Enjoying the Work

Hello Family,

I am doing well here in Hazelwood, MO.  Thanks for the packages that you sent last week.  I still need to go pick one up from the Post Office, but it will have to wait because we are so busy.  It is an hour bus ride to get there and back.  I will make sure to go pick it up soon.  I feel like I'm dealing with stress a lot better now.  I really enjoy being in this area because we get to see the members all the time and it is really a lot of fun.   A lot different than my first area.  I also really like my companion Elder Stowe.  He is a really great guy and a lot of fun to be around. He is really tall, like 6'7". 

Hazelwood is pretty cool.  I like being here.  The thing I notice the most is that the clouds move really fast, unlike in Utah.  There are no mountains in the way to slow them down.  Don't tell Mom, but two days ago we had a tornado warning.  The sirens did not go off.  :(

I'm glad to hear that as a family you finished the D&C.  I told Josh to study the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price to help him out a little.  He should study the first chapter carefully so that Josh gets what he needs out of it.

 

I'm glad that Ben is doing so well.  Tell him that I am very proud of him for being advanced to a Teacher in the Priesthood and that if he continues, there is nothing stopping him from reaching exaltation.

 

Love Elder Butler

 

 

 

 

 

Hello from Hazelwood Missouri!!!!

A very happy Mother's Day to my mother today. I was able to call my family today and Skipe with them. It was so great to see and talk with all of them. I especially liked it when Abby said the prayer all by herself!!! Well as you all can see from the picture I shaved my own head! Looking good don't you think? In my new area we travel around on the bus and on our bikes. There was a bike here for me when I got here. We attended a mission conference and heard Elder Cook speak. My new companion (Elder Stowe) is from  a small town in Utah and is very laid back. It was very different going to church in branch before coming to my new area. It was held in a small house and we would prepare the sacrament in the kitchen of the home. I have continued to experience stress related to getting used to the missionary life, but I am doing much better after reading a book that I was given. My stress is not related to people telling me to go away or that they don't want to listen to the gospel it's when they are interested I still get afraid to talk to strangers. Not a sparrow falls that God does not notice, how much more valuable to God is our soul? Love and God Bless you all!!

Thoughts about Sparta Illinois

Dear Family and Friends,

I just wanted to write you a letter and tell you all some of the details about what I am doing over here in Sparta Illinois. 

Elder Keel is my companion now, and has been for a few weeks.  He is a really good guy.  I am having a little bit of a hard time with him though because of my dyslexia.  He is trying to help me out and make me have good habits but because of my dyslexia, I just take it that he is trying to be mean or rude when he is really just trying to teach me. 

My area is not doing too good.  This area is very old and most of the people know who we are and try to avoid us.  There are many churches, and a lot of people just think that we are out to convert them and nothing else.  Many of them think that we are Jehovah's Witnesses and are afraid of us. 

We don't really do anything on our P-days except clean the apartment and the car.  There is not really that much to do here in southern Illinois.  The only thing that we have talked about planning is to maybe go golfing, but that might be too expensive. 

Elder Keel and I are both pretty tired of working in Sparta.  All we have done is work in Sparta because we were low on miles.  We are pretty burnt out and don't want to work in Sparta.  We have been trying to go see some of the other towns that we have never visited.  Today we went to a town called Cutler Illinois and tried to meet some new people. 

There are a lot of less actives here and a lot of excommunicated members.  It is kind of funny because most of them don't know very much about the church at all.  It is starting to get very green here.  Some of the places are very pretty, but most places here are baren.  Our area is very big.  Some of it is really hilly, but everywhere else is super flat. 

I was wondering if you could send me my Book of Mormon that is in German.  I am trying to keep up with the German that I have already learned and that would really help. 

Soon I will be sending home some things that I have collected and can't pack around with me.  I just wanted you to know that I did not go out of my way to get the things I have sent home.  I either got them for free or for less than $5. 

Write me back as soon you can and I think that it would be cool if you guys would write me hand written letters.  The DearElder letters are cool and all, but it is more special to me to have them hand written.  Don't forget to tell Josh and Ben to write me back too.

Love,
Elder Butler

P.S. I have reported to my new area in Florissant, MO.  Like I said, my new companion is Elder Stowe.  I know that I told you I would only be able to call on Mother's Day, but I have just found out that I will be able to Skype.  I should be able to Skype Sunday afternoon.  My new address is:

940 Torero Lane
Florissant, MO 63031

I look forward to getting lots of letters from you all at this address.

Love Elder Butler

Transferring this Week

Hello Family and Friends,

I just sent a letter home asking for you to send me some stuff.   Don't send anything yet, I am being transferred to a new area.  Please wait until I get my new address.  I am transferring to Hazelwood, Missouri, and my new companion will be Elder Stowe.  This will all happen on Wednesday.  Hazelwood is a bigger city.  It is on the north side of St. Louis.  I have met Elder Stowe once before, so hopefully we will get along well.  It will be nice to be closer to the church and to members.  I will also be closer to the temple, but that is still a little disappointing because we really only get to go to the temple twice on our whole mission unless someone we are teaching goes through.  Then we can go with them.  I'm not sure how to feel about the change of area and change of companion.  I'm torn, because I don't want the change, but at the same time I do.  I'm looking forward to calling home this weekend for Mother's Day.  I'm not sure if I will be able to Skype, but I will definitely call.

Love Elder Butler

 

 

 

 

More Tracting

Hello Family,

I wanted to say thanks for the pictures that you sent last week.  I'm glad that you have had a good time with Grandma and Grandpa Price.  Sorry I haven't sent more pictures back, but like I said before, my camera is broken.  I'm glad to hear that Josh, Ben, Evelyn, and Abby are doing so good. That is a real burden taken off my shoulders. They have been on my mind a lot lately.  It's so cool that Josh and Ben get to here from Elder Holland in a few weeks.  Tell them to take notes so they can remember what he has to say.  Also, please have Josh and Ben email me this week so that I can save their email addresses and start talking to them that way from now on.  Thanks for the added money this month, I've had to replace a lot of stuff this week.

I know that you guys have been reading and studying D&C as a family.  When you get done, you should really study Preach My Gospel and Jesus the Christ.  They are Great!!

My companion and I are still having a hard time talking to anyone new.  But, we did have 3 lessons this week.  Less active people, nobody new.  We are still getting used to each other as companions.  We get along ok, so that is good.  We spent most of this week visiting some new towns in our area.  We have been walking around knocking on doors and being told to go away.  I will continue to have faith and work and I know The Lord will send me in the right direction.  Please keep praying for us out here in the mission field.

Love Elder Butler

Making Adjustments

Hello Everyone,

 

President Morgan called me this morning and let me know that Grandpa Stan had passed away.  Just wanted you to know that he had talked to me about it.  We watched conference last week at our Branch Building.  What have you heard about the people that gave that opposing vote to sustaining The First Presidency?  My new companion is Elder Keel.  He is from California.  We get along OK I guess, but we don't really have anything in common.  We are working and trying really hard to get along.  He is like the smartest person that I have ever met.  Everything he does and the way he looks at me makes me think three times harder about everything I do.   

 

I have not been doing so good lately because of stress and my body is falling apart because I was not physically prepared to do what I am doing.  I miss the mountains.  I feel kind of exposed here.  A lot of the people here have not been very nice to us.  There are a lot of people here who are Pastors or training to be Pastors, or are related to a Pastor.  They don't treat us very nicely.  We have come across a lot of people that seem slow to remember The Lord their God.  So many of the people that do remember God fear Him and are motivated by fear rather than by love.  So many people that have been converted to the church end up leaving because they feel that the church expects too much out of them.  They don't understand God and His dealings with the children of men. 

 

Thanks for the encouragement and for the money that you have given me.  I don't like asking you for stuff but I am tight on money this month because none of the members feed us, so i have to pay for all three meals per day.  I have some thing wrong with my feet, so I had to buy shoe inserts.  All my stuff is breaking.  I broke my first watch, then my last comp said i could have his watch, then I broke that one and had to buy a new one. Now my camera is broken. It seems like all the things I use on a regular basis are falling apart. Even one of my suit pants is busting from the seams because of my fat butt.  :)

 

Family, some of the things I have learned on mission; seek truth from the book of Mormon, pray always, seek counsel from God, He can help you remove any stumbling block placed in front of you.  Please do not worry about me, but continue to pray for me.  That I will be able to adjust emotionally, physically and mentally.

 

Love Elder Butler

 

 

 

 

The Fight is Real

Hello Everyone.

Sorry I haven't written more lately.  I haven't had a lot to say.  As far as what I am doing, it is very different than what I expected it would be before I left.  I find my self constantly fighting the adversary every step of the way because he does not want me to do what I am doing. He is exerting all the powers that he has to stop me but so far he has been unsuccessful in stopping me from continuing  with The Lord's work.  He has tried to pull so many tricks all ready that I can not count, but most of the time he tries to scare me, telling me that if I go and do the work, he will make life absolutely terrible.  Fairly recently, we were praying and when I looked up, and I could swear that  I saw a demon down the hall. It looked at me and then went into the back bed room. My companion and I blessed our apartment and it is gone but the fight is real and it has been a struggle because Satan doesn't want us to continue and will stop at nothing to make us give up.  But, the work will never stop, not until the sons of  Levi give an offering of righteousness at the last day.

This past week has been a little hard because my first companion Elder Branham is going home, and I will kind of be left here to my own devices because I will have a new companion that won't know anything about the area and I will have to teach him.  Elder Branham and I have had some struggles lately because we are teaching quite a few people, but we are just struggling to get them to keep the commitments they make. 

Life here in Sparta, Illinois is ok.  I'm not used to the humidity.  It saps the life out of you :)  Missionary work is very hard, but that is mostly because I make it hard on myself.  Elder Branham has been a big help to me mostly because he has been so willing to put up with my crap :)

I miss my friends and family.  I miss all of the encouraging and comforting words.  I hope that you all are striving to come closer to Christ.  That you are using His atonement to be changed by Christ and to become a new creature in Him.  For no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God, but no unchanged thing will want to be with Him.  I want you all to want to be in the presence of God and to be changed by His grace.  I know that I have said a lot of strange things, but I know that these things can help all of you and I want the best for you all because I love you with all my heart. 

Love Elder Butler