I've Been Out 21 Months June 20

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope you all had a great week and a really good Father's Day! It's

been yet another week in Gilmer here in the Texas Dallas Mission. This

week was cool, because I officially hit 21 months since I left home

and went on my mission. I've been out for 21 months now. It's crazy!

It's been a good 21 months. It's also been a very hard 21 months, but

I wouldn't trade it. I've learned so much and grown so much. I have

loved what I've gained from my mission! Except for the weight! Lol!

This week was a pretty good week. It was REALLY hot and humid. I tend

to forget how hot it gets here in the summer, then it hits me and I'm

dying haha. On Wednesday, the assistants texted us saying that we

needed to collect some things from our zone before the end of the day.

Well, Gilmer Zone is the biggest geographic zone in our mission. So we

thought it might turn out pretty difficult. We were right. We got most

of them okay, but then we were trying to get the stuff from the

Quitman Elders. They cover both Quitman and Sulphur Springs. They had

6 of the pages we needed. So we drove up to Quitman that night. We got

there and texted them and they said they were on their way from

Sulphur Springs. It takes a while to get to Quitman from there so we

went to a good ice cream shop and got ourselves some ice cream while

we waited. An hour passed by and we were wondering where they were so

we texted them and they said, "Oh, we aren't going to make it. We're

still in Sulphur Springs." We explained that we needed them that

night, so we made them come anyway. They were going as fast as they

could and we sat in the parking lot of the beauty shop they sleep in.

We left the battery of the car on as we waited but the engine wasn't

on. Well, that wasn't smart on our part, because the car died. We

called them again and they were like "our car has a flat tire." So we

were stuck in the parking lot of a beauty salon way past our curfew

not having anywhere to go or anything to do. It also was super humid

so we were both sweating like crazy. The Elders finally pulled up with

their flat tire and we jumped our car with theirs, grabbed the pages,

and headed home. Well, come to find out, they only gave us 4 of the 6

pages we needed. So we had to drive and meet them again the next

morning. Needless to say, I was really happy when we were able to hand

Elders Westover and Hanson our pages so they were no longer in our

hands! Haha!

This week Jan and Zack both had their baptism interviews! They are so

great! They are both really excited for their baptisms this Saturday.

We are too! Haha. This week after District Meeting, we went to eat

Fried Catfish! I'm not a huge fish fan, but I really do like Fried

Catfish! It's also a Texas thing to eat so I'm glad I like it, because

members like to take us out to eat it. Thursday was so exciting,

because GILMER GOT A SHLOTZSKY'S! Shlotzsky's is a restaurant here in

Texas that I like a lot. We were able to go for Dinner and we were so

excited. It seemed like the whole town of Gilmer was eating there.

Later that night, we went to teach Lily one of the new member

discussions. Lily is 9 years old and got baptized last week. It was so

great, because she made us both some cards with some gifts in them!

The letter said, "Thank you for teaching me the gospel and baptizing

me." Then she put a green necklace in the letter. It was so sweet!

That night, the Elders in Arkansas and Oklahoma called and told us

they had a baptism interview scheduled that we need to do for them,

but that there was no possible way whatsoever to get wifi, so we would

have to drive up to do it. It was super short notice, but we made it

work. So the next day we were off to Oklahoma! The drive wasn't too

bad, it was actually pretty fun to go on a little road trip. We got to

Broken Bow Oklahoma and there were no food options, so we ate at

Arby's. Afterward, we went and did the baptism interview. The person

getting interviewed was from the Marshall Islands so she only spoke

Marshalese. There had to be a translator there at the interview. We

headed back to Gilmer that night and finished the night with some good

stuff! We taught one of our Recent Converts brothers! It was a pretty

good lesson with him and we were able to set a baptism date to work

toward! It was pretty awesome!

That weekend was Stake Conference for the Gilmer Stake. On Sunday, Jan

and Zack both came. Zack was able to sit by his grandma which was

super awesome! President and Sister Taylor came and spoke so we were

able to introduce both Jan and Zack to them. It was so great and I was

so happy! Wendy even sang in the choir and she did such a good job! It

was a really good Stake Conference. After that, we went and ate at the

Breedlove's house. They have a tree that they call "The Tickle Tongue

Tree" because when you chew on the bark, it makes your mouth go numb!

We went out on their golf cart to get some and it was awesome. They

have a lot of land and it's really pretty!

Elder Alkonis goes home in 9 days. He's super excited and I'm excited

for him. In 3 months that will be me. It's so crazy! I love the

Gospel. I also just love all of you. My friends and family are what

keep me going. Knowing I have people waiting for me at home who love

me helps me through the days. I hope you all have a great week!

Everyone pray I don't get transferred next week! Lol! I love you all.

Elder Joshua Needles

Buried in the water June13

Dear Family & Friends,

HEEEELLLLOOOOO! Happy Preparation Day! I'm so glad I get to email you

all today! I hope y'all had the best week and I hope you have an even

better one this week. This Sunday is Father's Day! I have the best

father in the world. I've never met a more charitable, patient,

understanding, and kind man in my life! Thank you, Dad, for all you

have done for me and my siblings. A huge part of who I am today is

because of you! I love you!

This last week was AMAZING! We had so many good things happen! Tuesday

Morning was District Meeting. It was good to finally have a District

Meeting this transfer. I really love our District! It's a really good

group. We went to Eagle's Crossing after the meeting. It's a super

good country cafe in the middle of nowhere between Quitman & Gilmer.

One of those "hidden treasure" cafes that nobody seems to know about!

That night we had another lesson with Jan. Jan is doing so well!

Tuesday was great with her. We walked in and the first thing she said

was, "I've made my decision. They can dunk me on the 25th." We were so

happy! She is pretty determined to get baptized on the 25th and we

couldn't be more blessed to be the missionaries to help her do it.

After we had the lesson and dinner with her and the Ibarra Family, we

went outside and played some volleyball because Natalia (one of the

Ibarra's daughters) really wanted us all to play one game. It was a

blast! Jan watched on the side and cheered us on. AND Team

Missionaries won! Lol. Later that night was Stake President Report

with the Stake President. That was also a very good meeting. I always

am in awe with how great the Gilmer Stake is! They're amazing!

The next day was really fun, because we got to take Wendy, Little

John, and Monda to a restaurant called La Finca. They hardly ever get

to eat out so they were immensely excited for it. It's a pretty fancy

Mexican Restaurant and Little John ended up ordering Chicken Fingers!

Lol! He was just on cloud nine eating at a restaurant. He cracks us

up! After that, we went and did some service for the Stephens. I mowed

their lawn! Unfortunately, it was the one day I forgot to take my

allergy medicine so I was dying afterward. It was still a lot of fun

though. It was nice to be out in the sun! Later that day, we had an

appointment with Zack! We love teaching Zack and he is doing so well!

We went and got snow cones with him and had a lesson in McDonald's.

Wendy Skyped in so she could be present at the lesson as well. Zack

kept asking, "So we're still on for my baptism on the 25th, right?" It

makes us happy when people are excited about their baptism! Fills my

heart with joy! Later we were able to teach Justice the last

missionary discussion before his baptism. It was a great lesson!

Justice is such a good kid and I really love his family. They are

always so kind and put together. It's always fun to go visit them.

On Thursday, we traveled to Plano for Mission Leadership Council. The

District Leaders were invited to this one, so we drove with them.

Elder Whiteley and Elder Johansen are awesome and we had a lot of fun

carpooling. The meeting was awesome! I got to see Elder Casper! It had

been so long! It was so much fun talking with Elder Casper for the

day. Elder Alkonis and I were asked to do a special musical number at

the meeting. Well, when we went up to do it, I pressed the starting

note and Elder Alkonis started on a higher pitch. Right when he

started I told him to stop but he didn't and all I was thinking was,

"Shoot, how am I going to sing the harmony on top if it's too high?"

It was super awkward because I totally couldn't do it and just ended

up singing in unison lol. You win some you lose some, right? On the

way back, we stopped and ate at Torchy's Tacos! I love that place!

Friday, we went to see Lily and finish the discussions with her. They

were having a yard sale, so Elder Alkonis and I decided to buy this

little blue vase for two dollars from them. They thought it was so

funny that we bought this vase, so we decided that on Saturday at

Lily's Baptism, we would somehow incorporate the little blue vase.

That night we had another lesson with Zack. Karen came to this one and

it again was a great lesson. We were able to go over the baptismal

interview questions and he is ready! We're so excited for him!

Saturday was the day of Justice and Lily's baptisms! 10:00 AM was

Justice's, so we got to the church that morning to fill up the font

and set up the room. Justice and his family showed up to the church

and we got him ready, took some pictures, and we were off! It was such

a good baptism! He had a lot of good people there to support him. He

was very happy afterward. It was so good to see his whole family there

smiling while he was baptized. I'm so grateful we have been able to

teach Justice. Throughout the day, we were able to have some

appointments. One of those was Meagan's! Meagan is one of my favorite

people to teach. She is like a sponge, she just soaks it all up! She

also brightens everyone's day! This Saturday, we'll be able to go to

the Temple with her, so I'm super excited! We had a fun night at

dinner with Brother Beavers. Brother Beavers is this nice old man who

is the epitome of an old man in East Texas. He talks super slow and

takes his time with everything! He had us laughing all night! He's

such a good guy. He accidentally read us a text out loud from his wife

that was too much information, lol! It was hilarious! He was like

"What is this?" And read it out loud then said, "Woops, that's from my

wife." We were all dying laughing. We had Lily's baptism that night at

7:00 PM! It was such a good baptism! We put a fake flower in the

little blue vase and took pictures with it lol. Mary, Lily's Grandma,

spoke at her baptism. Mary is the epitome of an East Texan Grandma!

She's hilarious! Somehow, she thought that Elder Alkonis was from

Hawaii. She can never remember how to say his name either. So she

began her talk by saying, "Thanks to Elder Needles and Elder from

Hawaii." It was so funny! Especially because Elder Alkonis is from

California. Lol. Elder Shurtliff (one of the past missionaries who

went home) surprised everyone by showing up to the baptism with his

mom! It was cool to see him. I didn't know him super well, but it was

still great to see a former TDM missionary come back to visit.

Sunday was so great. Jan and Zack both came to church! Lily and

Justice were both confirmed and it was such a good experience.

Something really cool happened too. Zack got up right after Sacrament

Meeting and went up to Justice and gave him a hug! We were shocked

that he did that, because we didn't know they knew each other. Turns

out they're cousins! Holy moly! It's so cool what can happen as people

convert to the Restored Gospel! We had another lesson with Jan that

night and she is ready for her baptism interview! SO EXCITED FOR HER!

Well, this week was so great. This morning I woke up with a Charlie

Horse in my leg which was super painful and my companion was wondering

why I was "whimpering" this morning as he put it lol. Regardless of

that though, it truly was one of the best weeks of my mission. I'm so

glad to be serving here in Gilmer. I'm so glad I have served a

mission. My time is running shorter and shorter. I really only have

about 3 months left now. I can't believe it! Soon, I will get to see

you all again. That will be the best day. I love you all, have an

incredible week.

Elder Joshua Needles

June 6 Sleeping in a beauty salon

Dear Family & Friends,

It's June 6th 2016! Happy Preparation Day AND Happy Birthday to my

incredible younger sister, Megan! Hope you have the best birthday

today, Megan! Love your guts! Congrats on Graduation! It's also the

most amazing mother in the world's birthday this week! MOM I LOVE YOU

HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY OF YOUR LIFE!

I'm so happy I get to email you all today. I always am happy to email!

I hope your life is treating you well and I hope each of you are

living in the moment and not wasting a day! I'm attempting to do the

same! This week was loads of fun! It was filled with so much! We

hardly had any time to even think! Monday turned out to be a great

night for my birthday. The Johnson's fed us burgers and ice cream and

then Wendy, Little John, & Mary wished me a good happy birthday at

their place. I'm so happy to be serving in Gilmer during my birthday.

It was a good kick start to my week.

The next day was super exciting! Everyone on the mission was going on

two day exchanges! All of the Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders,

and Assistants went with separate companionships in their area for two

days in order to help our mission move more toward the most unified

work between members and missionaries. So that meant we wouldn't be in

our area for two whole days. But we were excited regardless. I was

able to go to Sulphur Springs & Quitman with Elder Lazenby & Elder

Whiteley! IT WAS A BLAST! We opened the two day exchange up with a

meeting and we were off. Elder Alkonis went up to DeQueen Arkansas! It

was a lot of fun serving with the Sulphur Springs & Quitman Elders. We

went to Sulphur Springs first. In Sulphur Springs, they have these

public bathrooms in the middle of the square that are mirrors on the

outside, but on the inside you can see everyone outside! I went and

stood in one and I don't know how people even use it because it's like

you are using the restroom in public! Haha! We stayed in Quitman that

night and they live in a beauty salon! So we slept there, haha! It was

so weird, but it was an unforgettable experience.

The next morning we did service for this nice old man and he took us

out to eat. We were able to teach a lesson with a few people and it

turned out to be really good. Elder Lazenby & Elder Whiteley are

really amazing teachers, and it ended with us setting a baptism date

with all three of them! We were all super happy afterward! That night

we drove back to Gilmer for exciting reasons! Elder Whiteley is the

District Leader so he gives our investigators baptism interviews.

Well, it was time for Justice and Lily's interview! They both did

great and they are both ready for baptism this Saturday! Justice asked

that I confirm him and Lily asked that I baptize her! I'm so pumped!

They both have grown so much and I'm so honored to have been able to

teach them.

The next morning was the end of exchanges. It was good to finally get

back to our area and it was good to have Elder Alkonis back too! He's

such an awesome companion. I genuinely love serving with him! We

always have a blast! That day we had some incredible lessons. We

taught Meagan and Cara! Cara committed to baptism and Meagan is going

to the Temple next week to do baptisms for the dead! We then went and

taught Zack which was awesome! He has such a good heart and is

hilarious! We also moved his baptism date closer! Then we taught Lily

which was great. She's just ready to be baptized this Saturday. Then

we taught Jan. Jan is seriously so amazing. I love teaching her! She

came to church the Sunday before and she told us it was so bright and

that she was finding hope again. She is really preparing for her

baptism on the 25th of June.

The next day consisted of us hashing out Stake President Report. This

is a report that the Zone Leaders do every month for the Stake

President in their Stake. It is a LONG report and takes days to do! We

got so much done on Friday though, so I was really happy we got

through so much. We taught Wayne that night and set a baptism date

with him for July 16! Then we taught Ron! Ron is a new investigator we

have and he committed to baptism on July 16 as well! We are being so

incredibly blessed here in Gilmer! I love serving here and I love the

people we are teaching. The next day we were able to teach one of our

investigators (Michael) and invite him to church. His girlfriend told

us we would never get him to step foot in a church.... BUT HE CAME! It

was so awesome to see him there! Sunday ended well, because we

finished Stake President Report and taught Lily another lesson. I just

am so happy I'm serving here. I can't believe this transfer is already

halfway over. Elder Alkonis goes home in three weeks! It's crazy how

fast time has been flying lately!

I love the Gospel and Jesus Christ! I love my mission and my life. I'm

excited for the day I get to see you all again. I seriously miss you

so much and can't wait to reunite. You all mean so much to me. Please

have an amazing week! I love you all so much!

Elder Joshua Needles

May 30th Two Decades

Dear Family & Friends,

HELLO! How is everyone doing? I miss you all so much and I hope you
are just having a blast with whatever you are doing with life. I'm so
happy I get to email you all today. Today is May 30th 2016 which means
I am no longer a teenager! I'M SO OLD! I have now lived for two whole
decades! I'M IN MY TWENTIES! Today should be a good day. Going to eat
some good food and spend time with some other missionaries. I'm
excited about it! AND tomorrow my older Sister Sam will be 22! "I
dunno about youuu, but I'm feeling 22!" Happy Birthday, Sam! Hope you
have the best birthday this year.

This week was such an eventful one! On Tuesday, Elder Lindsay came and
served with us for the day. It was a really good day! We went to lunch
with our Ward Mission Leader at a super good sandwich shop in Gilmer.
We had coordination meeting afterward and Elder Lindsay said he was
just amazed. I still am too! Gilmer 2 Ward is truly one of the best
wards in the world! The members are amazing and the leadership is
incredible! Everyone just cares about everyone. That's what makes it
so good! After that, we went and taught quite a few people. One of
those was Justice! He is doing really well. His baptism is on the 11th
of June and we're really excited for him. He's only 9 years old, but
he has a heart of gold. We taught the Plan of Salvation to him and it
was a great lesson. We talked about how families can be together
forever and he felt the spirit touch his heart! Tears were running
down his face as we taught him about God's plan for his family. It was
a very spiritual and unforgettable lesson.

The next day, we went to Longview to drop Elder Lindsay off with his
companion. We got to see Elder Huber as well and the Zone Leaders in
Longview. We had to get our tire fixed, because a nail got in it, so
we drove to Sears afterwards to get it fixed. We didn't have a place
to go to study while it was getting fixed, so we went into the mall
and sat down to study. It was weird being in a shopping mall. We just
sat and watched all the people pass by. It was too early so no stores
were open, but we were just two missionaries sitting in massage chairs
at the mall studying and talking. It was awesome! After our car was
fixed, we went and got some lunch at Panera Bread! It was a really
good morning.

That night we ate at the Johnson Family's Home. They are awesome. They
know I really love musicals and one of my favorites is Wicked. Well,
they went to Dallas this last week and saw the musical! They loved it,
so in the spirit of that they made us some of the "Green Elixir" from
the show and some Wicked themed cookies. I was so happy! That night we
had a miracle happen! So Elder Westover and I contacted this person at
McDonald's once and he seemed super solid. Well, President Taylor was
told about us contacting him, so he felt like he should keep following
up about him. We weren't really ever able to get in contact with him
afterward and it wasn't working out. Well, one of our ward
missionaries (Karen) was at McDonald's one day and met him. She asked
him if he would take the missionary discussions and he said yes! So
were able to have a lesson with him that night! His name is Zack and
we were able to set a baptism date with him! He is going to be
baptized on July 2nd and we're so excited! I love how God works things
out sometimes. Zack's also hilarious and says the funniest things. We
talked about how Jesus came to the Americas and he was like "Maybe He
ate at Denny's!" LOL! Whaaaat?

Thursday night we were able to see Lily who is getting baptized on the
11th and then we saw Justice again! They are both getting very
prepared for their Baptisms! It makes me so happy. Fills me with so
much joy! That day we also saw Mary who is Wendy's next door neighbor.
It was hilarious, because she asked Elder Alkonis if he was a
Lamanite! Hahahaha! Friday was an exciting day, because we had Zone
Meeting! Elder Alkonis and I were finally able to hold a zone meeting
and I was so happy we were able to. We planned a lot for it and just
wanted it to be a good meeting for all the Missionaries in the Gilmer
Zone. We did a training on "the path" which essentially is the things
you should be filling your day with. We also had some fun games to
play and lots of candy! It turned out to be a really good meeting. We
were both exhausted afterward but it was definitely worth it! That
night we were finally able to see Ariell, Tanner, and Austin again. It
was awesome to teach them again. Ariell is always so hilarious with
her sassy attitude.

SATURDAY WAS AMAZING! We were able to take Christa, Aber, and Cory to
the Temple! They are all recent converts and they were able to do
Baptisms Proxy! I was only able to go, because Elder Bunker & Elder
Westover were going to meet at the Temple to do them with us, and
Elder Alkonis had to stay back. He went to Mt Pleasant for the day. In
the Temple, we had such a good experience. It was really good for Aber
and I think she really liked it. Afterward, we went to Panda Express
so yes, this week was great!

SUNDAY WAS ALSO AMAZING! So many people came to church! Jan even came,
who is one of our new investigators. We were so happy she was able to
make it. She is preparing for baptism on the 25th of June. Justice
came too and I was so incredibly happy. I love serving here in Gilmer.
It truly is an incredible place to serve. So many miracles happen and
my testimony has been strengthened so much because of it. God is real.
He loves every single one of us. His love is perfect and undeniable. I
love what He has done for me in my life. I love Christ and the
Atonement. I have truly found new life in Jesus Christ.

I hope you all have an amazing week! Thank you for being so easy to
miss! I love each of you dearly.

Elder Joshua Needles