Washington Winter Sunset

January in Washington

Well I am am sorry to hear it is so cold in Des Moines. I am not sure how the missionaries survive there because I think it is cold here at night. It has been nice though because currently the Washington area is experiencing a drought. It has not rained for at least a week. I am not complaining. 

We had an ok week as far as missionary work goes. We were able to teach a couple different people and one of the people we are teaching showed up for church so that is good. We will try to put some of the people we have been teaching on date for baptism this week before the end of the transfer. This transfer did go by fast. Transfer calls are this Saturday so I will know next week if I will leave or stay in this area. It sounds like I will be here in Washington for one more full transfer so I would prefer to stay with my current companion, but we will see. We also had some very good dinners this last week.

 I have an interview tomorrow with President who is driving down to Lacey. He does interviews with the whole mission every other transfer and tomorrow is our day. He is done with his three years as President in July. Some missionaries got their 2014 Ford Fusion taken away and it is parked in our area so we have been plotting a way to ask President if we can use it. The odds are against us but you cannot blame us for trying.

 I checked out Anne's website.  It is really cool. Tell Anne I love it.  She is a cool kid. We are not sure what we are going to do for the Superbowl but missionary work is not an option due to crazy sea-hawk fans. I cannot say I really want to sit in my apartment either so we will see what happens. I am pretty sure if they win people will tear this city apart in celebration. I have been reading the New Testament and Old Testament recently. We got bashed pretty good by some Anti-mormon guy this week so that was not much fun. Its amazing how much anti material there is against this church.

 Yes we always get up at 6:30 and work out in the gym. Its a very good way to get up in the morning. I continue to pray for the family and my Visa. We are playing handball in the church today for elders activity so I am excited for that. Handball is my kind of game. 

Lots of Love,

Will

Hello from Superbowl-Bound Seahawks' Land

Hello!

     Yes, Seattle is very excited to have their Sea-hawks in the Superbowl. The town basically shut down for the day. We were out tracting during the game but gave up due to people getting mad at us for knocking on their door during the game. We ended up watching the last 3 minutes in some guys garage on his tv. It was an impressive ending. I think Manning will get the best of Wilson as the Seahawks have tended to rely on home field advantage to play well.

      It did not rain this week but was not sunny as usual. As far as missionary work has gone we actually have had a very good week. We found 5 new people to teach and who are now "progressing". So I am excited to finally be able to teach people who want to hear what we have to say. So we did teach 3-4 full lessons this week which was really nice. No one came to church but we have potential.

     I cannot tell when things grow because everything is green here. Yes, I have given a couple blessings. I sent all my FBI stuff on Wednesday and got fingerprinted at the Lacey police station. I had 60$ of msf saved up but between shipping, paying the FBI, and the police station the process cost me 50$. We usually go see less active people later at night around 7:30 or later as people in this part of Washington tend to go to bed pretty early. A lot of people complain its too late when we knock at 5:00 pm. We do not go on Wednesday nights to the church. 

     I am hoping the mission will let us watch the Super Bowl because I can guarantee no missionary work will be done during that time period. People are pretty crazy about the Seahawks. There were fireworks and people screaming right after they won last night. I will be cheering for the Broncos though.

      I will send some pictures next week. I am hoping I stay another transfer here. I have gotten pretty used to biking around the area we are in. I went on a couple exchanges last week with missionaries in my district. I always play them in chess and I have yet to lose. I have still got it. ;-) I wish I could play Dad. I am very thankful for the times we played chess and he taught me how to play. I bought a backgammon set that looks exactly like the one Dad bought me all the years ago. I will send a pic. Remember when we lost that piece in the cabin at Pella? 

     My new guess for my departure date is March 21st. But things are not too bad here. Thanks for the updates from home, I love you all lots, Anne is quite the smart child isn't she? Its nice to get emails from her and Kate. 

Elder Percival

Will's Address in Lacey, WA

Patience, patience.....the Lord will test us

From Monday:

 For whatever reason some missionaries going to Brazil have to get finger printed and an FBI clearance but it looks like I will not have to so far. Knock on wood. We will see. People say the summers are really nice here so it is too bad I came for the winter. Thank you for the advice, I will try those things. It means a lot to me how far you have come in the faith and the encouragement really helps. Its tough sometimes but I find a way to keep going. Remember, the Lord will take care of his disciples. And any trial we go through is but a small moment that will shape us into a better person.

Will

From Tuesday:

I am currently working on my FBI clearance letter/fingerprinting. I now have to fill one out.  It will take 6-8 weeks to have it processed. The receipt will come to you in 6-8 weeks and you will send it to the travel office in Utah. 

I will email  you later today. Do not do anything, I am filling it all out. 

https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary/missionary-travel/global-location/south-america/brazil?lang=eng

Again do not do anything, I will email you later today. Just letting you know.

I know it is a test from the Lord, but  it is just tough, I will get there eventually.

Love Will

The Monsoon

Hello Again,

This week was a rainy one. A very rainy one. I am very thankful for my Marmot rain jacket because it continues to keep me dry. Saturday we basically biked around in a monsoon. We had to continually come back to our apartment and throw our clothes in the dryer so we were not sopping wet. Thankfully according to weather.com this week should be drier. 

We continued to see the usual people last week. Still we're not able to get anyone to church but we made some progress with Kathy and a lady named Sia. We also met an interesting man named Jim. Jim has a wife with Alzheimer's disease who has gotten to the point where she cannot comprehend what is going on. It has been rough for him when he tells us these were supposed to be the golden years right after they had retired. He enjoys talking with us, and while we will probably not be able to get him to church, he may find strength in the gospel and the want for baptism. We will see him later this week.

 I got food poisoning from some restaurant here in Lacey on Saturday and spent Saturday night throwing up every hour. It was not very fun. Fortunately I feel fine now as it did not last very long. No progress on the Visa but the form I filled out for the travel office is only good until Jan 30 so it should move from "received" to progressing at that point. More elders are getting their visas from when I was in the MTC to that is good. We had a good dinner of spaghetti on the 10th from a women who we basically helped move her entire house.

 All of my shoes are good but I only wear my Eccos to church to keep them nice. I have been having eggs for breakfast since some guy gave eggs to us from his farm. I have my first interview with President Weaver on the 28th. Yes the sd card works, Thank you. The panda tie is a favorite along with that new rainbow tie I showed you via Skype. Yes, we usually leave the house around 10:30 am each day.   I love you all there at home and continue to pray for everyone.

Love,

Will 

Welcome 2014

Hello!

 We had a fun new year. There are two elders in our district who we hang out with. We played Monopoly and a game called Phase 10. No, I have not gotten your sd card yet but I am sure it will come in the mail soon. Now that the holidays have concluded the missionary work has begun. This week we set up some appointments for the week to come. I have started reading the Doctrine and Covenants and I am always amazed at the amount of revelation and scripture that has been given for our day. I think our zone is going bowling today so that should be fun. We got bus passes for the month so we can take the bus to the church. The office reimburses us so we can take the buses anywhere  far away free of charge.

 I got all that info for my Visa sent off and delivered in two days. I just went to the post office and paid 6$ for two-day delivery to Salt Lake. It looks like I will get to go to the Seattle Temple before I leave for Brazil. When you baptize someone on your mission and they go to the temple a year later to get endowed or married in the temple you are allowed to go with them. It does not happen often because a year is a long time and you are only on a mission for two years, but fortunately this is the case with my companion, so I will be going with him towards the end of January. So that is exciting. I got the family update from Grandma and Grandpa. It is funny to see David is a Ward Mission Leader. We meet with ours every Sunday night at his home to discuss the work.  And yes, the Kohlers came and knocked on our door. I was surprised they found us but it was nice to see them.  Good luck with the return to school and work

Love,

 Will

The First 3 Months

Hello,

If you are looking for the happenings of my mission from October 2013 until January 2014, please visit wjpercival.blogspot.com