The Times They are a Changin'

Mother,

Are you Aiken yup yup yup, for some bacon yup yup yup, he's a big pig yup yup, you could be a big pig too OY!

I am in Aiken, South Carolina! We're part of the Augusta Zone, though. Who is my companion you ask? 

Drum roll please ....................................................None other than........... Elder Kerr! From the MTC! Remember him? Yeah we're companions! How cool is that?! We're having a great time! We're both in the IMOS (missionary system thingy) as "senior companion." We are like Zone Leaders in that we both are liable for the area, and we just swap who drives whenever we feel like it. It's way fun! 

We live in Aiken with Elder North and Elder Harper (Elder Harper is our district leader), 2 of the other 4 Elders in our district. The other Elders are:
Elder Taetakua (Elder T for short) and Elder Wilcock (my dear old Zone Leader from Greenville Zone). This is the best place ever! I love it here! The ward is GREAT and everything about it is awesome! There are a billion people in the ward and the area from out west who came to work on the SRS (Savannah River Site), a big government nuclear plant. When someone asks where I'm from I have to give 'em my whole address instead of just "Orem, Utah" since basically 1/4 of the ward is from Utah. Haha. It's fun.

We're teachin’ this kid named Z. A., who is 12 or 13, every week in Deacon's Quorum. His dad is not a member, but is supportive. They live with his dad's girlfriend and her kids. They're all members. She is not very active, but her son B is. He is a priest and he is awesome! Really great in helpin’ Z accept the gospel :D  I'm really excited for Z, and yesterday when we taught him the Plan of Happiness he really lit up. He is sooooo getting baptized this month!

Yesterday was the super bowl, obviously. As we knocked that night most people answered and said "We're busy." So I would respond "What's the score?!" We got updates all the way 'till 9, but I don't know how it ended... We're going over to a home tonight, the Kelly family, and they promised to let us know how it went. 

So we had been strugglin’ with studyin’ and planning when we were all in the same room, so our Zone Leaders, Elder Law and Elder Israelson, decided (after Zone Leader Council, their special monthly meeting with President and all the 14 Zone Leaders) that we should do a megabedroom and 2 study rooms instead. So... we did. And it is so much fun being all together! Haha. 


Last night, as a matter of fact, something awesome happened! I woke up to a sudden BOOM- Thump sound. Elder Harper had moved his mattress while asleep and it fell off the side of his bed. He bumped his head on Elder North's bed, and his mattress flipped up sideways. All I saw was a mattress stickin’ up in the air. I was trying so hard not to laugh cause it hurt! It was so hilarious! AH YEAH! So good....

So we now email all at the same time in the family history centre of our church building. It's much nicer not havin’ a 45 minute timer on me :p

Well here's somethin’ interesting. We are in a car-share area right now. That means that we're supposed to switch off between biking and using the car every other day. Now, I can't bike. Do you see a problem here? I did, and so did President and Elder Ray and Elder Fonnesbeck (the assistants). So.... They executed the simplest plan they could. We stole the Myrtle Beach Elders' car! We have 2 cars now. :D 


We're drivin’ a 2011 Corolla, and the other Elders are drivin’ a Malibu. Basically, after a buncha logistics and whatnot, the other Elders are limited to 600 miles (since they can bike. And also since this Malibu is over 50K miles and is soon to be replaced, and as such needs her miles kept down), and we get 1K.

Ok last couple things. Tuesday I spent the day in Simpsonville in a bike area with 2 other Elders (all our companions had to be in Irmo on Tuesday since they were training). We walked 13.5 miles between 10 and 5. It was 39K miles, and my average daily is 6K. That was an adventure. We stopped in at Barnes and Noble whilst walkin' by and I got the newest Celtic Woman CD, Believe. It's awesome! They sing Bridge Over Troubled Water, and, needless to say, it rocks. Also, Elder Stephens (who looks like Stephen Serrano, as a coincidence) got some "Magic, the Gathering" cards and taught me how to play. It's super complicated, but it's pretty fun. Good way to spend P day. But an even better way to spend P day is playin Brother Taylor's guitar he lent us! Yeah! :D It's so great gettin the Led out. Mmmmm. Brother Taylor is in our ward, is awesome, and made us dinner yesterday. Nice! 

This transfer is going to be the best to date! I can't wait! That rhymed.

I love y'all so much and I pray for you each and every day. Stay strong, keep the faith. So many people have been asking, "What do you want me to send you? What do you need?"  (By the way, thank you to everyone who has sent me stuff. I try to get letters out to y'all, but if I haven't - know that I appreciate it and pray for you all). So in response, all I want is your prayers. Read your Book of Mormon, ponder in your hearts what the Lord wants you to learn from that passage that day, and pray for the strength to do His will, His way. Pray for missionary experiences, and pray for us missionaries. We need it, and we can feel the Lord raise us up when you do. Pray for your families- they need it more than anyone in these latter days. Pray for our beloved Prophet and the other leaders of the church. In the words of Bob Dylan "The times they are a changin," but I testify that the Lord is not. He is absolute. He is real. He loves us. That we may all know this, through scripture study and prayer, both alone and as a family, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver