December 30, 2013

Mother,
I don't think any amount of time on Christmas would have felt like
enough time. The family who's house we were at also made monkey bread!
So far I haven't done a Christmas without it(I think). They were
trying to make us feel as "at home" as they could but that was an
unexpected treat.
I love the messenger bag! I am going to keep the smaller one. I wore
them around the house and tried to pack them with my stuff a little
and the smaller one seemed more practical right now. I have actually
been using it since Thursday or Friday and it is awesome. I took a
picture...after I washed it... only a few of the letters came off so
it looks fine in the picture. I think I might also have one from when
I opened it.
So funny story about Christmas. I opened the package from you guys and
saw a Toms box. I got kind of excited because, despite the fact that I
wouldn't ever wear them, I kind of wanted to just hold a pair of my
Toms. I quickly found out that you just used the box :) So, side note,
don't send me Toms even though I love them because I would either
never use them or I would somehow ruin them.

 Yesterday was incredible. We had a lesson with one of our
investigators that has been progressing but decided to argue with us
about the Bible again. I wish he would just listen. It's okay, we are
going to be praying and preparing a lot before his next appointment so
we can help him.
We had church earlier in the day and one of the talks given really
stuck out to me. It was given by a 25 year old man with 2 kids. He,
and his wife, moved into the ward about six months ago because, after
much prayer, they were told to come here. They have been struggling
but have stayed upbeat and happy the whole time. He talked about our
personal agency and obedience. One of the things that really stuck
with me as being true was,"The most important decision we can make is
to repent." I thought about how true that is! If we don't repent we
will never be happier or be able to be baptized or be able to change.
We will be stagnant if we don't ever repent(and let's be honest,
stagnant things start to smell bad!) He also touched on how important
the commandments are for us. It was overall, a good day.
Toward the end of the day, I called a member of the bishopric so I
could volunteer to speak in church. He was a little surprised. I have
yet to speak in church and I have been a missionary for almost a year
so I figured it was about time. He obliged because he didn't have
anyone lined up to speak on the 12th. I am excited but since I
volunteered I have to make sure it is put together well.
Much love,
Elder Engelman

December 9, 2013

I am actually doing pretty good with the cold. Layers do wonders! I realized that my problem with the cold at home was that it was too cold to just wear a sweatshirt outside but not cold enough to wear four layers inside. It really isn't that bad. We had snow stay on the ground for the first time on Sunday. It was quite pretty! I haven't seen that before but I am glad I get to see it for at least two more years. I've been dreaming of(and singing about) a white Christmas for years and I finally have a chance at seeing one. I was quite giddy when we walked out of the church building yesterday and there was snow on the ground. I probably looked pretty ridiculous but hey, that is what happens when you grown up by a beach.

 

The work has been awesome. Did I tell you where our Zone Conference is? Nazareth! There is also a Bethlehem not too far away. It is sometime next week and I am so excited to see all the missionaries that serve around here. In my ward things have been good. We just got a ward mission leader(we have been without one for about 5 weeks) and things are coming together. It is pretty awesome. We are working with people to quit smoking and come to church and they are making progress. They haven't quite made it yet but I know they will make it soon. I have seen in a very real way that Satan is real and that he works on us pretty hard. He tries hard to be in the details of our lives. He is a pretty cheap imitation for God's matchless power and love. I have seen that God loves each of us. I know he is real and wants all of His children to return to his fold. "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16

We have been in His presence before and I know that He desires to have us with Him again. It is amazing the power that comes from this gospel that Christ has given us.

Love Always,

Elder Joseph Engelman

December 2, 2013

These last two weeks have definitely been cold. I don't mind it that much. Because we are usually moving when we are outside it has little effect on us. It is, however, colder during the day than it has EVER been at home during the night. I had a mini snow fight on Saturday. We were driving on a random small road when we ran into a pack of snow. We didn't literally run into it...you know what I mean. We hopped out and I made a puny snowball to throw at Elder Farrer. It was fairly life-changing. 

On Thanksgiving we played football in the morning. When we started it was probably 27 degrees out so I was freezing but as we played for a bit I took my jacket off and was playing in a t-shirt. Oh, and yes there was some snow falling. It is so strange!

We went to three families' homes for Thanksgiving. It was pretty great. The weird thing is you start judging everyone's food a lot more. Nothing compares to Aunt Rita's turkey. I think I miss your food more than anything. I heard about deep frying a turkey. You should test it sometime! just don't burn the house down.

I have been doing pretty great.
I'm out of time! :(

I love you. Here are a few pictures.

-Elder Engelman

 LOOK !!  Joseph Finally got his Way.    LoL

 

November 18, 2013

My new companion is awesome. We get along super duper well. It is kind of strange how much we get along. We have a similar sense of humor which means we are laughing the majority of the day. When all the goldens introduced themselves and he said his name was Farr, I asked him asap if he was related to Kelliann. Unfortunately, he has no idea. It is spelled with an extra few letters so probably not very closely.

 I actually forgot Alex was in the Philippines until you mentioned that... I am very glad to hear that he is okay! We keep hearing all the stories of missionaries over there. Apparently, the Assistants to the President one of the missions did a rescue operation. They had to seek out all of the missionaries and get them to the airport.I feel like Alex will be doing cleanup for quite some time.

Angela is doing a lot better. We met with another member family and she really liked it. We reviewed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She really gets it. We helped her understand that baptism isn't just about joining the church, it's about receiving a remission of sin. We gave her a few dates to pray about and she was glad we gave her a few.

We are also have an investigator named George. He is a relative of a less active family here and he just gets the gospel. He is in the process of quitting smoking and drinking coffee. The family is awesome. They feed us all the time and we are probably going to give service at a soup kitchen with them on Thanksgiving. I am so excited. I've always wanted to give service at a soup kitchen and now I am in a place that actually has some.

Love you!

Elder Engelman

November 11, 2013

I am truly sorry but this is going to be a short email. We don't have much time this week because of scheduling rules now in place. We aren't allowed to be at the church for computer usage at the same time as another companionship. The Sisters in the other ward are going to be here soon so we have to leave.

Angela is doing okay. :( We taught about the Law of Chastity. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. She has told us a few times that she accepts it and would live all of the commandments if her boyfriend weren't there. So basically, we told her she should consider removing the obstacles the are keeping her from being happy and following the commandments. She seems to regress every weekend, as I have told you. I pointed that out to her and we noted the differences between the weekdays(when she reads the scriptures, meets with us, and doesn't see her boyfriend much) and the weekend(when she doesn't read or come to church and she hangs out with her boyfriend all day). She told us that she sees it too so hopefully she is going to do something to change that!

Love you,

Elder Joseph Engelman

November 4, 2013

I think I told you that Angela was scheduled to be baptized on the 10th but that isn't going to happen :( Unfortunately, she isn't quite ready and we haven't taught her everything. We still need to teach her about the Law of Chastity and I am praying that she will understand it. We didn't actually get to meet with her this week but we are meeting with her on Wednesday. Because of Halloween, we only had about three hours of proselyting time on Thursday and we were out of townuntil Wednesday night. Did I mention that I have a new companion? Elder Farrer(pronounced Farr) is super awesome. He is from Brigham City Utah and is 22 years old. Basically, he is going to be an amazing missionary as long as I don't mess him up too much ;)

He is a brand new missionary and I met him on Wednesday. Usually our transfer meeting(where we find out where we are going and who our companion is going to be) is on Tuesday. Because I am training a new missionary I didn't get to meet him until Wednesday. President Anderson has to interview each of them and decide whose companion they will be. On Tuesday, since Elder Meline got transfered, I got to stay with another missionary that is training. That missionary just happens to be in my first area, FRANKFORD!!! I got to go back and visit some members and other people. It was really strange being back but I loved it. Philly is pretty much the best place ever.

This last week, we had a bunch of crazy announcements that you probably wouldn't care about. However, one of them is pretty funny because it upset almost everyone. Everyone in the mission is supposed to send home their iPods. People were pretty annoyed for awhile until President explained the reason. Also, Elders and Sisters can't ride in the same car anymore. The age change definitely changed a lot of things. A lot of Sisters coming out are the same age as the new Elders and are pretty attractive. Not surprisingly, it has been an issue for some missionaries.

Melalueca is good for a bunch of stuff. I don't know everything. You would need to borrow the book from someone. I know that one of the things it helps with is acne. Don't have Catherine stop using proactive. Try doing both and it should help. It hasn't been totally cleared up for me but it seems like my skin is actually healthier.

Anyway...

Love,

Elder Engelman

October 28, 2013

Mom,

How are the wards configured now?!!! Whose ward are we in?  Who is the bishop? Is there any particular reason they changed it? That is really strange. Oh well, life will go on.

Angela has been doing a lot better. We got to teach her twice last week and I think it really helped. We taught her on Friday(purposefully right before the weekend) and she has been praying and reading the Book of Mormon. I think she is doing really well. She even accepted a date to be baptized! November 10th is what we are shooting for. Now we just have to get her to kick her boyfriend out...

News Update! I am getting a new companion. Elder Meline is leaving and I am going to be training another brand new missionary. I can't wait to meet this one. It will be interesting to see how different he is from Elder Meline. My companion has been pretty dang awesome and I am sad to see him go. I know the Lord has more in store for him so I can't wait to see where he goes. Oh, and since I don't meet my golden until Wednesday and the transfer meeting is on Tuesday, I have to stay with another Elder for one night. I am just lucky enough to get to stay in Frankford for that night. So I get to return to my roots. I hope I get to see some of the members and investigators that I knew.

Today and this last week we have been helping our ward mission leader pack :( He is moving to Utah for work. We are definitely going to miss him but I know his replacement will be just as awesome.

Love you. Have fun in the rain! Get some rain boots and go puddle jumping! It is really fun.

Love,

Elder Engelman

October 21, 2013

Mother,

I didn't get your ghost email. It's funny how fickle the internet is sometimes.

I have been thinking of the song Autumn Leaves by Ed Sheeran. It's just really pretty and,obviously, he sings about autumn leaves. The colors are beautiful. I expected it to all change at once but it is a slow process. Different trees shed their leaves at different rates.

Our primary program is next Sunday and I am so excited. The children are so adorable and I can't wait to see them just do silly stuff while they are singing. I love the song "A Child's Prayer"! I actually sang it at a zone conference last transfer with a sister missionary. It was a little weird because I did the first part(usually sung by a child). It was pretty awesome though. The sister missionary is a super good singer so it sounded good.

So far I don't really have signs of poison oak. Let's hope that will hold true.

Go ahead and wait on buying another shirt. I'm not in a rush.

Angela is not doing awesome. I'm getting a little stressed out because she seems to regress every weekend. I think living some of the commandments is going to be really hard for her at first. I'm sure you can guess which ones are usually hard for people. She is awesome and she definitely keeps feeling the spirit but once she goes home and encounters stress she kind of forgets about everything. It is really frustrating, especially when she sends us semi angry texts. Sorry, I guess I'm just venting because I see so much potential but she doesn't see it. She is afraid that it isn't going to be worth it and that she will lose her boyfriend(which she doesn't seem to really love) and that she won't be as happy. She did go to a members house for dinner last night. I am pretty happy about that and the member told us it went really well.

I love you! Have a great day.

Love,

Elder Joseph Engelman

October 16, 2013

This last week was pretty fun. We had P-Day today because of Columbus Day. On Saturday, as well as yesterday, we did a bunch of service for a member of our ward. We first went to rake her leaves because there were a ton of them and then we ended up going back to do the rest of her backyard. She can't do much so her yard has gone shambles and so we hacked through the bushes. We are pretty sure there was some poison oak in there so I used the special soap stuff I bought when I got home. I would really love it if I never had to deal with poison ivy ever again. We actually needed a machete but we forgot to ask one of our members for one. 

We had another lesson with Angela and we taught her the 10 Commandments. We showed her hand signals to remember them and it was awesome because it turns out that she knows sign language! The lesson went pretty well and she actually had some concerns with evolution(mentioned in Exodus 20 in commandment #4) and the members resolved it perfectly. It was pretty amazing.
Sorry, we are running out of time. Love you, Got to go.
Love,

Elder Engelman

October 7, 2013

Mother,

When does Catherine head off to college? It's not until November or December, right?

This is our district! No, I'm not standing next to my companion because he was working the cameras. The other two Elders are our Zone Leaders

They are pretty awesome.

General Conference was epic. The talks were really awesome and I learned so much.
Angela was able to come for part of a session and it was great. She said she loved it but she had a lot of questions so we answered some when we saw her this morning. It is going to be a long process because she isn't sure about her faith in God anymore. It seems like she goes through spurts of happiness and faith and then she will seem to regress over the weekend, when we don't see her :( I know it will get better, we just have to take it slow.

How is life at home? anything crazy happening?

Love,

Elder Engelman

September 9, 2013

Mother,

You got Layla and Pheobe? That is soo cool. It is great to know that Billy and Jacquie let you take them to church because they realize it is a good thing.  We are slowly gaining investigators. Right now, it is still a little slow but I think our ward is starting to catch the vision of missionary work. Their friends, family, and acquaintances need the happiness the gospel brings. On Sunday, one of the members of the congregation spoke on happiness. He is probably in his 70's and he is just about the happiest person I have met. He is quite positive and he talked about how positive thinking is what got him through cancer. One of the things this member talked about is how thinking actually has power. If we decide to be positive, we can actually be happier. I loved that because our Heavenly Father has given each of us agency. It is up to us to use it to either be happy or miserable.

I have heard from a few people. Right now I have three letters that I have written but I think I am out of stamps. Either that, or I have just lost them among my things. I need to buy some more so those people are going to be waiting a bit.

Sooo you may have heard about the change in dress standards for missionaries. We are supposed to start using shoulder bags to look more professional.

I love you. I will send some pictures soon :)

Love,

Joseph Engelman

September 30, 2013

Mom,

I am doing great. Did I tell you that I got to interview someone for baptism already? It was pretty awesome.

Yeah, so another shirt would be nice. I promise not to burn this one too...

Catherine is done with girl scouts? That is crazy! How will I get cookies?! I am sooo proud of her, waiting till the last minute! That's my girl.(wiping away tears)

Our investigator came to church on Sunday. She stayed all three hours and basically she is just awesome. We kind of forgot that she has never been to church growing up so EVERYTHING was foreign to her. Prayer was only normal because we had taught her about it.

So one of the sisters in my district is an opera singer. Pretty crazy, right. The sad thing is that she lost her voice right when she came out and she still can't sing. She has had blessings saying that she will get it back but I'm sure that is pretty depressing. I can't imagine what I would do if I couldn't sing. Another sister in my district(also serving in my ward) has celiacs disease. So she can't eat gluten. A few weeks ago(I know, I should have told you this a while ago) she was poisoned at a members house on monday night. The members thought everything was gluten free but it turns out it wasn't. So the sister missionary was pretty sick Tuesday night at our ward missionary coordination meeting. She asked us to give her a blessing. Usually she is sick for about two weeks and she can't think very well and she feels terrible. In the blessings the Lord healed her. It was pretty cool because that next day she was way better and she told us that usually the 2nd day is worse. The priesthood is real and it works!

Love you,

Elder Engelman

September 23, 2013

Mother,

So this last week came with a few changes. Our district was split into two districts because of how many missionaries got added to the surrounding areas. I was made district leader and didn't find out until Wednesday night, the day before District Meeting. So I had less than 24 hours to prepare to teach a district meeting(which last an hour and a half), but with a lot of help from the Lord it ended up pretty good.

Yesterday, I went to prison. Yes, you read that correctly. I went to prison to visit someone but it turns out we have to be on a special list. So we will go back again in a week or so.

Elder Meline and I have also been able to meet with Angela. She is the property manager at our apartment complex. It was an awesome lesson! The member that we brought with us helped us a ton. He testified of how God has helped him in life and it was very powerful. We are actually planning on teaching her again tomorrow night at a members house. She told us today that she is wanting to change and "be better". She also told us that she has been seeing people more as brothers and sisters after we talked to her last week. It is pretty cool to see her change little by little. Teaching people about Christ is awesome.

I am glad your calling is treating you well. It is strange when you don't have big calling after you are used to that. I agree, it is nice to be able to just focus on your piece of the puzzle. God made it that way for a reason. Often times we can learn the most from simple things.

Love,

Elder Engelman

September 16, 2013

Mother,

Yeah I don't think the whole broadcasting thing is going to work perfectly for awhile. I am glad it was uplifting! 

So we have had a few cool things happen recently. This last Friday, we had Elder Bowen come and talk to us. He spoke for General Conference a few years ago. A talk he gave has been turned into a Mormon Message. It is called Reclaimed.http://www.mormonchannel.org/come-follow-me-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ?v=1795507066001

He is pretty awesome and he taught us about who we are. We talked about the covenant we make at baptism, the Abrahamic covenant, the gathering of Israel, and the oath and covenant of the priesthood. It taught me a lot about those that have gone before me and how that relates to me. He was pretty cool.

The most recent things is something that happened today! This morning, when Elder Meline and I left to buy groceries, we were stopped by the property manager at our apartment. She is new there and she is only 22. We had invited her to an "Ice Cream Social" activity our ward was having on Friday. We gave her the address on a pass-along card and she said she would love to come. It turned out that she didn't but she has been really curious about religion recently so she has been thinking about the card all weekend. When she stopped us this morning we got to talk to her a little about what we believe and how she can know if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real and love her. It was pretty awesome because we could truly tell that she wanted to learn more.

Oh, and I have a little bit of a funny story. So I ripped one of my shirts the other day on a barbed wire fence. You know, running from a pitbull. Okay, not really but I did rip my shirt on a fence I was walking past. I bought some interfacing, ironed it on, and sewed up the rip perfectly. However, I noticed that the glue on the interfacing hadn't melted to the shirt so I started ironing it some more. Well, long story short, I put the heat on the iron up too high and I burnt the sleeve of my shirt. My companion was laughing at me because he said it was funny to watch me get angry because I don't actually do anything and it didn't even seem like I was mad except the fact that I kept saying, "I'm so mad that I burnt my shirt!" Soooo, I will forever remember to check what material the shirts I iron are made of.

Love,

Elder Engelman

August 26, 2013

Mother,

I am doing great. It has almost been seven months! It is pretty crazy to think about.

They can totally get baptized. I have wondered about that as well but President Schaefermeyer mentioned that Christ didn't excuse anyone from the need to be baptized. "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit." So yes, they still need to be baptized. It is kind of weird to teach them but we all need exaltation. In Frankford there was a recent convert that was bipolar. We didn't know until after but it was pretty weird. 

We do have an investigator family that we are teaching. There are two brothers and one of them is married so we are teaching his wife as well. They are all super awesome. We also just met a lady last night that is really cool. She is in her thirties I think and she told us we could definitely come back. We couldn't go in because we didn't have a male but I cannot wait to go back.

I cannot believe that brother Richardson was released! He is so awesome. I am sure David will find a love for the scriptures as well. 

How has nursery been?

I'm not really focusing right now so I'll just talk to you later.

Love,

Elder Engelman

August 19, 2013

Mother,

This week has been pretty fun. I did get a new companion and I think I told you about him already. He is still learning but aren't we all? I am having so much fun! My Zone leaders are both from other countries. One, Elder Taylor, is from Canada and is almost done with his mission. The other one, Elder Tahn, is from Malaysia. Elder Tahn just became my Zone leader and before him both of the Zone leaders were Elder Taylor. Pretty crazy, huh?

My health is doing pretty good. Don't worry, I am doing great. Did I tell you that I have totally gained weight? 20 pounds and I have realized that I have a bit of a gut now so I am going to start working out harder. My companion is a work out freak. Not in a bad way, he just loves working out. He is pretty ripped and he always talks about how he wants to be bigger.

I am glad to hear to got to drive down memory lane. Hey, you went to Mesa High, right? I thought you did but I'm not sure. Anyway, a missionary from here is from Mesa. He was actually my first Zone Leader and we figured out you would have been there at the same time as his parents. There last name is Dana. Just curious is you knew them.

I am pretty surprised you didn't stop to take pictures. speaking of pictures, did you get the ones I sent last week?

So we have been visiting a member that is in a behavioral Health Facility and it is on the third floor of a hospital. When we went to visit him it was lunch time so we couldn't. We had to go in the back entrance and we realized it was because everyone was gone for lunch. Well, when we tried to go back the way we came in the door was locked. So we got trapped in a seemingly abandoned hospital. We went all the way up the the top floor looking for someone because there wasn't anyone on any other floor. It was quite eerie. When we finally found someone she was just sitting alone on her phone. It was pretty embarrassing when we had to ask for help to get out of the abandoned hospital.

We don't have any investigators that are progressing right now but that is okay. We just need to learn to rely on the Lord.

Yesterday was a cool at church because there were three youth speakers and they talked for the majority of the time. They all spoke on different things that related a lot. My favorite point one of them made is that we can't always alter our situation but we can always alter ourselves. This is definitely something I have realized myself.

Well, I love you, I'll talk to you later.

Yours Truly,

Elder Engelman

August 12, 2013

Mother,

Sooooo some crazy stuff has happened. Okay, not really crazy. Just sort of surprising. It turns out I am training a new missionary. I found out on Monday night last week and it was a total surprise to me. On Wednesday I got to go out in Philadelphia for a few hours with the new missionaries and contact people. I took two new Goldens and we tried to contact some people. One of the guys we talked to ended up being a person that had talked with the missionaries before. He had just been thinking of when he met them and then we said hello to him. It is crazy how God puts people in our path. I met my Golden later that night. My new companion is from Pleasant Grove, Utah. His name is Elder Meline and he has pretty much come pre-trained. Elder Meline is a super good teacher already and he isn't afraid of talking to people. I am excited to see him grow.

Love you :)

-Elder Engelman

August 5, 2013

Mother,  

You took the lessons three times? Wow you weren't giving in without a fight :)

Our investigators have come to church but this week they did not. I know we will get them there consistantly. The problem is that their mother isn't usually home so we can't really get parent involvement :(

One of the missionaries is going home tomorrow and he is from Peoria, AZ. Super cool guy. We had a mini party at the soccer game on Saturday and the Spanish Elders had an investigator there.

We have been doing service of some kind almost every week. It is pretty fun because I never got to do that in my last area. We even got to move someone yesterday because they had an emergency move. It was cool because we got to actually work with almost the entire Elders quorum as we played Tetris, trying to fit everything in the van.

One problem we seem to be having here is this ward is a lack of family-ness. Growing up, our ward was always pretty close, I knew everyone and talked to most of the people. Here, that isn't quite the case. All the members are SUPER nice but it just isn't as close-knit. A member got up yesterday and talked about how she feels alone sometimes. It is exactly what the ward needed to hear but it couldn't come from the missionaries. God prompted her to share her thoughts because it will make an impact. Moral of the story is follow the promptings you receive.

Another cool thing I have just noticed is the tendency the gospel has to make people happy. A less-active members son, we will call him John, just started coming to church. His mother has health issues that keeps her from coming but he decided he wants to come. When John was first coming to church he was quiet and it was a struggle to get him to tell you how he was feeling. Now, he smiles and makes comments in class. He is reading talks in his free time. It is pretty amazing what the simple gospel of Jesus Christ can do.

My companion is getting transferred. It has been really short but I am excited to get a new companion. I'll keep you updated and I'll send you pictures soon.

Elder Engelman

July, 29, 2013

Mother,

This week has been pretty good. I don't have much time to talk but I will give you the lo-down
We have a new investigator but I'm not sure  how committed she is. This summer was better than I thought it was going to be. I was seriously afraid it was going to be blazing hot but it has been totally bearable.
I'm probably going to sing in church in a few weeks. Just for fun, ya know.

I've been cutting some missionaries hair and luckily, I haven't messed up like I did on David.
I gots to go.

Love you,

Elder Engelman

p.s. sorry it is sooooo short but we have a zone activity that we are heading to.

July 16, 2013

Mom,

I had the fortunate experience to lose my voice this week!! I was annoyed but there wasn't much I could do. So I whispered a lot. It was awesome.

We got three new investigators this week with baptismal dates! They are really cool. The ages are 13, 11, and 9. They have been reading the Book of Mormon and two of them came to church yesterday. The oldest one had to work. Yes, they ALL work. They are all super mature for their age and pretty independent. I can't wait to continue teaching them.

We have been focusing a little bit on less actives because there are a lot of them in our ward.We have just been stopping by a few people every day to know if they have moved or whats up. Five of the people we have recently talked to came to church yesterday. I didn't even realize that until now.  It was pretty cool to see them walk in.

We played soccer again yesterday and I was super grateful for those socks! They worked really well. One of the spanish elders is super good at playing keeper. He only let three goals past and had a ton of shots on him. He isn't even super athletic. He definitely found his niche.One of the recent converts kids was playing with us and he is crazy!. He is only 7, I think, and he just kept slide tackling everyone. Before that he was playing keeper and he blocked a ton of shots!

Anyway, how is life back home? I hope it is going well. Did you get the scripture I sent to you?

Love,

Elder Joseph Engelman

July 9, 2013

My week has been super duper awesome. On Saturday we had interviews with our new mission president. He is so nice. He wanted to know all about me and my life so I started with my family and that is pretty much all I talked about. What really surprised me is how much love I felt from him. I don't hardly know him and I felt just about the closest thing to pure love coming from him. He doesn't even know me but what I told him and he just showed genuine care. It is really amazing how God puts the right people in the right place to teach us things. I know I have a lot to learn from him.

We haven't had a lot of success in teaching a lot of lessons recently but I know we are going to have more opportunities soon. Tonight, we are teaching a cool lesson to an active family in our ward. It involves fire so you know I am going to love it. 

Did I tell you that we got sister missionaries in our ward? Right when I got here we split the area with sister missionaries. They are both super cool. One of them is brand new and the first day they got here they didn't have any furniture or utensils whatsoever. They got beds that night but the ward is supposed to provide them with furniture and cooking stuff and basically everything. It is crazy because in about two weeks they now have a fully furnished apartment and all the furniture somehow matches. It is crazy how that happened. It really makes me think of how the scriptures talk about going out to preach the gospel without purse or script just as the apostles did in the New Testament. They came here with nothing and the members provided.

Okay, so there was a cool announcement a few weeks ago about the church going more towards the internet and elctronics. Our mission was ahead of the game because they were testing its effectiveness here.

Well Mom, I love you.

July 1, 2013

 I am now in the Reading area. We are serving in the Reading 2nd ward. It is a really cool place with nice people. I am slowly learning spanish because of all the Puerto Rican, and Dominican people living here. There are actually two sets of Spanish elders that live right next to/above us. They are also really cool. My new companion is Elder Smith. He is from Farmington Utah and we get along super well. We have a car in this area but we don't have a ton of miles so we walk a fair amount. I am now in an apartment complex thing so you can send me packages. 

We get to play soccer every week so I am going to be slowly improving my soccer skills. The Spanish elders organize a weekly soccer game to fellowship investigators. I have been to one so far but it was really fun. I must have somehow absorbed some of David's soccer skills because, much to my surprise, I was tearing it up on the field.

We got a new mission president on Saturday. His name is President Anderson. He Is from Utah and is really cool. He used to be a business guy and his wife is super nice. She cries a lot.

555 Pearl St. Apt 103

That is my address. You can send packages there and they won't be stolen.

One of the cool things about this part of Pennsylvania is fireflies. I never knew they really existed. Fireflies light up as they fly upwards. It is really cool because you can look over a field and watch them drift up. It almost looks like tiny stars. Super sweet!

I can't see the picture :( 

Love,

Elder Engelman

June 17, 2013

June, 24, 2013

This Sunday was my last week in the Frankford Branch. I am getting transferred! I sang in church yesterday and it didn't quite go as planned. I was planning on singing the song I Heard Him Come but the lady that plays piano for our branch had a bad migraine and so I had to figure something out last minute because she wasn't coming. Luckily, the organ we have is computerized so I sang Hymn #62 All Creatures of Our God and King. It was good. We also had the Temple President from the D.C. temple and his wife speak. They were awesome! His wife talked about how they have a special needs daughter that is 40 years old that started working in the temple after she received her endowment. It was really inspiring. I am sure going to miss the people here but I know I am needed somewhere else. Or, the more likely reason, I have something to learn in a different area, from different people. I love Philly!

This is Daryl. He is a preacher that preaches on the street a lot. He seemed to want to just argue with us at first but he is really nice to us. He seems to feel like he is a father figure of sorts. He is pretty cool. By the way, I cut my hair pretty short.

June 17, 2013

So last week we had Zone Conference and it was off the chain! Our mission president is going home so we sang him a song. Do you remember when I sang a song written by one of the other missionaries a few months ago? Well, he wrote another song and this one was just for President and Sister Schaefermeyer. It was pretty awesome. One of the Elders played guitar and we had some beatboxing on the chorus. We did it in the gym so it wasn't too irreverent. The mission president's wife was crying the whole time. It was really pretty cool because our whole zone, about 36 missionaries, were all singing. There were a few solos and the spanish missionaries sang their line in spanish. It was seriously awesome.
We have one person right now with a baptismal date. He is ten years old and his family are members. He didn't get baptized for some reason but we are teaching him now. We have taught him twice and the first time we went over the Restoration. He actually told us all about Joseph Smith's experience and the Book of Mormon. It was pretty cool. This family has about 7 children and they are awesome. The youngest one is approx. eighteen months old and she is super quiet. However, Elder Riehle and I have recently got her to talk and play with us a little. She mainly will just bring us random objects but I also got a few high-fives so I am pretty proud of myself.
This last two weeks we have had a lot of appointments on our schedule. A lot of them fell through but that is irrelevant. Elder Riehle and I both felt like we needed to spend some time finding more people. On this last Friday we went on an exchange. Elder Lovaas, a missionary that came out with me, came into my area for the day. We had planned about 4 hours of tracting. Most missionaries don't like tracting very much and neither Elder Lovaas nor I have done much of it. We needed to find people so we did it anyway. Knocking on random peoples' doors is a little intimidating but when it comes down to it, I know this will make them happier so that thought makes it a little easier.
Elder Lovaas and I tracted into a few really cool people. One such human being(I know, shocking) is a nineteen year old kid. He is Christian and loves God a lot. He likes to read so when we told him about the Book of Mormon he was excited. We brought one by on Saturday and he was pretty happy. We are going to meet with him this week so I will let you know how that goes. His name is Bernard and he is super nice. I can't wait to teach him because he is really down to earth.
 One last thing I wanted to share with you. I have been trying to really improve my teaching skills. My mission president told me in an email to ask inspired questions, teach simply, and testify more often. I tried to do just that and it worked! Elder Riehle and I were teaching one of our investigators and he seems to have a problem with coming to church. He doesn't give us a reason but he just says no. This time I asked a few simple questions. I asked him if he would pray about it and he said yes. I then proceeded to testify to him that I knew what blessings come from church and that he can have some of his questions answered. It was pretty cool because when we left that lesson he had more understanding than I have ever seen him have. I have taught this investigator six or seven times with Elder Olaveson. The lesson is learn to be simple and the Spirit will have a lot more room to teach.
Love,
Elder Joseph Engelman

Mormon Helping Hands Day - Elder Engelman got into some poison oak

June 11, 2013

On Sunday, we got to hear a talk from Elder Rasband, the president of the Quorum of the Seventy. He didn't actually prepare a talk but he did a question and answer session. He wanted to know "what [kept us] up at night?" He answered about three questions and one of them was "why do bad things happen to good people?" He first told us that we would need a few hours for him to explain but he answered it anyway. He told us some pretty cool stories but it came down to the fact that people have been given agency. If he were to stop people from exercising that agency, despite the evil intent, he would frustrate and ruin the Plan of Salvation. He also told us to look up his talk from General Conference in 2012 called "Special Experiences".

June 2, 2013

It has been pretty warm lately and the Humidity is pretty fine. I have been fine but I think short sleeve shirts will be more comfortable.

The work has been awesome. Elder Riehle has learned that I am a procrastinator but I am getting better. I haven't been falling asleep as much so he doesn't even know how easily I can sleep. We have been doing great. The investigators we have are few right now. Christina and her sons have a baptismal date but it is going to be pushed back because we haven't been able to teach them. We have a new investigator that we met on Wednesday but we haven't had the chance to meet with him yet. His name is Damien and he is in his 40s. He has battled leukymia three times! He stopped and talked to us and asked us to help him get his faith back. All four of the missionaries in this branch were teaching together when we talked to him. It was cool but really hard. He said he felt a lot better after talking to us and when we asked when we could come teach him some more he said he was just about to ask the same thing. It was pretty much awesome.
I have just started reading conference addresses from past years. In the scriptures it talks about how anything that is said by the spirit is scripture. Conference talks are scripture so I have decided I want to read all of them. I'm not sure how many I am going to be able to read on my mission but I want to try.

May 13, 2013

I have a little time to write you so don't worry. I dropped off Elder Olaveson at the mission home today and I don't think I will see him again. Tomorrow I get a new companion so as of right now, I am with another missionary whose companion went home. I am in New Jersey for the day and tomorrow I will receive a new companion. I can't wait to see who he is. I know we are going to get a long great because honestly, who can look at this face and be angry. I just hope he doesn't cry when he gets emotional or when he teaches. I think we both know how much I don't like tears.
Okay so I don't know if I told you about Bob but he is the neighbor to the set of Elders that live really close to us. He usually takes us shopping on P-Day and it is often that he feeds us dinner on Monday nights. He is 80 and had a stroke about 6 years ago. He still drives, talks very well, and is super witty. He always has a quick response to tease us. He is pretty much awesome. Yesterday he gave me a safety razor! I have wanted one because I know how close they shave, not that I have much facial hair. It is pretty cool and I am excited to use it. Hopefully I don't cut my face open. I think I'll be fine but I don't want to hurt my money maker. Well, have a good week :)
I am so sure this is where I am meant to be! It is weird how well I fit this place. I love the people and there are some pretty cool missionaries.

May 5, 2013

I have the same companion for now. He will be going home on the 18th but I'll get a new companion on the 13th or 14th. I hope I stay in this area for awhile because I love it! Elder Olaveson and I fasted to be able to find less active members that we could talk to or help out. This week we totally saw those prayers get answered! On Saturday we got to talk to 2 less-active members and we were able to teach one of them. It was pretty cool because I wasn't even thinking about the fact that we had fasted for it. Elder Olaveson reminded me later that night. The Lord hears our prayers and if we are listening and watching for them, we can receive answers.
Love,

Elder Engelman

April 29, 203

So the coolest thing about this last week was Mormon Helping Hands. It was pretty spectacular. Not only did we get to put on regular clothes, but we also got to do manual labor. It was so much fun. I ended up working on clearing off a sidewalk. It sounds lame but it was definitely really tough. we were working for about 3 hours and there were probably 50 people working where I was. This stretch of sidewalk was approximately a yard and a half wide and probably 200 yards long. There was trees that had grown over it and nobody had touched it for, it seemed like, years. The dirt and roots were about 6 inches deep over the entire thing so we had to cut the roots and basically roll it off the sidewalk. The hard part was that a lot of the roots had grown into the crack of the sidewalk of were just so thick that they were almost impervious to any cutting tool we had. The only chainsaw there died after about an hour. It was tough work because there was about a foot of leaves on top that wwe had to clear off first. It was incredibly fun. We got to get dirty and get all cut up. I was sooooo sore the next day! My back and legs hurt but it is a good hurt. One of our investigator came and she had a good time. It was pretty much just awesome. I forgot to mention that I was standing in a lot of poison ivy. Pretty cool, huh?

We had to rush to an appointment afterward so we got to take three minute showers and the shower was just covered in dirt. It turned out the person wasn't home so we ate because we were both dying. We didn't end up having any lessons that night but it was still a great day.

Yesterday ws fast Sunday and I was dying. It felt like my stomach was eating itself but we had a super cool experience, Elder O and I were fasting to be able to find some less active members to teach and then one came to church today. He is 19 and he decided top come today. The best part is that he went up and bore his testimoony. Miracles happen all the time and God truly answers our prayers.

We-we-we-we-well Th-That's All Folks.

Love,

Elder Engelman

April 22, 2013

Did I tell you that I missed the first session of General Conference? We were having a lesson and we watched part of it with them but we ended up missing the whole thing by the time we got back to the church. The priesthood session was killer!
Gertrude, our Haitian investigator moved still within the branch boundaries but out of my area. She now has a different set of Elders that are awesome but I am going to miss her(and her cooking). On Saturday we had Congolie food. It was interesting. I kind of liked it. Do you recall how I always have a stupid habit of heating really hot stuff despite the warnings I get from people? Well I have yet to break that habit. They had some really hot peppers and so I ate a spoonful. It didn't burn at all for almost a minute. The spice pretty much hit me all at once. The best part is that when Jo Jo(the 15 year old boy from Congo) ate some he was crying. It was pretty entertaining.
This month, our zone's focus is to rid our selves of pride. We read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson called Beware of Pride(I think that's the title) and it basically punched me in the face. It tells us how people often think pride is a sin committed only by the wealthy but it consists of a lot more. Pride is what keeps people from opening their mouth about the gospel because they are afraid of what others will think. He said that a proud man cares more about what man thinks than what God thinks. It is some pretty heavy stuff.
I have been having a lot of fun. I have realized that hard work can be synonymous with fun. I have always had fun no matter what but this last week has been a blast and every day was productive. It was pretty cool.
 Yours Truly,
Elder Joseph Richard Engelman

April 15, 2013

A lot of members here are from Congo. Kind of unexpected right? The branch president is from Congo and when we shake hands we always do this cool snap thing. It's pretty much impossible to explain.
Proselyting is going well. We talk to a lot of people on the street because unlike at home, there are a TON of people walking around. The main mode of transportation is SEPTA(buses and trains) and walking. We have been having poor numbers lately(i.e. lessons, member present lessons, recent convert/less active lesssons) so yesterday we set a goal to have 10 lessons. What was cool is that we ended up having way less time than usual and we met our goal. In a few hours we managed to have 10 lessons with people on the street. It is just awesome to see that when we set righteous goals the Lord will help us attain them.
Sorry, this is going to be a REALLY short email today :(
Just remember that the best way to be a missionary is to be a good example. Preach My Gospel tells us that it doesn't matter as much what you say but who you are. That is why there is a section teaching us how to have more Christlike attributes.
Much Love,
Elder Joseph RIchard Engelman

April 8, 2013

We have barely been able to meet with Carlos and Samantha and we haven't been able to meet with Wanda again. It is a little disheartening but we always get to teach a few lessons to people on the street so we are slways smiling. Carlos and Samantha are moving soon and we haven't been able to teach them enough to baptize them. Hopefully the missionaries wherever they are moving to are as good as Elder Olaveson. It's going to be really cool when their daughter grows up with a foundation in Christ.
Conference was off the chain! During the first session on Saturday we had a lesson so we didn't get to see very much of it. We were teaching a family and we ended up watching the first 30 minutes of conference with them. They seemed to enjoy it. I'm sure it was a bit harder to focus with Phoebe.
The really tall missionary is Elder Olaveson. And yes, that is him on the toilet. Just ignore that one. I'm glad you finally got all of those. I did get the chance to make the birthday dinner and it was pretty dang good. Elder O was pretty much flabbergasted.
Oh yeah, he messed up his ankle really badly! Luckily, I had an ankle wrap, ice, and Aleve(all thanks to you, Mother).
Unless Dad wrote me about Tanner, nobody did. I am sooo excited for him. You need to get me his address too!
Love,
Elder Joseph Engelman

Easter Sunday

 I wish I could hear Sister Mascio and the choir sing. This ward has a lot of people that love to sing just don't hear very well. It is really making me a lot more resilient. By that, I mean that I am getting a lot more used to harsh noises.

 Easter was pretty much awesome. We went to church and during the third hour we watched a few of the Bible Videos the church has produced. We saw clips about the Atonement and Christ's resurrection. It was really cool because after we watched them the branch leader asked for a volunteer to summarize what we just watched. An old man was already standing and so he started summarizing it. He did a really wonderful job becuase he stated everything so simply that you could see the pure beauty of the Atonement. It was really amazing.

 After church was over we headed to a few members' and investigators' homes. We brought them cookies! It ended up raining on the suits we had just picked up from the dry cleaners the day before but whatever. We didn't end up having a lesson with anyone like we had planned but we definitely built some trust and love with some of our members and investigators.

 We didn't end up getting to meet with Wanda yesterday like we had planned because she was sick. We are going to meet with Carlos and Sam this week hopefully. Unfortunately we haven't been able to stay in contact with the twins :(

 Why is Pheobe so adorable?!

March 25, 2013

This is crazy that Easter is already here! I am going to miss dying eggs but I think I can handle not having to clean up the spilled dye. Easter is so awesome! We get to watch General Conference with the branch and I am so excited. Although I won't have monkey bread or be able to wear sweats and a t-shirt, I know that I am going to love this General Conference. This branch is pretty close knit and although there are loud personalities, everyone gets along. I love that I already know most of the branch pretty personally.

 Yesterday we got to teach a lady named Wanda. She had both of her parents die by the time she was 26 and she was diagnosed HIV positive by the time she was 40 and she is in her 50s. She told us that right now she is starting to relate to the story of Job because of all the things going on in her life. As a result of all the tragedies, Wanda is really humble. We went over there with a member and started teaching her a little bit. We had brought a member that ended up helping a lot. He had similar experiences to what she was going through right now and she was very thankful for us coming over. We asked her to come to church and she was excited and immediately asked where it was and what time. She wants to come closer to Jesus Christ so we talked about the Book of Mormon and asked her to read the 31st chapter of 2nd Nephi. It talks about the way to come closer to our Savior and she seemed very excited. When we contacted her on the street I didn't think anything would come of it but it turns out I was wrong.

 We got to meet with Carlos and Samantha again!!! Carlos came to the scripture study class we held on Wednesday night. He was trying to remember everything for Samantha so we just wrote down all the scriptures for him. We got to meet with them on Friday and they aren't moving till the end of April. I am so glad because that means we can continue to teach them. Their little girl is adorable!

Well, toodle ooo. I love you! This time is just flying by!

Love,

Elder Joseph Richard Engelman

March 17th

We are on out way to play basketball and I'm sure you know how much missionaries treasure that time. This week has been a little tough when it comes to appointments. Almost all of them fell through. We had about 2 per day scheduled and we were lucky to have one. Nevertheless we met our weekly goal of 25 lessons. Actually, we exceeded it. We have been talking to more people and although it can be awkward sometimes it can also be fun. There are quite a few, for lack of a better word, crazy people out here. They aren't super insane, but nutty. We discovered that I was right. Carlos and Samantha are moving really soon. Because of a series of (seemingly)unfortunate events we ran into Carlos. He said they have just been busy packing and he has felt like he has been missing something. They haven't been reading as much this last week because they don't understand all of it. We are going to help them move sometime soon. Unfortunately they are moving to Florida so we aren't going to be able to continue teaching them.
We ended up running into a family tracting that let us come in. The father came downstairs and let us share a couple of scriptures. He started crying and saying "God is great". His name is Miguel and he welcomed us back any time. I don't remember his wife's name because it was weird. They are from Puerto Rico so it was hard to say. They ended up sending us away with some granola bars, fruit, and soda. I love them! It was interesting because as we were leaving he told us that he doesn't normally come talk to people like us but he felt like he needed to.

March 4th, 2013

Mother,
I wish I could have helped Billy do some demolition. I can't wait to see the house when I get back, not to mention my two nieces. David says he's getting a speedo tan so I just can't wait to get pictures of that :P Oh, and I think I can remember the 12th of March. I like the name Wyatt.
So we mainly walk here. Also we take the public transportation called SEPTA which includes buses, subways, and trains. I hasn't been raining very much but it is humid here so I'm glad I have gloves, scarves, and a beanie. If I didn't I would often find myself with numb ears, lips, and fingers. Just a few things you should know about Philly: there are no mothers, fathers, white people, or water. There are baby fathers, baby mamas, and wooder(yes, that's how they say it here), almost everyone smokes, and this is probably the Muslim capital of the USA. Oh, and every person is a young bull or an old bull(instead of guy).
We have had a lot of plans fall through this week. It is a little disheartening but we end up contacting someone on the street that is a little interested or we at least have the opportunity to bear our testimony about the truth of what we share. It is cool because when you tell someone, "I KNOW that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that his church has been restored on the earth, that he calls prophets today, that the Book of Mormon can help you build a relationship with Him, and that the authority to organize his church and perform miracles has been restored to the earth. And I know this because I have prayed and felt the Holy Spirit give me an answer" it is pretty powerful. When you tell someone you know something and it is the truth, it is pretty powerful.
We got to meet with Carlos and Samantha briefly this week and we taught them how to study the scriptures rather than read them. We went through 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and read it slowly. We talked about each verse and they were able to better understand and draw more out of the scriptures that way. We challenged them to read every day together and they were really excited to do so. When we texted them yesterday Samantha said she keeps reading chapters over and over again to better understand them. I can't wait to see them on Thursday and teach them the Plan of Salvation. They are so amazing because they are doing all of this not only for them but mainly for Carli.
The Frankford Branch is pretty small and not everyone is active but I seriously love it here. It is nice to see people that aren't striving to be perfectly mannered but know how to talk to people, laugh, and feel the Spirit of the Lord. During the Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, a reoccurring theme was that we need to follow our heart because we won't ever be led wrong. It is so true because the Spirit speaks to our heart.
So a few days ago we talked to this guy on the street. It was going good and he seemed slightly/not really interested. We had been asking him some questions and he said that he wasn't 100% sure there is a god. That is when the Elder O(who will henceforth be referred to as baby daddy) made the unfortunate error of asking him," If Jesus Christ were standing here and you could ask him one question, what would it be?" His response,"Is smoking weed a bad thing? Cuz, I mean, it's a natural plant." He then walked away. We were laughing for the next two days about it.
At our Zone Training I ended up singing Come Thou Fount with another elder as the special musical number. It was pretty fun. Baby daddy was like,"I'm proud of you son." Because of that, I am now singing at the Zone Conference with multiple zones tomorrow. My Zone Leader is good and he told me to get warmed up because we are singing together. I'm actually kind of excited.
Thanks for the letter!
Love,
Elder Engelman
p.s. I'm going to try to send you pictures this way, tell me if it works.

March 11, 2013

Elder Olaveson jumped on me early this morning. Don't worry, I'm having a great birthday Yesterday, I totally forgot that it was going to be my birthday.
We haven't been able to meet with Carlos and Samantha since my last email and they didn't come to church. They are planning on moving to Florida soon because her grandmother is sick. Samantha said they might be moving sooner and I think that's why we haven't been able to meet with them. She said they have been reading everyday and she wants to meet because she doesn't understand everything all the time.
We have had the chance to also meet with a lady named Gertrude. She's 30 but I swear she looks like she is only 22ish. She is from Haiti and she speaks three languages(Creole, French, and English). The first time we met with her we didn't get to teach much because her kids are crazy but she came to church yesterday. I was kind of afraid that she wasn't liking it because she had a really straight face most of the time but after church she was saying that she wants to bring her friend next week. We are pretty excited!
Yesterday, in sacrament meeting, the relief society presidency gave talks on the relief society. Two of them were pretty good and the other one was just downright boring. The lady gave a talk about the HISTORY of relief society. Don't get me wrong, I like history but not in church. Elder O pointed out later that the other talks were good because they connected them to Christ. Every time we talk in church or about any subject relating to the gospel we should talk about how it connects to Christ. People often talk about family history work but without connecting it to Jesus Christ and His gospel family history work is just researching a bunch of old peoples names. Christ needs to be the central focus of every talk or lesson.
Sis Matthews is the best. She probably didn't think so but she was awesome when she was my teacher. We really do need to allow time for the Spirit. We met a lady yesterday named Luz(pronounced as loose). She was slightly handicapped and told us how she had been beaten. It looked like her face had never healed right and she walked with a cane but she was telling us how excited she is to know that one day she can live with Christ and have a beautiful body again. She was pretty cool and extremely sweet.
On Saturday, a preacher started talking to us on the street. He told us that he never messes up or yields to temptations. I was taken back by this a little bit because that would mean he is perfect. Weird.
Your Missionary
Elder Engelman

1st Week

Mother,
I am doing great! My companion, Elder Olaveson, is from Idaho and is a blast. He talks to almost everyone and I am starting to pick it up. It's something I never thought I would be afraid of but it's pretty intimidating. We have contacted a few people on the streets that we are meeting with and I am sooo excited!
We had a baptism on Sunday! Ramphis is from Jamaica and he is a cook. I only taught him one lesson but he really gets it. I could tell that the elders teaching him before were awesome. We talked about faith, coincidentally, and he has a great understanding of it. He definitely has a lot of faith. After he got dunked he told Elder O that he felt really good. It is pretty awesome that I got to see this right off the bat.
We met with Carlos and Samantha, a young couple in their 20's, and had a great lesson on the Restoration. They were both just staring at their little girl who is a few months old. They were really receptive and they kept saying they want to set an example for their little girl. It was amazing to see how much they love her. At the end I invited them to be baptized and they said yes. It was pretty cool because they seemed pretty excited. They came to church the next day all dressed up and it turns out Carlos already knows one of the members of the branch so they have a friend.
One person we met on the street is named Pedro. We started teaching him on Friday and it turned out that his twin brother was just up the street. We got the opportunity to teach both of them and they loved it. They agreed to be baptized and I'm super excited.
Saturday night we rapped with some guys on the street. I schooled them...

We don't actually share the apartment with anyone!
Anyway, I love you and I'll talk to you next week.
Your missionary,
Elder Engelman

Arrival to the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission

This week Sister Schaefermeyer and I have had the thrill of welcoming your son to the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission.  He has arrived safely and we have enjoyed becoming acquainted with him.  Yesterday, Elder Joseph Richard Engelman was assigned his first companion and trainer, Elder Alexander R. Olaveson

Onward to Philadelphia

It has been great! I have learned way more than I thought was possible. One of my companions found this scripture that says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." He related it to Christ and how much he treasures us. Pretty awesome, right? His name is Elder Lenzinger and he's from Sacramento. Awesome guy. He has the best one-liners I've ever heard. SUPER FUNNY. My other campanion is from Utah and is incredibly nice. He snowboards and skis. Oh, and he is super buff and plays lacrosse. I got make the D.L.

Mission Training Center

February 12th, 2013

The MTC has been hard but really rewarding. I have been made a District Leader and it is really hard. I have seriously learned way too much. Every day I go to bed with my mind destroyed with the knowledge my teachers have given me. It is crazy because I like it.

February 12, 2012