Hello family and friends!
I have the most exiting announcement! After 4 months of working with our friend, Jim Russell has accepted to be baptized this upcoming November 14th!!! 
I have been thinking about an experience I had when I was a little kid, and I wanted to share it with you all. I was probably in the 4th grade, and it was winter time. Snow covered our elementary school playground, and everyone was exited to go outside and play in the snow. When the bell rang for recess, we all raced outside.
I started picking up the snow and tossing it in the air. I spun around as I let the snow trickle onto my outstretched arms and flutter into my hair. Soon, an adult approached me. They told me not to throw the snow.
I was confused. I wasn't hurting anyone.
When the adult left, I continued to toss the snow up into the air, ignoring him entirely.
He returned however, and he was not happy. He told me to stop throwing the snow or I would be forced to spend the rest of recess up against the wall.
Never in my life had I been put against the wall. It was like "time out" for the naughty kids. Something sparked inside of me and I grew frustrated at this man. I was determined not to obey him. I looked him right in the eyes, bent over and collected a small amount of snow in my pink freezing fingers. Without breaking eye contact, I threw the snow a small distance and watched as the man's face contorted in anger. He stormed towards me and grabbed my arm. He pulled me over to the wall and told me to sit there until the bell rang for me to go inside.
I glared at the man as he walked away, but once he was gone I let the tears fall from my eyes as I angrily slid down the wall to sit on the cold concrete walkway.
As I sat, I watched as the other children played. They ran around laughing and chasing one another. Some built a snowman, others used the playground, swinging and sliding; each were oblivious to the fact that I was no longer enjoying the 15 minutes we had been allotted to frolic and play.
I think we can learn a very valuable lesson from this experience.
Sometimes we are asked to do things we might not understand. As a child I didn't understand why I couldn't throw snow, for you it may be that we are told not to drink coffee or tea, maybe it is because we are asked to keep our marriages between a man and a women. Possibly it is modesty. We have been given so much direction and "guidelines" in our lives that we might not completely understand, but that doesn't mean we need to stop living these standards just because we don't understand the reasoning behind them.
You may ask "why us?", "why does my church have so many rules I have to follow?" And the answer is because we are a chosen people. It was described to me like this:
Picture life as a cruse ship. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are the Staff for the ship. We dress in the uniforms, we wear the nametags, we have specific orders and rules, and we don't get to participate in the partying that goes on by the other passengers of the cruse.
The passengers seem to be having a blast, while we stand up tall, serving, steering and cleaning the ship.
It might not seem fair. Some staff members look to the passengers longingly, wishing they could join in the fun. Some abandon their posts and remove their uniform, jumping into the mess of games and drinks.
But for the staff who stay obedient, they get something that the other passengers don't get: a paycheck.
We have already been paid in full. The savior Jesus Christ came to this earth and suffered, bled and died for each one of us. It is now our turn to pay if forward.
So stand up tall, because when the cruse ship comes to a stop and everyone gets off, you will walk away with something the others don't have - exaltation. If we live worthy, we can become like god. So, even though being modest isn't always in style, and even though all your friends might tell you it will be ok, and even when it seems like fun and you ask "why me?" Know that in the end if you stay strong, you will be more privileged and more joyous then those who fail to follow the commandments of God.
It might seem fun in the moment, just like it seemed fun for me to toss the snow up in the air, but in the end there is a consequence for every action, and if we don't apply the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and choose to turn to him, we will eventually be stuck sitting against the wall while those who chose to follow God are free to laugh and play.
"Don't let the world change you, when you were BORN to change the world."
I love you all! I hope you have a fantastic week, and choose to stand up tall.
Pictures:
-Us with the Floyd family
-Sister Meyers and I on exchanges
-Again Sister Meyers and I
-Me carrying a puppy to be loaded in the truck at 3 Little Pitties service. (Yes... it was very windy!)
-Learning how to polish stones with Jim Russell
-Stephen's and I at the church with Doti and Jim after he told us he had confirmation that this church is true and he would be baptized. 
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