There is Something Special About this Area

Well it definitely was so wonderful to be able to talk to family even though it was only for 40 minutes. I am so glad to hear that everything is going well at home. It is so weird to think that I will be home next Christmas. I am glad to hear that Chance really benefitted from the phone call. I was really hoping that it would inspire him to do everything he can to get ready for his mission. I love them so much. They sound so much older! Its pretty crazy!! It seems like everything is going great at home.

Well this week has definitely been a wonderful week. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to take some time and reflect on the birth of our Savior and the perfect life He lived. It was definitely a Christmas to remember and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be serving our Master at this time. I was definitely touched by the slideshow of the Nativity that was shown at Zone Conference. I really loved it.

Well we continue to be blessed in the Wake Forest area. I am so grateful to be here. The members are starting to really trust us and we are trying our best to continue to help them do missionary work. We have been getting alot of referrals and it has been great. They are always actively involved in missionary work. It makes my heart sing. It is a bit hard to contact all of them in a week as you can see. We are trying out best to make sure that we are always following up with the members about the contacts we have made. I am so grateful for the spirit that I feel in every members home. There is something special about this area.

I have seen as we have taken President's challenge to keep the area book updated that my love for the members and the people of this area has increased. I can always do better in updating it more specifically but just from updating it daily I have seen the blessing of being exactly obedient. I am so grateful for my companion Elder Petersen. He is wonderful. If I don't remember something, he will. We are a good team. He is always making me laugh. This area has taught me patience but it also has taught me how to work effectively to try and get things started. In those stressful moments of being a missionary, Elder Petersen is always there with a smile on his face to make me laugh and take off the stress. I am so grateful to have him as my companion!

Well we have been working really hard with Brother Trubilla. We have been contacting him each day and have seen the blessings of daily contact. I really think this time he has been prepared to keep the his commitments and be baptized. We teach him twice a week and he was even invited over for Christmas dinner to one of our members. It was really great. We are still trying to find a really solid fellowshipper but it seems like he is ready. We pray for him so hard that he will be able to overcome his addiction. I know that through the list he has had that we will be able to focus his thoughts on the Savior and know that this covenant is between him and the Savior. He is doing great though.

We have quite a few families that we will start to be teaching once the new year comes. These people that we will be teaching are really prepared. There is a young girl named Maddie Brooks that has been coming to Church regularly for months. She came up to us a couple of weeks ago and asked us to teach her the lessons in January. We are going to be teaching her whole family in the Epps' home. We are really excited about that. We will be also teaching a family that is really good friends with Bishop McEwen. They called the sisters and since they are in our area the Bishop explained to them the situation and they are really excited to meet with us. We hope to contact all of these referrals that we have as well and hope to find some teaching opportunities that way.

We have also tried to visit every member in both the wards and give them our testimonies in a card form. We feel that it is the greatest gift that we can give to them. We have seen great success that way. We found a new part member family that way. They are newly weds and the husband isn't a member. He has been reading out of the Gospel Principles book and really likes the Church services. The ward has been really supportive to them as they are in a new ward. They love the ward and feel very comfortable. We are excited to work with them. We also had a less active ask us to start teaching him as well. It has been hard work to try and visit every member but we have almost all of the second ward visited and we have about half of the first ward. We feel that the members are very receptive in our effort to know them and we try and offer our help to them. The members are really wonderful and I love them very much.

Well I hope this finds you in good cheer. I am so grateful to have such a great family.

Love Elder Butler

White Christmas?

Christmas Conference, Cards, and Over 100 Carols

I am glad you got to see the youtube clip. It was really random. Elder Cline and I didn't get to practice at all so it wasn't as good as we would have hoped. That's ok the spirit was there and that's all that matters. I love being a missionary. I just love it. I can't express the delight I have about being one. Its so great. If I could have it my way I always want to be one. It will take alot of effort but I know that I can take the things that I have learned in my mission and apply them after words.

Well I was definitely grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the Christmas Zone Conference. That was a really enjoyable time and a very revelatory experience for me. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Savior. It was really nice to watch that nativity and reflect on my personal relationship with My Savior.

I am so grateful to be in this area. The wards are amazing. We have finally got all the paper work done for the Sisters, our ward mission leaders and our bishops. The idea of having a binder for the bishop was a great idea. Our bishops loved it. I am really excited to work here in these magnificent wards. They are truly amazing.

The members are really keen on giving us referrals. We have the trust of the members and we are definitely grateful for the love that they have for us. We are trying our best to do all that we can. It has taken a while for things to get settled here but we believe in these next couple of weeks that we will be able to get things moving in the wards. The ward mission leaders, Brothers Dixon and Larson, are wonderful. I am really blessed to be under their direction.

We met with a part member family this week that we will begin to teach. It has been a real miracle. They invited us over to dinner when we asked if we could come and visit them. Brother Wellborn is already reading the Book of Mormon. He said that he really likes the Mormon religion alot and wants to learn more about it. He has a very scientific mind and likes to ask alot of questions. It keeps us thinking. We will be meeting with them again after Christmas. It was amazing the environment the spirit made to help us have a really great conversation.

We also met with Brother Trubilla this week as well. The lesson went really good. We set a baptismal date with him for January 15. We know that he can be ready for that date but he has to have the real desire to change. We have been making sure to be keeping daily contact with him and my love has really increased for him that way. I have gained a real testimony of daily contact. We are going to get our ward mission leader to find some people that can contact him everyday so we are getting the members involved.

We also met with the Cancellierni family this week. He is so wonderful. It is another part member family. They are lazy. He did have a real desire at one point to know that the Church is true but that has left him since he has not found out the answer yet. He has been through about 30 missionaries and so knows alot of the material. We hope to help him gain that testimony of the Book of Mormon. We had a great get to know you visit and shared with him Moroni's promise. We also challenged him to make a plan that he can follow to find out if the Book of Mormon is true. He really liked that idea. So we will see how that goes!

The members are really loving to come out with us and do whatever they can to help us. We have alot of young men in the wards that are 18 and older that want to come out with us. Things are going great here. I love all of the people. I am truly blessed to be here.

I have been working alot on staying focused and not getting discouraged this week. As I have turned to the Savior and the Book of Mormon I have seen a real difference. I am so grateful for the healing power of my Savior and the comfort he gives me when I am in need.

Well I am sorry this is going to be so short but we spent most of our Preparation Day doing a service project for someone in the ward. We are trying our best to help out in the wards as much as we can to gain that trust and because we love them so much. We got to know alot of the members at the Project and hopefully by the end of the week will know them all. We are doing something really crazy. Since we are sharing two wards with the Sisters we are splitting the 2nd ward and visiting all of the members and giving them Christmas cards with our testimonies in them. Its going to be a stretch but I know that we can do it. Alot of the people that we are visiting are going to be gone so we are going to go carolling and give them all cards. There are over 50 active members in each ward so we will see how it goes. Pray for me please!!

Well know that I love y'all and will talk to you soon.

Love Elder Butler

P.S - Thanks for all the support you give me. I love yall so much!!!

Elder Cline and Elder Butler

Check out this video of us singing at the Christmas Conference

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

The Game Plan

Well this week has been really wonderful. Now that we have the maps updated in our area it makes things easier to know where the members, part members, less actives and DNC's are. We have been more effective and loving the work here. It has been a bit difficult to know where to go but when we have relied on the spirit we have found great success.

We are grateful for the members in these wards. They are so keen on having us teach their friends. We get 2 referrals each time we have a dinner appointment with a member. It is really wonderful to see the excitement in the ward. I truly love these wards so much. The ward mission leaders of both wards are wonderful. They are excited about their callings and bringing new ideas to the plate that are really exciting. We have great ward missionaries as well that are always willing to help us.

We met with a few less active this week and a couple part member families. We set up some appointments for this week. I am really excited to meet some of these part members. There are a few of them that could really accept the gospel. We also went through our area book and found all the people that looked like they could have some potential. That will be a main focus in our finding efforts this week. We have about 40 people on those lists that we are going to try and visit this week.

We are also going to start meeting with Steve this week. We are really excited for him. He is a wonderful young man. We hope that the spirit will be able to guide us on what we have to do to help him overcome his problems. We will start to meet with him twice a week to prepare him to be baptized.

We are so grateful for the Bishops of our wards. They have made things great for us these past couple of weeks. Thank you for letting me know about PEC. We will ask if we are invited to ward council. Thank you for taking the time to help figure out the second ward boundaries for the sisters. We are very grateful for the opportunity we have to work with the sisters. We are excited for this new change.

Love Elder Butler

Wake Forest!

Well I am sure you are wondering where I have gone!!! It was a bit of a shock leaving my last ward. I love that ward so much. I put so much of my energy, time and love into that ward. It definitely was a changing point for me on my mission. I grew so much in that ward it was unbelievable! We had a really great family home evening at the Harpers with the McLeods! I am really going to miss Ian and Natasha. They wrote really touching things in my book of remembrance. I am so excited for him to be baptized on the 18th. It will definitely be great. I hope to get pictures from Elder Scott. So Elder Scotts new boy is a wrestler its really funny. I can't remember his name though but he seems to be really excited about it. So enough about everyone else right, you just want to know where I am at.

Well when we were at transfer meeting I was the 2nd last one to get called out. Everyone thought I was going to Harker's Island but nope. I got my name called out and then Elder Petersen's name got called out. That means we are whitewashing just from that. Well it gets even better. We are whitewashing/opening a new ward! Talk about terrified and paranoid. So I am now serving in the Wake Forest 1st and 2nd Ward. The second ward was just created at the beginning of November. Its pretty crazy. We are also working with Sister Missionaries as well who are serving in the Falls Lake Ward. They were covering all the area for a couple of weeks. They are also working in a bit of our area as well. They will be teaching whoever we think would be best for sister's to teach. We already have given them a referral for a single lady. The AP's have also been teaching an investigator from our ward to so we will be starting to teach him this week. Its been a really crazy time though. Definitely been really hard. The Lord has definately comforted me in my calling. I trust Him in all that I do. We spent alot of time in the apartment this past week. It was pretty terrible, but had to be done. We had to make new maps, get new directories, go through the Area Books, meet with all the auxiliaries and find time to sleep somewhere. Its been crazy. I have learned alot though. Its amazing how much you can get done with the Lord helping you.

Our wards are amazing. We had a Christmas party which was amazing. The first ward is really amazing. Our ward mission leader is so missionary oriented. It is great. He is around our age (25's) and is so excited about missionary work. He is going to set this place on fire. The first ward didn't have church on Sunday because it snowed. Can you believe that. We got maybe and inch and they cancelled. The roads were fine. The 2nd ward didn't cancel their meetings which was great. They are a great ward as well. Our ward mission leader is great there as well. I am so excited to be here.

I'm sorry this is bit short but I'm pretty tired myself from this past week so we are going to relax today.

We have been working alot on getting everything organized in the area. We have made a new map for the area since the ward boundaries have changed. We also have got new ward directories and have the Ward Mission Leaders taking the lists of Part Member and Less Active families and discussing it with their quorums so see who we can visit and if they have any information of fellowshippers. We have also met with our bishops of both wards, mission leaders and some of the ward missionaries. I am just so excited to serve in these wards. They are very missionary oriented. We even got a referral this week from our ward mission leader.

Our ward mission leaders are amazing!!! They are just so great. We had meetings with them both a couple of times this week already and they have some really great plans that they want to happen. They are both going to take a "potential investigators" sheet and get the ward missionaries and themselves and go to every active member and ask them who they know we can teach. They are also going to get the ward mission plan going as well. I am really excited for this area and all that our ward mission leaders are doing for us already. I am excited to work side by side with them. I am also grateful for our Bishops. Bishop Dispain and Bishop McEwen are great men. I know they are inspired and we are excited to help lift some of their burdens and not be a burden.

The 1st ward had a Christmas Breakfast on Saturday and it was great to meet some of the members. They invited so many of their friends that weren't members. We are hopefully going to start teaching many of them in the upcoming weeks. 1st Ward cancelled their church on Sunday which was kind of a shocker but we got to meet with the second ward. The members are wonderful. I love them so much. They are so excited to share the gospel with their friends and help us as well. I am truly blessed to be here.

I am really excited for this upcoming week. We have quite a few appointments lined up so hopefully we will be able to find that one baptism for this month. I know its cutting it close but I know that the Lord will provide a way for us if we work our hardest. We have an investigator that the Ap's have been teaching, Steven. He is a really nice guy. We are going to hopefully start teaching him this week after we get our Ward Mission Leader to go with us for an appointment. I see alot in him and he has been coming for about two years now. I hope and pray that we can find his concern and help him into the waters of baptism. We also have a couple of youth that have been coming to church regularly. The ward and us fasted for them both that their parents would soften their hearts and let them be baptized. I am really excited for the work here, The ward is excited, the bishops are excited and we are most definitely excited for this work.

I am really grateful to be here. Elder Petersen and I get along great!!! I know this was inspired and I know that there are people here in these area's that can be baptized. I know there are more than just dozens. I have been overwhelmed about this assignment but I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. I did as Mom had suggested and started reading it at least a half an hour a day and have seen an amazing difference. The Book of Mormon truly has comforted me and told me that I can do it if I put my faith in the Lord. There is no growth without discomfort.

Love Elder Butler

North Carolina Wildlife