Hey Momma.

Well.. I'm in a terrible mood right now.  We just went to district meeting, and we took the train.  We were late, so Elder Houghton and I took our bikes on the train, and just locked them up at the station when we got there. Then we walked with everyone over to the chapel from there.  District meeting was really good, and then we walked back to the station. To find that my lock had been cut and somebody stole my bike.  Awesome. So. Awesome. I love thieves so much.  So. That's my news.

I reported it to the cops and the station, and they're going to get some one to look at the camera footage around the bike rack, but, probably I wont be getting my bike back.  Thieves are sons and daughters of God though.. Really stupid sons and daughters of God. I'm not the happiest person right now.

So.. this week.

This week was good.  Elder Houghton is still Elder Houghton, but I'm getting used to that.  I call him the Hound Dog now, I also told him that I was going to jump on him in the middle of the night and fart right in his mouth.  Yumm yumm. I even wrote it down in my planner in the "Personal and Companionship Goals for the Week" section while we were doing weekly planning.  Fart in Hound Dog's Mouth.  We'll see if I actually do though.. When I sleep, there is little to nothing to convince me to get out of my bed.  But.. Farting is almost just funny enough.  Mom.  If the rule about being a man is that I can't laugh at farts anymore.. I'm never going to be a man.  So much for that.

This week has been good though.  We've gotten a lot done.  We had two exchanges, one with the District Leader and his companion (Elder Prosman from Holland, and Elder Paton from Adelaide, Australia)  And then another one with our Zone Leaders (Elder Wilde from Scotland, and Elder Chardon from the Netherlands) (On a side note, Holland and the Netherlands are two different places.. kind of.  Holland is like the main state of the Netherlands.  They're not synonymous.)  But they both taught us some really good things, and I feel like our finding is really taking off now.  I've been a total wuss at doors when we go tracting, and Elder Wilde definitely showed me how to man up.  I think it's kind of fun now.  I don't want to say that it's kind of a game for me.. but it's kind of a game for me.  The game is to see if we can invite ourselves in and teach a lesson, and then get a return appointment.  It gets really interesting, cause we basically have to get to know the person, tell them why we're here, and why they should listen to us, all in about 45 seconds or shorter.  It's kind of a challenge.  But it's a fun challenge.  You have to be a little pushy, but I think that the most important message in the entire world is one to be a little pushy about.  Elder Wilde even tried to invite us into some one's home for dinner at one of the doors.  She didn't really like that.. Haha oh well.

But this week we have learned a TON about finding, and now are numbers are just going up and up.  We got something like 20 potentials this week.  We have a lot to do the next few days, and it's going to be really good.

Funny story.  We have to call in and report all our numbers every Sunday night, and so Elder Houghton and I were in town centre just talking to people on the street, and about fifteen minutes before we were supposed to call in, we decided to sit on a bench and tally up our numbers.  So we did, and as we were doing that, this Indian (dot) man came up and asked if he could sit next to us.  Of course we said he could, and then he looked at us doing our numbers and asked us what we were doing, we told him that we were doing missionary work here in Leamington, and then he asked us in somewhat broken english (not that broken, but sort of) he said "Well, do you think I could do missionary work with you? Maybe on the weekends?"  Elder Houghton and I just looked at each other.. We were like "Uhhh.. Yeah! Totally! But we're going to have to teach you a little first."  He asked us how, and we set up an appointment to meet him in that park again last night. When we saw him, we taught him the Restoration and challenged him to be baptized on September 14.  He said he would.  We're going to be teaching him again tonight.  Crazy. I'm not quite sure how solid he is, but he's still listening to us, and keeping his appointments and commitments, so.. it's pretty awesome!  So pray for Rajeev (Rah-Jeev). (Get this, he's our second Rajeev that we're teaching right now too, so I told Elder Houghton that if he really does end up teaching with us that I'm just going to call him Geeves, cause he'll be like our Missionary Butler. Haha)  But definitely pray for him and for the rest of our investigators (Laura, Brian, Patrick, Michelle, Laurence, Becky, and Dermot) We met most of them this week.. So not a ton of them are solid, but I'll tell you more about them next week.  Pretty cool though!

So, yesterday I ended up going over to Warwick Castle with some of the missionaries in my zone.  It was really cool, but maybe a little expensive.  They tried to make it into like an amusement park, but without any rides.  It was pretty cool though, and I got a bunch of pictures that I'll send to you.  I also got a chance to look up our Family Name and Crest and stuff.  It was cool.  Our family motto is "Virtue is more desirable than money"  Kind of funny.  I forgot what it really was in Latin.  We have a couple ancestors that were criminals though, that got shipped off to Australia.  Haha.

This week, the other elders working in our branch are leaving.  Elder McKechnie is going home to Scotland for a month for a surgery (hernia) and his companion Elder Kagle is getting reassigned somewhere else in the mission.  That means that for the next three weeks we are in charge of all of our area, which is most of Warwickshire. We have the southern half of Warwickshire starting just underneath Coventry.  So pretty big.  We don't get out to a lot of it unfortunately.

So that'll be crazy.

So, from your message.

Shanny's real name is Shananne (Shuh-nan).  But Elder Lewis and I decided that her real name is Nard.  That came from a chain of nicknames, and now she goes by it.  It went from Shananne to Shan to Shanaardvark to Nardvark to Nard.  The whole family calls her that now, and she'll tell you that's what she was named at birth.  And yes, I love that family.  They always helped us any way they could, and fed us at least once a week, most of the time twice a week.  I got really close to them.

I don't believe you came right home from church.  That's an extremely rare anomaly that I just don't think I can bring myself to swallow.

The sight and sound rule is that companions should always be within sight and sound of each other.  It seems really strict, but it's not.  If you're near your companion and know where he is, you're good.  But new missionaries think that if they break it, even a little, their companion is going to run away and break the law of chastity or something.  Haha

I forgot to tell you.  I promised President that I would tell you, for him, that you have one of the best missionaries in the mission.  I don't believe him, but he made me promise to tell you that.  He told Elder Houghton to do the same, and probably a lot of other missionaries.  But, I'll just take this time to gloat a little. And maybe ease your anxiety, I'm not a new missionary anymore, and I'm actually getting pretty good at it.  Even President says so.  I feel like a child saying all of this.  "My mom says I'm cool!"  Use your whiniest argumentative kid voice.

I'll tell him you like him though.

The flat's nice, I'll get my trousers altered. Aaaaaand...the extra seat on the toilet is a mystery.  That's why we think a grandma lady lived there before us.  Cause I definitely can't use that extra seat.  Maybe it's just for me to get a little better aim.  Maybe I should throw in some cheerios or fruit loops to help me out.

Elder Houghton falls out of bed.

No, he doesn't.  Our beds are supposed to be bunk beds, but we don't trust them to be bunk beds.  I'm pretty sure his is the top bunk, but we just separate them cause neither of us want to be smashed by a flimsy bunk bed falling on us in the middle of the night.

I thought you'd like the elephant.  And I'm pretty sure I've secured the favorite child spot if I've made computer background status.

Jeff Colemere is definitely the man.  I miss him.  Try and get his address or his email address off him for me, so I can send him a letter.  He's the best guy ever.  Definitely somebody that's worthy of the priesthood he bears.

Bountiful.  Ouch.  Yeah, invite them over!! I bet they get Dinner Appointments like nobody's business, but I'm sure they would love to eat some of the best cooking on Earth.  Ken and Rose? Sure! The message that the missionaries bring to them is literally the most important message that there has ever been.. so.. I'm pretty sure they would hear it.  Maybe just tell them about all the people on the street and let them decide who they would like to go to talk to.  Our street is very un-mormon, considering it's Utah.

I hope everything works out for Adrienne and Brooke.  Stress is no fun.

I haven't seen Aaron's tattoo.  Take a picture and send it to me so I can get a matching one.

Teeth suck, and Remy is too old.

I think that's it for this week. I've taken the whole hour at this library to write you, and you've already emailed me impatiently to see where your letter is.

I spoil you.

I also love you.

And miss you.

A lot.

But I'm here, and I'm serving diligently and effectively, and I'm not coming home for about eighteen months.

Today I've officially been out five months.  Crazy.  It's flown by.

Alright. Ange needs a letter too, and maybe some other people. I'll do my best.

I love you!

Mind the Gap,

Elder Smart