Elder Eric Turner: Bodies Are Tired....But the Human Soul is Refreshed (Sept. 12, 2011)

Hey everyone!

Let me start by thanking everyone for the birthday wishes. Mom and dad, I loved the package. Grandma and Grandpa, thank you for the great card. As grandma would always say, it's the right color! I loved the little noted from the primary kids, too. Thank you Sister Brown!

It's been another great week, especially since the heat is starting to die off each day! Saturday dipped below a hundred and it was awesome! The whole day was about 97, and the evening about 95. Elder Allred and I both laughed at how comfortable it was. Transfers were last Wednesday and here's the breakdown. Elder Cava was transferred to South Phoenix, a pretty rough area which he's going to LOVE. In his place is the one and only Elder Dallon Duke, the newest member of the Surprise House. Elder Duke was in the zone back when he was in Peoria North, so we all knew him really well. When the zone was split, we were sad to see him go, but now he's back! He and Elder Nelson are going to be great together.

The first two pictures were taken immediately after transfers. The first is with me, Elder Anderson (zone leader in Prescott) and Elder Allred. The second is with Elder Tameilau who finally got transferred. He was in his last area for 16 months! Now he's in Phoenix North zone and he's going to do very well over there. The third picture is of me in the weekly addition to our snack pile. These members in the Cactus Lane ward keep giving us snacks, and we don't know what to do with them! We sorted them out by snacks, and threw away the ones we wouldn't keep. The next picture I absolutely love. You know how every missionary wants to have at least one "epic picture" on their mission? I think we found one. Thie other day it finished raining and the sun looked really cool behind the clouds. We saw a dirt pile, and I pulled out my camera and mini tripod. No fancy camera functions, nothin'. Pretty cool, huh? The last picture is of the night of my birthday. The whole day we were working and when we came home, the rest of the house was behind the front door with a cake and candles to surprise me! It was a great birthday, and Elder Johnson made a pretty delicious cake.

By far the best part of the week was yesterday in sacrament meeting in the Copper Canyon ward. Why? Primary program. I always love the primary program. Of course there's always the kid who yells into the microphone, the others who wave to their families, and the sunbeams (3 year olds) who start to cry because they have to sit away from their families. Like I said, I love the primary program! What made this one so special was that both Amber and her husband Wes were there to see it. I don't think either of them have ever seen a primary program before, and not many recent converts or investigators (respectively) do! We've been setting up regular appointments with the rest of her family too, including her husband Wes. The reason why I loved it so much was because all of Amber's family was there, including her kids. They have five kids, four of which are all in primary. They all were in the program! I can't even put into words who great it was to see them singing the songs and speaking their little parts. I was filled with joy the whole time, and when I asked Wes what he thought, he had a big grin on his face and with a chuckle said that he loved it. Who wouldn't?

So four of their five were in the program, but who and where was the fifth? The fifth was Zack, who was baptized with Amber. He is 13 years old and is therefore too old for primary. Before the primary program, Bishop Smith invited Zack to come up front for a moment. Bishop Smith had interviewed Zack this past week and found him worthy to be given the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained to the office of a Deacon. Bishop paused for a moment and said, "Brothers and Sisters, I want you to know what a great experience it was to interview Zack. He's an exceptional young man and I would recommend him to any of you." Needless to say, my heart was full.

That's just a brief update on the great things that have been happening this week. Another Elder doesn't have a library card to email home, so I'm going to let him use mine for the remainder of our email session. I love you all and hope to hear from you very soon. Take care and be good.

Much love,

Elder Eric James Turner