John's Weekly Letter for the week of 10/18/2010

Thank you for telling me what my grades were. I like spring semester's grades much more than fall semester's. Considering I got a 3.0 in the fall and a 3.5 in the spring. I think I should be able to keep my half tuition scholarship at BYU-I. (The senior couple that just came up here to Susquehanna the guy apparently used to be a big wig at BYU-I and said that to maintain a half tuition you had to have a 3.0 but he thinks they raised it but he's not sure how much. I hope not higher than 3.3.)



Now to answer your questions mom. Yes we did have our baptism yesterday. ( I'll go into more detail later) We had 5 investigators at church yesterday. Yes the mission president brought the packages. I got the package with Cd's and the pictures. I also got my shoes. Thank you for the Cd's. Natasha, thank you for your drawings. Do you have a book that helps you draw those things or did you just come up with those all by yourself?


I'm glad to hear that you had a good sacrament meeting. Mine was good also. So your weather is finally cooling down? Mine has been cool for a while. It's frosted multiple times, it happens almost everyday now.


Well I forgot my planner so I wont be able to tell you as much that happened this week but I'll tell you the big stuff. This Sunday we had our baptism. We baptized Derrick Carvin. We had it in the Susquehanna river. Apparently it was really really cold. Elder Roberts baptized him. They had to do it 3 times because every time he'd put him under the current would push him away and he'd (Derrick) would lose his footing so they had to do it multiple times. It was neat having the baptism and feeling like I did something to help them. I had that baptism the first week I was here but I hadn't done anything to teach her.


Our week was okay. We didn't have very good numbers but we had a lot of investigators at church. Not as much as last week but a lot nonetheless. We had 5 this week instead of 7. I don't know if I've told you about him but I think I have. We have an investigator named John Whitney. He's been investigating for a yearish. We were at his house on Saturday and his wife left to pick up their daughter and we asked him if he wanted to be baptized and he said he did but he was waiting for his wife which is what we figured. His wife is coming along. John said that she has a lot better attitude towards the missionaries now. He said that before she would ask John in a kind of dreadful tone "Are the missionaries coming over today?" and when he'd say yes she'd kind of moan. But now she looks forward to us coming over and she's progressing too. She reads the reading assignments we give them. She would've came to church the last two times but the first time the medication she's on messed her up and then yesterday she unexpectedly got called into work so she couldn't come. She wanted to be there but couldn't. I think we could get extend the invitation to be baptized and I think she would accept. She doesn't know it's true yet but she says she doesn't have any reason to disbelieve it. So we'll have to help her gain a testimony but that's usually not something that takes years to do.


We had interviews with President Shafermeyer this week. They went well. I asked him some questions that were on my mind lately that had to do with baptism and the sacrament and repentance and he answered them for me pretty well and that basically sums up the interview. He is a really nice guy. I like him a lot. Well I can't really think of anything else that happened this week because I forgot my planner so I don't have that reminder in front of me. So this is basically the end of my letter except for a little bit.


I'm glad you liked clue. I'm pretty sure I saw that a few years ago but I don't remember it being rolling on the floor funny but I remember liking it. Well it's too bad BYU lost but at least their defense has put up a showing the last few games. That's always good news. I really miss watching football. We were at an investigators house Saturday afternoon and they had a football game on and it made me really miss watching BYU football. But oh well. Maybe when I get back Heaps and whoever else we use as a quarterback will be experienced by then and we'll be really good. That's my hope.


Dad- I think Elder Cover probably finished out his mission in the Pittsburgh mission. The Scranton stake, the stake I'm in, used to be in the Harrisburg mission but they dissolved that mission and gave the Scranton stake to the Philadelphia mission and the rest of it to the Pittsburgh mission. So I think that's why my companion hasn't heard of him. I haven't asked anyone in the branch but maybe I'll have to. I don't know if I'll be able to beat you after the mission but we'll see. I'll see what I can do. I think that would definitely be a landmark in Schouten family history if I or any of your children beat you in an arm wrestle. I'd have to do it soon so you can't use the "I'm getting old excuse and I would've beat you in my prime" excuse. But I probably wont be able to beat you so you wont have to worry about that. That's cool that you get to take pictures for trek again. That should be cool.


Mom- Thank you for looking up my grades. That's been something I've been wondering about since I came out on my mission. Thank you for looking up what quarks are. That sparked my interest when I heard Elder Scott talk of it and I didn't have a computer so I couldn't look it up. The baptism went well. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. It went a lot better than I thought it would. The baptism went well. There were a lot of people there. A lot from the Montrose branch (the branch next to ours) and our branch. The reason people from Montrose were there is because the Carvin's technically live in the Montrose boundaries but they used to live in Susquehanna boundaries but they moved a month or two ago.


Jordan- Have fun at college. Have you written Matt yet? When does your semester end? Pierce! That's the guys name! I remember now. Well actually I didn't remember because you told me but oh well what does it matter?


Austin- Hello. a;oefijio;vagjhea;glivjovbn;ia;oirjvm;qwertyuiplkjhgfsd azxcvbnm,./qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm


Natasha- I made the lightsaber things with a highlighter lead that some people had at the MTC and you stuck it really close to the camera and it shone from the camera flash. (Jordan you can do it too. They used the multiple color scripture marking pens. You'll find out what they are at the MTC. Assuming you go to the Provo one not somewhere else) Why did Austin break your string? Just kidding I know he didn't do it on purpose. That's too bad. When do you get it fixed?


Shaylee- That's cool about Scott and Jenna's baby. Have you seen it? I'm glad to hear you had fun at meuller park.


Well I think that just about sums it all up.


I love you all and I miss you too. I'll see you in 2 years.

Love,
Elder Schouten