27 May 2013

Dear Mom,

i did get the card you sent. was that for this week too? it is so much easier for me to do the emails here than it is to write physical letters, that and i don't have to check the mail box.

we had a good week here, between all of the things that members have been helping us with, and zone conference which we held this last Thursday. there has been a lot that we have had to do.

we were able to do the confirmation ordinance for the man that we just baptized last Sunday. this was the largest confirmation circle that i have been in so far while I've been out here. there was seven of us standing in the circle. 3 missionaries bishop and 3 others.

i have now been on this trio for one whole week. its been hard and fun, usually some where between the two. i am generally ready for it to be over though. we have had a lot of members being able to take us out to places which can be really nice because we can split up one of us can go with the member and the other two can go off to another place and we can get more done. i was actually able to go with a member of second ward who actually served here in Palatka about the time i came out. he got off his mission and then moved back here. what is even better is that i even knew him while he was serving his mission.

this last week has been the only time where i have had to cover two wards on the same day. and both wards overlapped. i went to 1 and a half sacrament meetings. only because there was a leadership meeting we had to attend. otherwise i would have had to be at both sacrament meetings the whole time.

by far Sunday has been the busiest day this week. that one and Thursday after Zone Conference. this week is starting to look like it could be really busy also. we will see as things come hurling our way again.

love and miss you all

Sincerely

Elder Ogilvie

13 May 2013

Dear Mom

I hope you had a wonderful mothers day! i wasn't sure if you had a way to Skype, i am glad that we got to do that. i'm grateful that the Cutrer family let us use their computer to do that. we will just have to wait and see if we can do it on Christmas.

Sunday after the call was just as crazy as the rest of Sunday. because we were just given a ride over to the Cutrer families house all we could do the rest of the day was go tract around their neighborhood. so for about 3 hours that's what we did. though we did receive 10 referrals to go contact, so we were pretty busy with those all night. we had to have the second ward missionaries come pick us up at the end of the day. but they were super late by time they got to us.they had to drive from the other side of the st johns river and they didn't leave until 9. now because elder Huntington is district leader. he had to drive to pick us up, record what everyone in the district did for the week and do everything else all at the same time. it was really late by time they were anywhere near us.

if everything goes as it should and as its planned there will be another baptism this Sunday. there are just some commandments that he has to learn and a baptismal interview that will happen towards the end of this week and it will all be good.

i'm glad that you enjoyed the pictures and letter i wrote on the backs. i should be able to send a few more now that i have access to a store that will print them.

i hope you have fun with you grand children,

Sincerely,

Elder Ogilvie

29 April 2013

dear mom,

transfers are on Wensday, elder Buhler will be leaving and elder Cockrell will be my new companion. i will be staying in Palatka the three I've been with for 6 weeks have been elders Holt, Huntington, and my companion elder Buhler. unfortunately elder Holt had to go home yesterday for medical reasons. so for the next day or so elder Huntington will have to run around with us. in transfer calls last night we found out that we don't have enough sisters available to train all of the new sisters coming out so there will be missionaries who will for a period of time train each other to do missionary work.

you are not the only ones who had to speak in Sunday the ward here had a missionary sacrament meeting. so our ward mission leader had to speak along with me and elder Buhler i spoke on finding "lost sheep" (less active members) and elder Buhler spoke on helping less active members bring their non-member friends. Sunday proved to be our busiest day last week. between speaking in church, and the baptism of the family that we have been working with since i got here. oh which reminds me we've been working with a family of 6 and four of them got baptized about 45 minutes after church. they also had a little tiny wedding right after church. before the baptismal service. we had a lot of people show up to that which made everyone happy. we are looking forward to their confirmation this next coming Sunday.

i don't know for sure when we will be able to call home on the 12th when i find out i will do my best to make sure we call when you can pick up the phone. thank you for sending me brads email address. i do have a bunch of pictures to send you if i can ever get to a place where i can get some good prints. eventually i will just send you the card after its all full. i have no idea when that might be.

I do need you to send me some eraser refills for the cross pen you sent me. the erasers refills you sent me originally don't work. they are too small. i would like for you to send me another thin journal like the last one you sent me. it has the scriptures at the bottom of every page. also some fine point pens to write with. by the way i like writing little. then i can write more.

no i haven't seen any gators of the animal kind though i have heard that they are running around in the st johns river.

i'm quite glad that Brightyn has her two parents wrapped around her little finger. now they cant get away.

its been raining on and off for the last few days. yesterday we had some typical Florida weather and it was raining on one side of the street but not on the other. love and miss ya'll

Love,

Elder Ogilvie

22 April 2013

dear mom,

we had a pretty busy week. we were always off to go find someone new.we did a lot of trying to find new investigators and it did work. its also been raining on us every time we have to go use our bikes. it hasn't really been raining super hard. just enough to make sure that everyone and everything get and stays wet.whats really fun to watch is how since its still hot out side most of the time the rain almost as soon as it hits the roads it just evaporates.

thank you for sending me the email addresses for the rest of the family. its greatly appreciated.

it sounds to me like just about everything has changed since the last time i got to see everyone and it hasn't even been one whole year. things change out here all the time i don't even know half of whats going on in any given moment because it probably just changed 5 seconds ago. that seems to happen a lot.

I'm pretty sure i told you already but i will say it again. not this transfer but the next one there will be sister missionaries coming to Palatka to serve along side the elders that are already here. so while BYU and other colleges are losing students, heavenly father is gaining teachers. so it all works out.

we do have a family that will with the lords help be getting both married and baptized this week. that is what we are looking forward to seeing all of that go through. all of the plans have been made now its all about getting it all done. there have been quite a few little miracles that have happened since we started teaching this family. and the closer that the baptism gets the more small miracles are occurring.

things are going pretty good for now. i hope that thing are still alright at home.

Sincerely,

Elder Ogilvie

15 April 2013

Dear mom,

thank you for the letter. it sounds to me like the family is staying busy. i'm sorry to hear that springs family is out sick.things have been pretty busy out here. yesterday turned into quite the adventure president interviews were yesterday, along with it being fast Sunday we also did not have the car because it was the other elders time to have it. so we took our bikes. the weather however was not going to cooperate with us. by time we got to our dinner appointment not five minutes later. it started to pour like a waterfall on our location. then it proceeded to strike lightning very close to where the member lived. very close (too close). we were also a long bike ride from both our house and the church building. we managed to get the Palatka 2nd missionaries to come pick us up. when they got there i had to run out in the rain to but our bikes on the bike rack. when i went out to do it the driveway and yard had flooded around where the cars were parked. the whole place was 3 inches deep in water. After raining for maybe 45 minutes.

that's about the most exciting thing that has happened this week. i am still constantly surrounded by other missionaries all the time. even if all we are doing is giving the car to other missionaries or getting the car from them. i really do miss being out in the country areas that i've been in. that being said i do like it here.

also i don't know if you know but they have changed the rules for who we can email. it has been expanded to include friends as well as family. being where i am now. its much easier to take the time to do emails, than it is to find time to write a letter. so if you could ensure that i have the email addresses of everyone in the family that would be nice. :)

Love and miss you all

Sincerely,

Elder Ogilvie.

8 April 2013

dear mom

im sorry you are once again surrounded by snow. its still nice and sunny out here. general conference has been the big highlight of the week. we saw all of the sessions at the chapel here in palatka. we didnt have any of our investigators show up for any of the sessions. they were all either sick or dependant on someone who is sick. we did however see some of palatka 2nds investigators show up for the 2nd session on sunday.(palatka 1&2 share the same building) the missionaries in interlachen had to come watch priesthood session with our ward because their building does not have a satalite dish. the fun thing that happened for priesthood session is that the wards in our area all got together and had a really good bar-b-que right before. i know there were people from atleast 3 different wards.

our mission boundries have not changed yet. they will change in july when we get our new mission president. it is almost certain that we will lose the savannah zone.( the big area at the top of the mission ). i can't say for certain how much of kingsland ( the next one down ) we will lose. we may lose all of it. its still very possible that i could end up in the georgia macon mission in july. only the lord knows.

 

we found out yesterday that with the increase of sister missionaries comming into field. the palatka first ward ( the one i'm in ) will be getting sister missionaries alongside the elders already here. ( elders and sister in the same ward and area.) so now the mission office has us looking for a place to house the sisters. they are suppose to be coming in, the beginning of may. what ever the trasfer date is. so that will be a fun adventure to have over the next week.

 

hope you are doing well at home. have fun at work.

Sincerely,

Elder Ogilvie

1 April 2013

Dear mom

being in palatka is wonderful. my companion has been out two transfers longer than i have. however with the way things are its more like i have 3 companions. since we are around the palatka 2nd elders a lot trading the car back and forth, p-day activities and so forth.

twice now this week has failed at our apartment. all of the plumbing for the complex keeps springing leaks. and our apartment is the only place we can go to do our laundry. the other elders have to come to our place to do theirs to. 4 missionaries 2 machines.

i did get the easter box and it did come on saturday. we were given a lot of candy and chocolate for easter. just like we got alot for christmas. thank you for the candy you sent us. it is much appreciated. this morning we had a member randomly drop by and give us each another huge bowl of easter candy. not to mention the feast that we got invited to yesterday.

we had a wonderful easter program at church, we had the primary sing, and we had either the stake president speak or it was one of his councellor speak, i cant remember which. along with the rest of his family. we also got an investigator who kept promising us that she would come to church and then not come to church. that was the best part of the week.

im glad you have evrything under control back at home. that is really exciting to find out that heidi and john are having their first child. i hope things ware still going well for alex and logan.

why was the boat in the garage? oh and before i forget the mission office needs to know what ward you are in now? the name of the ward and the ward number. your bishop should be able to get that information to you.

thank you for the easter basket hope all is well back home till i send another letter.

Sincerely

Elder Ogilvie