PICTURES!!!!

Elder Reeder, Elder Odle, and Elder Rodriguez

Finally, we got pictures. Britton is actually alive. It is so good to see his picture because it makes him real to us again. In his letter this week he said that the mission's goal is to get 1,000 new members. So far, they have about 100, so they are behind. His exciting story for the week was they were tracting at an apartment complex and they knocked on the door. A guy opened the door and told them to go away. The guy shut his door. The missionaries knocked on the door next to that one. The same guy opened his door and told them that there was no soliciting and that they were breaking the law. They tried to reason with the guy. He threatened to call the police. They turned and left and were going to go to another building when they noticed the guy was right behind them, all 6'5" 300 pounds of him in his pajamas. They decided to go ahead and leave the area. An hour later they came back to the same complex but a different building. Britton said it was "pretty stressful". He said, it just proves that the work can't be stopped.

Colton and Jackson both won their basketball game today. Jackson's game was pretty physical but they prevailed. My sisters, mother and niece's had the opportunity today to sing at a church meeting. The meeting was very good. The great great granddaughter of Joseph Smith spoke. It is so fun and nice to be able to share our testimonies with others through music.
SMALL REQUEST: I ask that you keep my sister-in-law Michelle in your prayers tomorrow as we fast and pray for her and my brother John. We love them and hope their lives will be full of comfort and blessings.

Updates on MountLake Terrace

Britton wrote us this week and said that his mission had a "CAR FAST'. They had to walk all day. He thought he and his companion walked at least 10 miles that day. They handed out pamphlets and talked to people. But no luck.

His companion is district leader so he gets to go on a lot of exchanges . In the exchanges Britton is made senior companion and is left in his new area that he has only been in for 6 days, so they get lost a lot but he said it is a lot of fun.

Every one calls him Elder Cole. He is considering ordering a name tag with that on it just so he doesn't make people feel bad when they realize his name is Odle.

I thought as a side note that I would show you the wonderful picture that my sister Laurel drew for Britton as a going away present. FYI she does these pictures for hire as personalized gifts.

Unexpected Changes

Britton got transferred. After 10 days in Bellingham. He had to go fill a spot in an emergency transfer. He was a little sad, but I am sure he will find out just why the Lord has sent him to Mountlake Terrace. Hopefully he will get adjusted very soon.

A Bit From Washington

Here is a little about Britton in Bellingham, he is in a college town that is fairly rural. He said the lowest temperature so far has been 40 in the middle of winter. He loves his companions, they know how to have fun. His zone covers from Bellingham up to the Canadian boarder. He is scheduled to have a baptism on Saturday. The girl has asked Britton to confirm her a member of the church.
His favorite missionary thing to do is tract. He loves not knowing what type of response they will get so he thinks it is fun.
For P day last week he went and played football at a public football stadium. It had turf so that was fun for him. This week he went to play dodge ball at the church with the rest of his zone.
He wrote Colton a letter and told him, "Don't tell mom this, but we had a car that tried to run us down! IT WAS AWESOME!" A little advice Britton gave to Colton was to memorize his scripture mastery scriptures, something he wishes he would have done before now.

FYI: My nephew Tyler-John's son, got his mission call today to Paris France, leaving June 3rd. It is really exciting since John served part of his mission in France. They will be able to have secret conversations together. CONGRATULATIONS TY.

Bellingham It Is!

Well Britton arrived safe and sound in Bellingham Washington. He is part of what they call a 3-pack. That means he has two companions. He is really excited but a little overwhelmed that he is not as prepared as he wants to be for the REAL WORLD OF MISSIONARIES. He lives in a member's home. He said it is very nice and beautiful. He said the area is gorgeous. He is a little concerned about the fact that they eat dinner at a members home every night and they have a car to get around in. He is thinking the suits won't fit for very long.

We were excited to get his letter. In fact, we should get another one tomorrow. He said he got his greenie package that we sent him, he said to tell Grandpa and Grandma thanks for the letters inside. I've sent him a Subway gift card for Valentines so that he can take his companions out to dinner sometime when they want to "EAT FRESH" and not gain too much. HEY LOOK WE ARE IN THE 600's NOW ON BRITTON'S TIME CLOCK! WOO HOO.

Jackson and Megan and I went to see Paul Blart Mall Cop tonight, it was a cute show and fun to relax with after a long long long hard stressful week at work. Megan and Jackson thought it was hilarious. I was the best mom and aunt tonight, I even threw in a dinner at McDonald's.

Hey we got a great new checking account at the bank that pays 4% interest on all your account balance up to $25,000. Call me if you are interested.