Crazy Busy Day

Elder Shelley is hiking Table Rock today. His email came about 1pm and he had already done 2 hours of service, did wash, and went to the store. Then they are headed hiking, to dinner at 5, to teach a lesson at 6, another lesson with a recent convert at 7, visiting members at 8 and then at 9 they have to be back home to plan for tomorrow.

They are teaching two ladies that live in their apartment complex. I am going to cut and paste the next bit right out of his letter. It is interesting how I can turn almost any topic into something related to the gospel. Cynthia knocked on our door and asked if we had internet service and I was like no but wait we don't even have anything that works off wifi. Cynthia was like what, do you know what the internet is. And I was like ya we get to visit sites like mormon.org and LDS.org and then she was like what is LDS and then we talked more and she left with a copy of the Book Of Mormon. We have been able to teach her a couple of times and started teaching her room mate Jennifer and we prayed for the flies in her place to quit bugging her and she hasn't seen a fly in her house since then. Prays are answered. 

This is a photo of an 8 foot horse that a guy he meet
restored for a Shakespearean play. The is really cool he is
from Shelley Idaho.

P-day fun! He has learned to solve a rubrics cube.  
Alex will  be so proud for him...

Crazy Pork he made...

Soy sauce, honey, BBQ sauce, lemon juice, garlic powder, chili powder, hot sauce, pepper, and hot chocolate powder as well, it turned out pretty good. He marinated it for a couple of days and then I reduced the extra sauce down and  had rice with it as well. I can't wait for him to come home and cook for me...Not

OEM Zone Conference

Central Point Zone

One Pillar Down...

Not Elder Shelley's week for biking!

Elder Ricks and Elder Shelley at a baptism  

He crashed on his bike three times this week. Only one of the wreaks were his fault and that one did the least amount of damage but he destroyed the rim of his bike.  Luckily the guy that he wreaked in front of gave him a new rim so his bike is all good! But he tore out two pairs of pants and burnt his leg when he fell.

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.

Oregon Caves

This is the District/Zone Elder Shelley is in. The couple is the Watt's they are the Mission Presidents First Counselors. Elder Shelley has really enjoyed the Watt's they have had him over for Mother's Day, Fathers Day and the 4th of July.

The Oregon Caves

Elder Shelley and his district/zone got to take a day trip down to see the Caves.
 The Caves were so cool.  He hope's that one day he has a change to take the family and show us the area.  He has really liked living in Oregon.

Elders having some fun in the caves.

 This week (the week of the 24th of July) there goal was to work really hard for the pioneers that made it to Utah.

Just Chillin

Just Chillin in his apartment.

Testimony is grown.

Elder Shelley is liking Elder Atwood.  Elder Atwood is from Heber City, Utah. He has been on his mission for 15 months.  He is the youngest in his family.  All of Atticus companion have been the baby of their family just like him.
He had a good 4th of July.  He didn't have to work very hard.  They went to a couple of members homes and had to be back home by 7.  Luckily they live on the top of a hug hill so they got to watch the fireworks across the valley.

Elder Shelley and Elder Atwood got to go to the temple with one of the brothers from there ward. He was going to the temple for the first time.  Elder Shelley started working with the brother the second day of his mission. He had not been to church in years.  They got to start teaching him the lessons and got him to start coming back to church.  Elder Shelley said that it was a huge testimony builder for him.  To help someone so that they can return to live with our Heavenly Father.  He said that his testimony has definitely grown.  When you can watch people come from almost nothing to being able to have a home, a job, a live, being baptized and an eternal family.  How can it not grow? He is changing peoples lives for the better.

New Companion

Elder Shelley will be staying in Grants Pass but he did get a new companion. Elder Atwood he will be meeting him today around 1:30 pm.  Elder Shelley really enjoyed his time with Elder Clinkscales.  He can't believe how fast the time went by.

This past week he was with his zone leaders.  He said most of the week was spent doing service projects.  He helped build a house, helped a couple of people build fences, and of course helped some people move.  Moving people happens weekly.

Building a house

Elder Hall, Tidwell and Shelley

599 Days left...

Elder Clinkscales left this morning.  He has been called to serve in the Salem mission. They are just opening the Salem as a new mission.  Elder Shelley doesn't get a new companion until next Monday.  Next Monday is transfer day.  So he is with the Zone Leaders for the week.  Which makes life a little crazy.  He really likes the area so he is hoping to stay, but he won't know until Saturday if he stays of goes.

Zone Conference

So it is going good here. Our apartment is really clean, like aunt Peach and uncle Christopher clean. It is weird to have it so clean because everything is so bright.

Zone Conference 

Zone Conference on Tuesday was really good. He also got to see Elder Riley Johnson(one of Elder Shelley's friends he was the swim team captain at Alta the year before Atticus and played water polo with him) he is a district leader and training is Medford, which is only like a 30 min drive from Grants Pass. He also saw another friend that he didn't even know was out there. His name is Elder Jordan Ayre, he knew him because he played Cello in the orchestra. It was crazy to see them again. Elder Shelley is hoping he can see Elder Tanner Barnhill. It would also be cool if they get to serve with each other or at least in the same district or zone.

Elder Shelley wishes he could have talked to his dad on Father's Day for just like 10 minutes. It was really hard for him not to be around his daddy to celebrate Father's Day. He said that Mother's day was hard also but he got to call and talk to her.

He is really liking Grants Pass and the people in the area. He hopes he gets to stay a little longer.

2nd Baptism

On Saturday June 8 they had their 2nd baptism.  President Watts baptized him.  The brother that was baptized brought his mother to the baptism and to church the next day were Elder Shelley confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  His mother was very impressed with the baptism, conformation and President Watts testimony. She stayed for all of church and then asked for a Book of Mormon.  They are hoping to start teaching her soon.
Elder Shelley went on exchanges with the zone leaders and had to walk about 7 miles in one day and it was 95 degrees and he got sun burnt.  Not a fun day!
They got invited to dinner at the uncle of one of the teammates that Atticus swam in High School with.  He said he was really cool.
The work is picking back up.  For some reason they had a rough patch for a couple of week but it is all good now.

The newest member of the Church with Elder Shelley and Elder Clinkscales

This was a gift from the Zone Leaders.  They left it on the floor in Elder Shelley's apartment.

Senior Compainon

Elder Shelley is Senior companion. He is really liking Elder Clinkscales.  Elder Clinkscales is 23 years old and from Thomasville, Georgia.  Both of the elders were in the MTC at the same time but because Elder Shelley knows the area and can drive, so he is the senior companion.  A lot of the other Elders in the area were transferred.  He is sad to see them all go.
This weekend was very hard. The ward had some very hard times. Elder Shelley found out that a 17 year old in the ward killed himself.  One of the sisters in the ward mother was very ill on the way to go see her.  She had a seizure while driving and was in a bad wreak that totaled the car. Before she made it to see her mother, she passed away.  An elderly man in the ward also passed away.  A girl that they are teaching who is pregnant with twins lost one of the babies.  He said that it all happened on Friday and Sat.  He is hoping for a better week this week.

Transfer Day

Elder Shelley will be staying in Grants Pass but will be getting a new companion his name is Elder Clinkscale. Elder Aragon was transferred to Springfield. Elder Shelley is a little frustrated. They have been trying to find a lot of new people this week but nothing seems to be working. They probably tracked about 18-20 hours this week, so a lot of walking and biking.

Elder Shelley has had fun this week.  He has played horse shoes, hacky sack, ultimate Frisbee, disk golf, and basketball.  He said that he is getting much better at these game because they play them so much in Oregon.  He can't wait to get home and teach us.

The Phone Call

Elder Shelley got to call home on Saturday May 11, we were having Beckham(his nephew) Birthday party so he was able to tell him happy birthday...It was so good to hear his voice. He will be calling us on Sunday at 3 and we will get to talk to him for an hour and a half.

Mother's Day phone call was bitter sweet.  It was good to hear from him, don't get me wrong but on the same note it made me miss him even more.

It was so good to talk to him, to hear his voice and to know that he is loving what he is doing.  He loves the people in Grants Pass.  He said that he has learned so much and grown up a lot.  He told me that he even makes his bed everyday (that is the only thing that we fought about when he was home and just so you know he has been gone for 2 months and I still can't make his bed.)  

With as much time as we got to talk to him each of us got to have some one on one time with him and then we put him on speaker phone and finished up the time.

It was the best Mother's Day gift I could ask for. 

The View from Elder Shelley's Apartment

Cinco de Mayo

So I sent Elder Shelley a cinco de mayo package and in it I put a bottle of homemade salsa which made him a little home sick. They were invited to a family's house and had a great dinner. They had gorditoes with beans, carne asada, queso and spicy fresh salsa. They were awesome.

It has been getting hotter and Elder Shelley is having a hard time sleeping because of the heat. One of the members in the ward had an extra fan and gave it to them. He sleep a lot better last night.

One of the investigators that they are teaching made a comment that made Atticus laugh he said " that we are all winners because we won the first race in life, against thousands of other sperm we were the one that reached the end first." That's what his mom used to tell him when he was younger.

Elder Shelley told me that if I know of any one that is going to Oregon on their mission to get them a care package that has a mask because of the weeds, chew toys to distract the dogs, shin guards because of the little dogs, he has been bit three times on the shins and some how not kicked one of them, a lifting belt to help all of the people move, some rain gear, a hacky sack, and a disk golf Frisbee.

They really enjoyed the temple. He said that it is a small temple but beautiful.

He is so thankful for all of us. He is experiencing a lot of crazy things in Oregon.

Saturday he will be calling us to setup a time to call on Mother's Day. We can't wait to hear from him.