email is that Elder Falabella came and spoke to our mission back before Thanksgiving. I love you so much and miss you more then you know. (no worries though not enough to come home yet lol) Oh here is some news, our mission will split again July 1st!
I love you,
Your Elder Son

Back Into the Feeling of Full Service

Don't worry about forgetting the cd. I figured that you had decided to send it separate from the package. I did Get the Easter box and I loved it. I am enjoying the contents very much. Thank you so much for it. It brought a smile to my face.
Things are picking up a bit here. We are finding new people that we are teaching here. We have been doing well. When ever I feel down I look at the letters you have sent me and they cheer me right up. So I want to say thank you! You keep me moving and help push me through. I feel that our Heavenly Father wanted me to remember I'm not out here for fun only, but that I am out here to serve Him. Thank you so much for reminding me of D&C 122. That has helped me the most.
I am really getting back into the feeling of full service. I love that I came on my mission. I love that you always knew I would. And I love that Heavenly Father knew I needed it. As I have gone and changed my thought process, I have come to really love my Savior. I look forward to hearing the counsel of the leaders of the church to help pick me up and move me forward. Thank you for your love and teachings. You are as the mothers of the stripling warriors to me. Those that I teach and help are effected by you because you helped me become the person I am and the one I wish to be.
I love you so much. I am so very grateful God gave you to me. I hope that Emma will get better. I will keep her in my prayers as I always do but will put extra effort in it.
Love Elder Felton
Your baby boy

Easter Bunny Requests

Hermana Meek is a missionary that should be serving in the Evansville ward. She is a Spanish missionary from Idaho Falls and is cousins to Elder Heep who I served with. Things are going good. Our area has been picking up but it is BIG. I have been meeting people that are great. I got to see Napoleon Dynamite's house in Preston. I also got to go up to Smoot, Wyoming. It has been a great getting to be around the missionaries in my zone. I am sending a letter soon. We came down to Logan for p-day so I don't have much time to type. I love you so much. I got your package and loved your letters. They have helped me so much and have motivated me each week. I love you so much! My request are Reses Eggs. lolLove, 
Elder Felton

Short and Sweet

Thank you so much for that. I was a little mad because I had to stop reading it so as not to cry in public, lol. We are currently reading the Book of Mormon from March 15 to April 15 to have read the whole book of Mormon cover to cover to help out the seminary classes here in Soda Springs. We have recently gotten 5 people to agree on a specific baptism date. This is great because they had not really had a date to work toward. This is good because they have become more motivated to go to church and read the Book of Mormon as well. I Have met some wonderful people here who have been a huge blessing. I really love the people out here. They have given me strength to move on. I had a question for you.  I have had "I Can Only Imagine" stuck in my head the last few days cause someone had been playing it. I I love you so much you can only imagine (lol see what I did there? Man am I am a dork) Things are really picking up here so there will soon be more to talk about.I love you so muchlove your best son... ME! lollove Elder Felton

Keep On Trucking

I will have to convert Carl when I get home lol. Things here are going ok. The members have been amazing and they are all super nice. Elder Singleton has been great helping me to get to know the area up here. He is a kinda shy and quiet but has a great testimony  He is on his 3rd transfer and he is still in the same area as when he came into the mission. We are currently covering two stakes, and because roads can be a little rough out here we have a TRUCK! This is one of my favorite parts about being up here. My former companion elder Smith is mad that I came up here and he didn't  he wanted to  drive the only truck in the mission lol. We have a few people that we are working with and soon might be able to be baptized.
It has been slow so I don't have much to talk about but I am sure that I will soon.
I Love you so much!
Love Elder Felton

IDAHO!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to Soda Springs, Idaho and I will be a district leader there. I am excited for this and for the chance to serve up north when it warms up a little. (and I mean just a tiny bit lol) I will miss the people in Pleasant View and Elder Heap. I have really enjoyed my time in this area. This will be fun. Preston, ID is where they filmed Napoleon Dynamite. I will be close but not close enough to be able to go there LOL. I got your packages and I love the box of Grippos. I let a few other missionaries try some and they loved them. Let granna know I got her package. Today has to be a short email because I have to pack once again. Thankfully I didn't unpack all my stuff. I love you so much Have an amazing day! 

I love you momma.

Expanding District and Lessons to Learn

Ok for the business. So we have recently have been given a referral to go an stop by and start teaching some people. This made me happy because one of the people we are working with is going to be moving soon and another's mom wont let him get baptized. It is ok. We have a lesson tonight and after it the person wants to play basketball so we will be playing with him and some of the youth. (the lesson is with the kid whose mom wont let him get baptized but he said when he is 18 he is going to anyway) I was so happy to hear that he didn't care how long it took, he still wanted to. So the sisters in my district just had their area split and are no longer companions. They are now training 2 new visa waiters. This means my district just grew. I was so happy to hear this because our district was so small. This last Sunday I had to practice a little love and patience. When we were asked by a leader what the ward could do to help us I told him we would love a list of people who could give us rides on Tuesday because we are not allowed to drive till 6. He then replied "Use the bus. That's what I had to do on my mission." This was my biggest annoyance of my whole mission. I told him thanks and we would look into it and then moved on. It is hard when people ask if they can help but don't ever plan to do it. Oh well. I hope all is well with you. Things are picking up and I am happy. I am starting to like this area and hope I don't get transferred next week.I love you so much!Your Elder Felton

And... More Snow

They are expecting cold weather possibly into April. Unlike the weather people back home, they are pretty accurate here. I I'm not sure what to tell you. The area is kinda slow there is a 95% members here and 90% of the members are active. It is a little difficult finding others but we have 5 people we are working with. I hope you don't mind the short email. I feel bad not having much to talk about. Anyway I got your package and I love it. It was so cool to get Larry the Cable Guy food. I showed the landlords and they didn't get why I thought it was funny and cool. (Utah Mormons are so sheltered) Anyway they are great and nice to us.
I hope all is well. I love you so much. I love you bigger then the beginning of time even unto the pre-earth life! (ooh that sounded good. Am I a stud or what?!) But seriously I do love you more then you could ever know. I have faith that your week will be filled with joy so look for those moments because, faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of thing wherefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen but are TRUE! I know when your heart is open you can have great days!
Love Your half way done elder: Elder Felton

One Year!

AHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOO! Its been a year? I just got here. LOL. OK for real that's kinda what it feels like and it stinks how everyone wants to know how long I have been out. I'm about to say "just got here" because in this area I have just gotten here. This past year has been amazing. I have met so many people that I will always remember. I think the thing that I have learned the most is patience. This is a trait that I think is a hard one to learn. There are a lot of things that I have to do as a DL (District Leader). I am hoping that the first training I have to give on Wed. goes well. I am excited to be close to Ogden again. I have missed it. Not much has happened yet. I'm mostly just getting to know the area. I hope to know more and have more to write about soon.

Much love,

Elder Felton

Elder Felton, Pleasant View's Newest District Leader!

Ok time for the big news!.......... and ........... no I'm not on crutches any more all is well. Haha so on to the real news. I am getting move to Pleasant View. I am also now a District Leader. This means all new kinds of responsibility. I am excited because I have already been to Pleasant View to go on exchanges a couple of times. So some of the people I will already know. I am excited for this and can't wait. My Zone Leader is some one I was companions with for my first day in the MTC so it's going to be a blast. Today I will be packing and saying bye to a couple of people I have met since I have been here. Transfers are tomorrow and I will be getting trained on some of the things that I will be doing as a DL (that what a District Leader is but shorter) My New companion is Elder Heap. I have already served around him and so I know this is a cool guy. We are going to have a blast. This transfer is going to be short instead of 6 weeks its going to be 5 weeks. I am SUPER excited!

Love,

Elder Felton

I Can Breathe Again

OK I'm glad nothing crazy is actually happening.
SO no, I still don't like fish but I do enjoy fishing. It was fun but next time it will just have to be off a  shore or when I get home on a boat. In the summer time. No winter fishing for me. I find out where I'm going a week from today. Part of me wants to go back to Ogden part of me wants to go to Logan so who know. No WY till summer for me. Its so freakin cold here. It was amazing when it was 30 degrees out. Things are going great. we are picking up a lot of new people to teach just as I'm leaving. Its just like last time when I left an area.
I am happy to say I have finally got over the 3 week cold I had. It is so nice to be able to breath while sleeping again. I woke up so many time before just because I couldn't breath. smith seems like he might be getting the clod i had so who know i might get it again. so The chiropractor that I have been seeing told me today that my back is getting better. He was surprised to see how fast it is getting better for how bad it was. He said my back shouldn't be the way it is for at least 20-30 years when I first saw him. He says its a lot better but I will still need to work on it on my own since I am leaving.
I love you so much and I miss you guys.
Love,
Elder Felton

Ice Fishing

So here is something fun. Today we went ice fishing on a lake and it was -3. COLD! But we had fun other then almost getting frostbite LOL. But I kid. It was fun though. A less active guy took us. It was cool (ha, ha) We caught 6 rainbow trout. We plan on cooking them up. Now don't think I like fish but I lost feeling in my fingers and toes for those fish, so you bet I'm going to eat them. LOL. Things are going great. We have picked up some new people to teach and now have already picked a date they want to get baptized  I am sad that this is all coming up right as O am going to leave. But it means to me, that someone else gets to have a part to play with them. I love you so much. Its funny you mention a scripture challenge. I was going to ask you to read 3 Nephi chapter 17. This is my favorite chapter in all the Book of Mormon. Have Emma read it as well. And tell her about the fishing thing I did. I even gutted all my fish on my own.

I love you,

Jonathon

Violent Motivation!

Things are going great. Elder Smith and I have a couple new people to teach. One of the people who was playing a waiting game on baptism got baptized on Friday. Then Saturday our zone leaders asked Elder Smith to play piano for the baptism they were having. So this weekend was busy. One of the people we teach just got back from a back surgery. He asked if we could stop by every now and then as he recovers. That will help keep us really busy. This last Thursday we had interviews with our mission president and he told me that the next transfer I was getting moved. He said I have been here longer then he thought and said that I would be moving. I guess I can start packing now, lol. Most of the people that we are teaching are at the point that its just going to be a waiting game for them to be baptized. There are a few thing that some have to do before they can be baptized  Other than that things are great. I am sending the card tonight. Smith said if I don't he will punch me in the morning, so I've got some good motivation.
I love you,
Elder Felton

Lookin' Good! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy New Year!

It was soooo cool to be able to catch up (on Christmas) as well. I'm glad you got your gifts. Things have calmed down a bit here. But that's good. I am hoping that we will be able to have more lessons. I am happy that all of you were able to have a fun holiday.  We have been teaching a couple of people that I hope are going to be able to get baptized soon. They have had to work on a few things first and I think we should know soon. Since we last talked there isn't much news here. all is going well. I love you and hope all is well.
Love,
Your boy