Spike's Letter 3/12

Ah ladies and gentlemen another week down what can i say. The time seems to be getting faster and faster. Seriously it is only because I have awesome companions though. If I had some regular missionary I think it would be good but definitely not be as good as things are going right now. Time is really going very fast. The days are long but the weeks totally fly by. It is already going to start the 3rd week of march how insaine is that? Crazyness. But anyways it sounds like everyone is doing as good as ever! Seriously. It sounds like mikin had an awesome b day. Nothing better than having a new child born into your family to wrap up a b day huh. What a blessing that really is. To bring one of our heavenly father choice sons into this world and to take care of him and to raise him in rightousness. What a responsibility. His name is asa huh? I still do not know how to pronounce it but I am sure I will find out sooner or later. That is so freakin cool though. Gee la wee we are growing pretty fast as a family huh? Crazy I will have to meet a lot of new family when I get home and they will be pretty old and definitely walking around when I get home. Crazy. I am so excited for you and I am so glad that things went as we wanted them to. It sounds like the hunters party went awesome to fro what brynne and dad have said. Maybe not as many people as you whould have wanted to have there but definitely a success. I heard it was a lot more organized this year and went very well. That is so good and I am so happy but so jealous at the same time. I bought some beef sticks here and ate them to make my own little commemoration of the hunters party here in brazil. I flipped through the elk hunting photos in Montana and the hunting trip to Canada also. It was very little party that I had but it was very good. Lots of memories and many more to com in the future I know. And dad will be a part of them, hunting and not just being camp cook. Come on go work out you got it. Your not that old. 4 me. Ha. But where do you want to have it instead? You want to form committees too? What kind you have to explain it to me cause I am the future of this thing after you guys all die off on me and I am the only one left to teach the kids. Ha. But really. The big horn show is in a couple weeks and that should be ridiculously sweet also. I am already looking forward to going to it in a couple years. Tyler you better go this year no excuses. But ya I miss it but I can totally imagin what it will be like. Maybe even better cause of cabelas close also. Should be eventful. I also saw that picture of that Chinook that mike caught.8# that is a biggy. Seriously. A lot bigger than that one that we ate and I caught that last week that I was home remember? He is truly a fisherman. I miss them so much tell them hi and that I am thinking about them. I love them so much they are the best. Well the snow is starting to melt off and getting alittle nicer according to what brynne said. She is getting out and running with zoey and taking advantage of the weather. Atleast the snow is gone enough to start doing some things again. It is crazy to me that through the e mails another winter has passed. Crazy. But atleast the mountains are still getig some snow. That will be good for runn off and eventually for the wrafting season. Huh? It should be a good year. To bad cassie cant be there at the 4th of jusly but I heard that she might be there for the fair for the first time in a long time. That should be really nice to experience that again for her. Atleast one of us gets to go there. Sounds like you are all staying busy with your calling like dad said. They have the trek and they are always so busy. I think that we have the best parents in the world without a blink of the eye. I am totally convinced in my mind and in my heart.. they don’t just comfort us with soft words and encouragement, but they actually get out there and they help us. They act. Llike mom helping mikin ewiht the kids, and I am sure that dad helped as much as he could too. They are also going to help with tim and liz´s kids. How freakin awesome they are. How blessed we are to have them in our lives to have them that we can lean on and find strengthin need and to always have for whatever reason. They are asways there. I want to become tlike them someday.

But it sound like everything is going good. Ol noah would not sleep in my room again huh. Come on buddy the animals are not that scary. You got it. You got half gatten in you. We do not breed fear. Ha. But anyways yes I do have 2 geese at the taxidermists. I have a goose and I have a speckled belly. The same think for dusty. So all together we have 4 geese there. And that is totally amazing about my banded duck1 alaska? That is freakin awesome. It takes a shot like I have to get a prize like that. What type of bird was it. A mallard or pintail? That is awesome. I am so excited. You should stick it in the trophy cabinet. That is a prize baby. Ol brett still needs to get one huh. Someday buddy. You guys have to take the boat out a lot and use my stuff. Or I will be mad. The opener is always the first week of October and the youth hunt is th last weekened in September. You got to go. I nowthat is good eld hunting time but you know there are things just as good as that. Maybe not as much as a trophy though. But ah that is cool. And you guys are going to get another package ready for me huh? Thatis so cool. Ya I want that testimony book and another thing that I need is my spiker jell maybe two of them and my cologn. We can use it in the miss and it would help me not stink as much cause I sweat like a stuck pig here baby…burn baby burn. Atleast it is starting the winter season now so it has been raining like everyday here. Super bad. I still have to print of pictures to send toyou guys and I can show you things from here.

Well mom and dad you guys need to get out there and travel some more! I know that you guys have already have seen the world a couple of times over the years but you still have to go to that trip in Africa sometime don’t you….yes. also get out there and use the new camper. It is weird I totally forgot that we had a new one. Razy and such an awesome opportunity to get out into the beautiful area that we live and to jus get away. That ia so nice. You guys can just be alone aways from the world. I miss that. I miss silence and a personel life. But you guys shouldget out there. Dad said that you guys might try to get t=out there this weekend or some other time to use that baby. Really that trailer is like 2 or 3 housed here. Really blessed aren’t we.

Well I heard from some Americans at the airport when I went to pick up my new companion that the rep candidate is that guy. I cant think of his name right now. And the other is a friggen black guys and a women. I think that the rep have it wrapped up. I don’t think that we will vote for the dem. It is just the way that the us is. I really want to send in y ballot thing. Inow that I can do it some how. Oh ya we heard that our new mission pres is American. He was born in new jersey and is living in Hawaii for like 30 years. Pres and sister Jamie. That is pretty cool. They will take over july 1. I got my new companion. He is another brazilian and is elder souza. He is totally off the hook cool. He has like only 4 months left in the mission and is trunky but he does know how to work. He is a former ap to th president and was a zone leader in his last area. He is really cool. I don’t know why I am being blessed with such good companions. Elder saucedo went to manaus and is a sone leader there. So I am just blessed. There are a lot of bad missionaries but I am getting all the companions that everyone in the mission loves and are the presidents favorites. Is that cool or what. I think that the pres sees a lot in me accordingt to the other missionaries. I am being bread to be a leader. It is such a blessing and I am learning so much every day. My comp is from joao pessoa. A rich area on the coast of brazil and he is rich. He speaks English like an American too but I do not seak to him in English. I need to lean and keep speaking portugues. He is so cool this transfer will be so ridiculously fun and good I don’t even know how to describe it. We are already bonding big time. I would compare it o me and dusty. Seriously like we are buds and its been one day. We went out teaching lastnight at a couple homes of investigators that I found and we already have set 4 baptisms for this Sunday and 7 for next. We have a goal for 30 baptisms this month. I know we got it.. the lord is really blessing us here. It is amazing being a member of his royal army. We have interviews today with the mission president. He flies in like right now and we have interviews at 3 with him. It should go awesome. We have zone conference tomorrow also. I am looking forward to it. And I want to try to really show how uch I am progressing. I love the conferences because after we always go to a all you can eat restaurant here and ah it’s the best. But anywyas I met a family in the airport that were here for the Baptist church doing like a 4 day mission teaching healthy living. I tried to speak English with them and it was so freaking hard. It is crazy. Like I totally mix portugues and English. Crazy. It is a testimony to me that I rally am learning the language even if I don’t think that I am. I am progressing as each day passes. I am progressing in the language and also as a man and as a spirit. I study every day from 5 in the morning until 10 in the morning before we go out to work I try to learn as much as I can and it is really good. I pray that I can learn and remember and recall those things while I teach and while I talk. I pray that I will have my toungue loosed and be able to speak this language so for the purpose of sharing the gospel of Christ. For this is truly the only reason that I want to learn this language that I can bring the message unto the hearts of the childernof men and bring to pass the gathering of isreal. What an important calling I have. I am his representative. I have his name, Jesus Christ, on my chest over my heart everyday. i am sharing the message of the restauration of the gospel with so many people. Everyone needs the opportunity to hear the gospel. Everyone. Not just the people that we want to or fell comfortable talking to. The message brings so many changes, blessings, and oppurtuniies in the lives of those who xcept it. Our father in heaven has promised us so many lessings is we follow his teachings and follow in his footsteps. As we do so we will be blessed here and in the eternities. We will find out what true happiness is and we will secure our spot in the mansions of our father. We all need to be example and to everyone we come intcontact with. We need to make missionary goals as familys and we need to share the gospel with our friends acquaintances and everyone in our path. It is our calling as members of his church. Ia ma not saying this. Prophets of god have counciled us and elder nelson said the sme thing to us in the ctm. We need to be member missionaries. Pray for help for opportunities and that you can have the strength and the courage to share the gospel. The most precious thing that we have in our lives. I love you all. I am serving for you or me for my father inheaven and I am so gratefull for the opportunity. There is no doubt in my mind of the truthfulness of the gospel and of joseph smith. I have a testimony of the many teachings of our brother jesus Christ. We need to read every day we need to pnder the scriptures in our hearts. As we do so we will strengthen our testimonies and become elect ones of our heavenly father. Read study ponder and pray. I love youall and I am so gratefull for your love and support. I am overwhelmed with the spirit when I fall to my knees in prayer tempting to thank my father in heaven for what he has blessed me with. You you and you. My FAMILY. I love you and have an awesome. Week. Make a goal. Read the b of m. everyday. even if it is a verse. It willbless you and your family and you will feel the spirit more abundantly .

I love you all
Elder Gatten