Giddy Up

Howdy ya'll northerners. I uh. Well I'm leaving Denham springs. A sad fact indeed. But I'm going somewhere very neat. Let's go.

Oak Grove where I'm headed

Monday: I already told ya'll about what happened but we had this gumbo with potato salad on top and holy guacamole that was good. Super weird but like way good. Also banana pudding is super good Haha. 

Tuesday: we went on exchanges with some members. I got to go out with bro corkern. He is so dope. He has the coolest testimony and hes freakin funny Haha. I might have already talked about him. But we went out and talked to a few punks. It was fun. And miss Chapman a lady a member introduced to us got put on date. Freakin wild. The second lesson! But uh yeah crazy cool. We went and talked to coach green afterwards And had a good lesson with him too.

Wednesday: we had exchanges with the 2nd ward elders so I went out with elder williams and we had district council. We went to canes after and it was delicious as usual. After that we helped the senior couples move a bed. Heavy but it was fun. All of our appointments fell through. But we met 3 new people instead. So I helped out the 2nd ward. Then we went and talked with a member at their house. And finally we went to the 2nd wards ward correlation. So it was a good day I'd say. 

Thursday: we went over to the fontenots and helped them move a bar table. It was so heavy. We almost gave up trying to get it out the door but I was like nah turn it around and we'll get it. And we did. So that was dope. We did a bunch of planning and then went to a members house and had etufe. I think that's how you spell it but I'm not sure. Then we had our bible study which was good. More people came. And after that I had 2nd dinner with the beardshalls. They are a new senior couple. So that was fun.

Bunch a big ol watermelons

Friday: oh boy. We had exchanges with Zachary elders. So I got to go out with elder ketchum. Yeehaa. He has the straight up goofiest laugh you'll ever hear. We went tracting and met a dude named big Joe. He was this way intimidating lookin guy who walked right up to us. He put down all his stuff and was like "alright pray for me." And we were like uhhh what. But we did and he was super dope. Just got out of prison and said he was a warrior for Jesus. And if anyone messed with us to let him know hahah. What a guy. Then we went and helped the Kirk's with some service. And then we did more finding. Then we went to a wack members house and taught their cousin. That was just so awkward. Like. I don't even know. These dang southerners just talk about whatever they flippin want. Anyways. After we got out of there we went and found a cool guy named darron. He was super nice and just talked to us about his beliefs and stuff. So that was cool. 

Saturday: I felt pretty sick today so I just kind of died for half the day. When we went out we tracked a ton and found a few punks. We ended up finding a dude named bill. He is agnostic but after teaching him he seemed really interested. He eventually got pretty drunk and was way funny Haha. We went across the street to knock on a door and he was just yelling at us the whole time. We walked away and had to walk back past his house. When he saw us his jaw dropped and he was like "Dang how did you guys do that?! You were just over here!" It was so funny hahah. Ended up a good day.

Sunday: church day. It was pretty good. I said the prayer and it was scary. We talked to miss Chapman after church and holy moly she is golden. Like she is for sure getting baptized. Well shes on date. But she is like legit. She has a way cool testimony already and she doesn't even know everything. She just knows that she needs to join the church. Cool stuff. After that we went to bishops house and had shrimp, hotdogs, burgers, and other stuff it was awesome. Afterwards we went out teaching with bishop and the guy was asking when and where church was. It was pretty cool. Then we went to the romitos and ate and talked about the restoration. After that we went to the malletts with bro Bradford. It was cool. We talked about the temple and stuff. Then we went to bro Bradford's and had cookies and milk. I almost died from eating too much. 

Monday: it was proselytizing Monday. We uh. Went back to the fontenots and helped them move stuff around. Pretty sweet Haha. After that we got a big ol watermelon. Home grown and stuff. Pretty awesome. I didn't write in my journal so I cant really remember. But we went to the millitellos and had gumbo. Super awesome. I told them I like golf and they had a putting green in their backyard. So I putted for a bit. Super cool. We got transfer news which I will end with hehehe. But uhh. We went to the okerekes again and taught some more commandments for baptism. Super awesome. I'm gonna miss them

A big ol cicada er sumthin

.

Tuesday: pday. We went to Walmart and got some goodies. I didn't get much cuz I'm leaving sadly. We had a zone pday though. We all went to the church and had pizza and soda and stuff. We played California ball and basketball. Then volleyball which was super fun. I'm pretty good at basketball turns out. Jk I'm awful. But I'm kinda good at defense which is fun. But yeah after that I went with bro corkern over to Ray's house. I bore so much testimony that I probably singed his eyebrows a bit. He is super stuck in his faith and they cant deny your testimony so i just destroyed him with it hahah. He is super nice though. After that i went to the McDonald's with elder glade and had dinner. A good last day. But I'm sad to go.

Well yep. I'll miss Denham a ton. It was awesome. And humid and hot. But awesome. I'm going to oak grove Mississippi. So that'll be sweet. Its supposed to be an awesome area so I'm excited. But uhh yeah. Gotta blast. 

Elder Checketts 

Zone Conferencia

My beautiful Hat

Yee yee everyone. The south is a fun place. But it's a bit too hot and humid for my taste. Ok here goes.

Monday: we got haircuts and groceries and uhh. Yeah. Then we biked a buttload over to a lady's house. I think I already wrote this last time but uh yeah that's that. We biked a ton so my legs are getting huge.

Tuesday: we got to go on exchanges and I went out with elder Thompson who came out with me from the MTC! It was super dope Haha. We walked around and found a few interested people it was cool. After that we went to bro Dillon's and cut some of his weeds and stuff. His yard is wild. We changed and then we visited bro britt. And then uhhh. We went out with a youth and visited a few people it was pretty lit. Then we went to the bishops house and had dinner and talked about the prophets and how they are sometimes forbidden from writing more. Pretty wild stuff. 

Wednesday: zone conference. Yee yee. Honestly it was so hard to stay awake. It was really good like some people's talks and everything but man I was dozing off Haha. Theres a ton of missionaries leaving which kinda sucks. My pants are getting tight from all the biking. My suit pants at least. It's going straight to my thighs. And then I'll blow up. After that we had ward correlation. We have a bunch of ward missionaries that come it's super cool now. After that we went out with a youth and met a drunk dude. It was a good time.

Thursday: we went out with a youth names Opa and met a whole bunch of people. They were super wacky but really cool at the same time. These dang southerners. After that we had Little Caesars which was pretty sweet. Then we studied and went to the bible study. We only had 1 flippin guy show up. Oh well. He was chill hahah. Then I went with elder glade and sat in on the institute class it was super cool. Yeehaa.

Friday: we went to IHOP and met with the stake president. We talked about missionary work and we freakin saw one of our investigators who was supposed to be in Tennessee. Like what the heck. He said we could come over to his house though. So that's cool. Then we did some study stuffs and uh. Yeah. I went out on a split with bro dillon. Hes a wild man. I'm not sure it's all true but he says he used to test motorcycles and was in a band that almost had a record label sign them and he was supposed to be recruited to Baylor as a quarterback but he got injured. So uh. He doesn't really seem like the guy to be doing all that but who knows hahah. After I went with him we helped move a family into their new house. Cool stuff. After that we went to the chur cfg and had interviews. President is super awesome. And then we went over to the wasdens and shared a message and then we went to the rameys and shared a message. And uh then we were about to leave but we went back to ask if we could do any service and when bro ramey answered I was like "we just couldn't stay away." And he was like whaaaaaat. Hahaha it was pretty funny. And finally we went to coach greens Haha. He flippin bought us the expensive pizza again! It's like half the price to get a medium and he gets the large hahah. Crazy guy. 

 

The Confederate Store

Saturday: we played softball with some members. Holy guacamole. My calling that I never knew in life was to be a baseball player. I hit some dingers and also a homerun over the fence. I've never played baseball and a lot of the members didn't believe me Haha. I wish I did. Right after that we went and poured a bunch of mulch at a members house and then right after that we helped another member assemble a bed frame. So I was dead tired. So then we got back and showered and stuff and then guess what. We biked 6 miles over to a dudes neighborhood. Turns out he wasn't there Haha jeez. Then we biked a few miles over to bro Dillon's and shared a message. We biked over to another neighborhood and nothing. So then we biked to another neighborhood. BUT. We found a crazy guy. He was talking about a ton of problems he has and how he shot a guy once. So that was cool. But he was actually pretty interested. Soooo uh cool. After that we talked to bro sills and then went home. I made shepherds pie. I'm getting pretty good at it. The other guys all say it's good so. Yeehaa. I was so tired.

Sunday: church. Yippee. Haha idk. It was normal church I guess. Theres a youth who got called to the slc Utah mission. Pretty cool. After church we went to the kings and like their whole family was there. Haha they're awesome. Then we went to doc hearls and taught his friend. Hes a famous musician here so maybe you could listen to his stuff back home. Idk. Then we went to the romitos and had steak and stuff. Super good. After them we went and tried Stephen but he wasn't home. We talked to a guy named Sergio. He was pretty interested so we'll see him again soon. After that we met a guy named Jimmy who let us right in Haha. Wild. He thought we were jehovah's witnesses Haha. He was super weird but just needs some help. He was smoking a cigarette and when he put it in th e tray it was in front of a fan. In front of me. So my clothes smelt like cigarettes the rest of the night. So that was fun. After that I got to call me fatha. That was super cool. And then I did the dishes. So woo. 

 

A big ol group of birds

Monday: today we went to the Confederate store hahahah. I bought a hat and a flag. Super awesome. I took a picture of the hat but I'll take one of the flag later. We're hanging out at the church now so yeah. Cool. Alrighty.

Umm. Yeah this week felt like 2 or 3 weeks on it's own. But it's already done so. Uhhh. Idk what else happened. But uh yeah. It's been cool. Alrighty gotta blast.

Elder Checketts 

The Flood

swag

Ahoy! This week uh. Well. Yeah. Here we go.

 Monday: last pday felt like 3 days in 1. Pretty wild. We biked like 8 miles out to Walker which was fun. We met a super cool family. The dad Dedrick is a football coach so I talked to him about that. Then their neighbor was out riding a bike. Hes a 13 year old kid who was riding with no hands but he was swinging his arms so it looked like he was walking hahaha. Funny guy. We knocked on a ton of doors after that and had like no one answer. We biked way over to another neighborhood and found some people. It was kinda sketchy cuz they looked like some punks ya know? But we went and taught them and they wanted books of Mormon and so it was super cool. Like we gave 2 dudes some and then their kids went inside and came back out and then were like "mom wants a book too" and I was like oh shoot! I didn't say that. But I thought it. But I got them. Then we biked the million miles back. My legs are still burning a week later. Except ya know we still bike so. 

Tuesday: we went and cut bro Lailers grass. He lives like right next to a river. And he owns part of it I guess. But I was weedwacking and man. Lawn mowing in the south is a legit business. Grass grows so fast and so tall that people mow their lawn like twice a week. But it's kinda scary with like big ol snakes and spiders in the grass. Anyways after him we went to an inactive member. He seemed like he wants to come back to church but hes got like medical problems so it's hard. But he was super nice. When we left it started raining. A lot. And we were biking. We biked like 5 miles through heavy and slimy rain. Its not really slimy. But its so humid that it feels like it. Anyways we were soaked and we had to go out with a member to visit people right as we got back so we just stayed in our wet clothes. I was so cold. It was awful. We ended up not catching anyone at home. So then after that me and elder glade went to visit a family in the 2nd ward. That was sick. We had dinner and he showed us all his elk and deer he has killed. He also let us hold his AR-10 and his AK. I didn't get a picture with the AK but I got a blurry one with the AR Haha. So I'll send that. 

 

blurry AR-10

Wednesday: we had district council and ate with the senior couples. After that we had some exchanges so I went out with elder Worlton. He goes home this month. Crazy stuff. But he lived in Idaho on a farm and apparently they supply the chicken farm from Napolean dynamite with wheat. Hahaha crazy huh? We tried visiting a ton of people but nobody wanted to talk. We went to the etes and had some kind of tortilla casserole thing. It was so good Haha. We tried visiting another person and then went to Walmart and got sodas. After that we had 6 of us in the apartment and we played a card game it was super sweet. 

Thursday: we finished off the exchange today. But it rained so much that the roads flooded Haha. So we couldn't leave for a while. It only rained for a few hours but it rained like 8 inches. When we could leave we went out to lunch with a member in a weird Chinese place. It was pretty good though Haha. After that elder Worlton and elder Groll left and we planned and stuff. Went over to a lady who lives by bro Miller. And he came and talked to her with us. I straight up almost fell asleep. Like she just kept going on and on so it was getting boring and like man. My head swung back a bit and went way forward. And we were sitting around a table and it felt like I almost hit my head on the table. But I like caught myself and was like uh oh. Cuz I figured everyone noticed that. She ended up asking me if i was tired and i was like uhhh yeah. So that was awkward. I told elder ladle about it after and he said he was nodding off too hahaha. After that we had our bible study and only 4 people came this time! Freakin punks. A ton of people were saying that they would come and they were excited and all this and that. But oh well. After that me and elder glade went out and biked around. We knocked on a bunch of doors. No one too interested but we gave a bunch of people cards and stuff. I made jambalaya when we got back. It was actually pretty good. Like I used the box stuff but I chopped up my own sausage and added a whole bunch of spices and seasonings. It was super spicy but pretty good Haha. I'll make it when I get back. 

Friday: today was super whack. Elder glade and ladle both were sick in the morning. So me and elder Williams went out. We visited a few people and then the other elders ended up feeling good enough to come out. So we switched and we went and visited the kings. There are like 5 different kings so you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. But these kings have a plantation replica home. So its like a 3 story mansion. We thought we were at the wrong house Haha. He showed us some chandeliers that are worth 60,000 each. Freakin wild. He had 2 of them just in his front rooms. Gosh darn rich people anyway. After that we went to a place called pbeau's. We had some good ol southern food. It was good. And expensive. 

 

devil's horse grasshopper- Apparently when they get older they turn all kinds of colors but until then they are pitch black. So this one is starting to get some color.

Saturday: some of the senior couples are going home this month so we went and helped them move stuff. It was pretty fun. I ended up feeling pretty sick so we stayed home for a bit but I got some medicine and felt pretty good so we went over to the other kings Haha. The ones we haven't visited yet. And brother king is so funny. If an old southern person says "no indeed" then you know they're cool. We tried visiting a few other people and then went over to coach greens. When we got there he was right about to leave because he left his keys and stuff at a friends but then they drove up and gave it all to him so that was super lucky. Gods on our side. We had a short lesson but he is so close. He knows the BOM is true but he doesn't want to leave his church. Hes so close. We'll get him. 

Sunday: we went to church and junk. Pretty cool haha. We went to the Blanchards after and had roast beef so that was sweet. After that we studied and stuff and went to the Romitos. We had like hot sandwiches there. I guess they don't do that often in the south so it was pretty awesome. After them we went to the Vanhoffs and talked. They are super cool. We tried some other people and then went to the Okerekes. Crazy Michael. He doesn't know what's going on half the time. He doesn't speak English great so its always fun to hear him read. We talked to them for a while and went home. Me and elder Glade made up a cool card game but it's super hard hahah. We'll figure it out. Anyways that's about it.

Monday today I got a haircut and groceries. We are at the church right now and um. We are gonna go see some people tonight. This next week should be sweet. So yeah cool. Gotta blast

Elder Checketts 

Pictures

I have a video but I'll have to send it separate or something 

20 in 2

Howdy! Well. Uhhh. Yep. Gotta blast.

A cool house I saw

Jk Haha. So this week. Um. Well. I dont know what happened so let's find out.

Monday: zone pday. I think I talked about it last time so cooool.

Cool clouds Idk

Tuesday: we went and poured mulch around a members pool. Pretty cool. Then we got to go out with a member named Dolfin. Pretty cool. We talked to a member bro. Lailer and found out he went on a mission and stuff so that was cool. He has the nicest trailer house I've seen. We also went and taught the Mires and I freakin lost my tag! It was so dumb. I have 2 of each magnet and clip but now i need another clip. So that was pretty dumb walking around without a tag like some kind of Jehovah's witness or something. After we got back we did exchanges with Elder Glade. So my companion and his went out to basketball with nonmembers. Since basketball is the least best sport in the world. We went out and found a few new people. Then we biked home and ate nachos so that was cool.

Wednesday: district council happened. Yep. And after that we had lunch at firehouse subs and the was really good. Then we biked flippin 8 miles out and found a weird guy named Larry. He was actually nice though cuz he let us teach him. He hadn't heard of the BOM and it was pretty sick. After that we went to the Fontenots and had spaghetti, pastalaya, jambalaya, and some other stuff. It was super good. I almost died. We taught about the living christ proclamation and it was cool. Then we biked 10 miles to the church for ward correlation. I almost died again but foreal. We were supposed to go to coach green's with brother blanchard but he didn't come to ward correlation so. We biked. 4 more miles out to coach. Then I had to freakin teach him by myself as part of training and junk. So jeez. That was fun. Turned out really well though. Elder Ladle was talkin about it to the other missionaries afterward and he said it was probably the best plan of salvation lesson hes heard. So booyah. Anyways coach said he would think about baptism and he hasn't wanted to even consider it with any of the past missionaries so. Sick. Then we biked again. 4 miles back to home. So a ton of biking. Too much biking I think. 

cows

Thursday: we did commissary for the mission. Since we are close to the office they use us sometimes. But man that took like all day. Packing media and everything for every missionary. It took like 6 hours. 10 am to 4. Crazy. We biked out and found a dude named Kimball. Pretty cool. But we biked like 3 or 4 miles just to find him and then back. After that we went to the church and had a bible study. It was cool. We started it and we had a few people come. But there's gonna be a lot of people this coming week. After bible study elder ladle and William's played basketball so me and elder glade went and just did duolingo and stuff. 

Friday: we went to the church and did weekly planning and junk. A youth Nick who's going on a mission came out with us and we went to a bunch of different places. We taught a guy named Trell and it was super cool he said he was wanting to come to church so it worked. After him we found a lady who was waiting for the pizza guy Haha. But she let us teach her for a bit and it was weird. Her house smelt like cigarettes and it was awful. Then Nick took us to Canes. Canes is so good. Like I though KFC was pretty good but man. Canes got it. But he dropped us off in Watson which is the city next to Denham springs. We cover Denham, Walker, and Watson. Maybe some other places but those are the main ones. We biked around and talked to a bunch of punks but no one too special. Then we went to the Coleman's thankfully they drove us home. That would have been an awful bike ride. Everyone tells us we shouldn't even bike at night because it's so dangerous. But we do anyways. A lot of people get hit by cars I guess. Oh well. The south doesn't have sidewalks or bike lanes so that's their fault. 

Saturday: it was mission leadership council so me and elder glade went out together and biked around. We talked with Pxxxx and a few other people. We met a lady named Monxxa who seemed really interested so that was sick. But I forgot to write in my journal for today so idk what else happened. 

Sunday: church time. Fast Sunday is cool. Fasting is rough though Haha. A few people came though which was cool. Like Mary the catholic lady came so that was awesome. We also saw some members who haven't come in a long time. So that was cool. After church we studied a bit and then went to the Brandts. They are super cool. Then we went back to brother Lailer. He has the coolest trailer hahaha. He gave us a tour. It's so nice. Like a real house. But on the outside a normal mobile home. But inside he has like a way nice kitchen with an island and stuff. So like woah. He also has a lot of civil war stuff. So that was cool. After him we went to brother kings. Theres a ton of kings. But we went to the one. Yep. Um. We had taco salad and icecream it was so good. After them we went to Michael's with brother Broderick. Michael is so freakin funny. He thought brother Broderick was from India when hes as white as me hahaha. Michael is the African man who we can't understand by the way. Elder William's was sick all day so hopefully it don't spread. 

Monday: today uhh. We went to the eye doctor for elder glade and we were there for 2 hours. Dumb. I really like some of the glasses they have. Kinda want some new ones. But after that we went to Walmart and got groceries and stuff. And uhh. Now we're at the church.

So yeah. That's what's happened. I am so fat now. 20 pounds in 2 months. If you wanna gain weight then move to Louisiana. Good gravy. Also German is getting really hard. The words are getting more backwards. Super whack. Alright uhh. Yeah. Gotta blast.

Elder Checketts 

Sorry not a lot of pictures