Aug. 26, 2013

Elder Shelley has been very busy this week.  His mission covers some of Jacksonville and a little bit of Medford.  He is getting a lot faster on his bike because of the big area they have to cover. His leg muscles are getting big.  He said that it has been raining some and it is hard to ride a bike with his long rain jacket.
They didn't get a chance to go to the pear farm.  He was a little disappointed because tomorrow is the last day of picking so it doesn't look like they will have a chance.  The next picking is in Nov. if he is in the same area he might have a chance then. He is getting really good at making pan fried chicken and gravy.  They have been eating it a lot lately.
There was a new missionary training up in Eugene.  Elder Shelley said it was amazing and he got a lot out of it.  He got to see some of his friends and a lot of the people from his district. Elder Aragon was way excited to see Elder Shelley.

Amazing Sunset...

Jacksonville Area

Elder Shelley is in the Jacksonville area and is doing good.  He is close to a Pear Farm.  He is going to pick on the farm with an investigator on Tuesday.  He is really excited for the new area.  It isn't as smoky there so he can get out and go tracking.  They are in an all bike area.  So he has been a bit tired and his back has been hurting from all the biking they have been having to do.
Elder Shelley said "Elder Ricks is really nice. It is weird to be training someone. I have to be on my best behavior because I have to teach him how to work hard and be smart. Missionaries do things really differently so it is weird because Ricks hasn't gotten into his own mode of teaching. I am trying to work with him and teach him to be himself and teach from the heart."

They had a really cool experience this week. They were able to find a guy that is trying to make so changes in his life. He was talking about how he wanted to go back to church to one of his coworkers that day at work and they knocked on his door within minutes of him getting home from work. It was a really cool experience. They are hoping that he will let them come back.

Before Elder Shelley left the Grants Pass area he got to see his friend from High School Elder Riley Johnson and play baseball with him.  He found out the Elder Tanner Barnhill got transferred to the new Salem Mission so he wont get to see him until after his mission.

Elder Shelley has a new address.

1828 West 8th Street #8

Medford, OR 97501

6 Months/Transfer Day

So today is Transfer Day and he is being transferred to the Jacksonville, OR area.  The Jacksonville area is bigger than Grants Pass.  It borders Grants Pass and Medford.  Elder Shelley's new companion will be Elder Ricks.  Elder Ricks has been out for 6 weeks.
Elder Shelley has been out for 6 months. It is a tradition that if you are in one area for 6 months you burn a tie.  The photo is of him burning a tie.  It is not very common to be in the same area for 6 months.

Elder Shelley said that he really enjoyed Grants Pass.  

He made a lot of friends and is going to miss the area a lot. 

District/Zone Aug. 2013

The New Missionary Look!

New Missionary Look

 Elder Shelley has had a lot of down time this week because the fires in OR are so bad. They can't even go tracking right now because the smoke is so bad. Most of the days outside it is like the picture.
They can only go outside if we are going to a scheduled appointment. They can't ride bikes and are supposed to wear masks when they go outside, which is really hot. He likes to wear sunglasses to protect his eyes from the ash. He said biggest fire has already burnt 40,000 acres of land. No houses have burnt down yet. There are four fires that are burning and they can't get to them because they are in rural areas. He thinks they have two of them 10% contained and the other two like 2% contained. It is crazy because they don't know what is really happening because they can't watch TV or get the news. He is safe. There is a lot of ground the fire will have to cover before it gets to Elder Shelley and Atwood.
Elder Shelley mentioned that he got letters this week from some of his friends and he really enjoyed hearing from home.  If you have a few minutes I'm sure he would love to hear from you....
In Elder Shelley's down time this week he has been doing so genealogy and has asked that we send him some books on the Shelley history so that he can learn more about his ancestors.