22 MONTHS JULY 18, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

I hope you all had an amazing week this week! I miss all of you more

than you probably know. Seriously. I can't wait till I get to see each

of you again!

This week I officially hit my 22 month mark. It's been a good 22

months out here in Texas. I can't believe I only have 2 months left.

I'm so excited! I'm doing my best to stay focused on the work

regardless. It was a pretty good week. Lots of good stuff happened!

Monday night, we were able to go teach Lilly and Don Adcock. Lilly

recently moved into our ward and she's a recent convert. I actually

baptized her in May when she get baptized in Gilmer 3rd Ward! Her

husband Don is still not a member. We're glad to have them in our

ward. Lilly is pretty crazy and likes to have a lot of fun. When we

went, we brought a member with us and they all hit it off pretty well.

We were able to teach Don as well and he told us that he would read

from the Book of Mormon! The rest of that night was preparation for

Interviews with the mission president the next day. Interviews are

always exciting to have! The meeting can be sort of stressful, though.

As Zone Leaders, we were in charge of the whole meeting (which lasted

6 hours). It was fun to put it all together though and the meeting

turned out pretty well. We had a really good time as a zone together

so I'd say it was pretty successful. My interview with President

Taylor was awesome. We have the best mission president in the world

I'm convinced. It was my last interview with him before my exit

interview which was weird. We talked about when I go home a little bit

and it's really starting to hit me that it's coming up pretty fast.

The next day was pretty great. It's really hot here in Texas right

now! SO HOT! Well, a member needed us to mow their lawn for them and

the only time we were available to do it was right at noon when it was

the hottest, haha. It was good though. I like being out in the sun and

I still haven't gotten a sun burn this summer which for me is a huge

success. Later that night we met with Zack at the Family History

Center so he could look up some names to take to the Temple. When he

got there he said, "Hey I have work off on Saturday. Do you think we

could go to the Temple?" We were excited when he said that and somehow

it all fell into place! He found some names to take which was awesome

then the next morning we took him to Bishop Sullivan's home so he

could have his Temple Recommend Interview.

Later that night we were able to go visit Cherri and her family which

was a blast as always. Cherri is really amazing. She has so much real

intent and wants to keep learning. She has really been starting to

come back a lot more and it's so much fun to have them at church. She

told me she wants to be able to go to the a Temple before I leave!

That'd be so awesome! We also were able to teach Jan! JAN IS THE BEST.

Jan is just the best because she always keeps commitments. She also

has just embraced the restored gospel in her life. She is going to the

Temple this coming Saturday and she's very excited. We can't wait!

Friday was a slower day. We didn't have much to do so we were doing a

lot of finding. We unfortunately kept going to addresses listed that

don't exist or are apparently impossible to find. It gets a little

frustrating sometimes when you have a hard time finding people but

it's all apart of the work. We know that as we stay diligent that we

will be blessed! We actually were blessed with a lot this week anyway

which was awesome. We set two new baptism dates! One with Jacob and

one with Michael! We're so excited for them!

On Saturday, we went to the Temple with Brother Spencer and Zack! It

was a really good experience for him and for me. It was the first time

I was actually doing the baptizing for the dead. The spirit you feel

in the Temple is undeniable. I love the Temple so much. I feel so much

peace when I go there and I always am so pleased after I leave. We

went and ate at Chik Fil A which was SO AWESOME. I just love eating at

places I love haha. I'm also super grateful for Brother Spencer. He

has driven more miles for us than any other member I've met on my

mission! Sunday was great because Cherri and her family came to church

again. It made us so happy! We also had a good rest of the night and

now we are here today! Happy P-Day everyone!

I love you all so much. Please don't ever forget it! I think about all

of you a lot and how grateful I am for each of you. You're in me

prayers!

Elder Joshua Needles

THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE July 11, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Happy Preparation Day! So glad I get to email y'all today. I hope you
all had a good week! I love reading your emails and pictures you send.
I look forward to every single email I get. Thank you for sending
them!

This week was a pretty good week! The 4th of July was a lot of fun and
I'm happy we were able to spend it with other missionaries. A lot of
times, well actually most of the time, we don't get to see other
missionaries a lot because we are so far away from everyone! Our Zone
is the biggest zone geographically. So that was a lot of fun. Elder
Christensen and I are the zone leaders, so he needed to be down here
in Gilmer so we could both go to a meeting with the Stake President on
Tuesday. For this meeting we have to make a report that takes DAYS to
make. I'm always so happy when the report is done, haha! But Elder
Christensen stayed with me while Elder Lu went to Paris, Texas for
Tuesday. That night we went to pick Elder Lu up and Elder Christensen
still stayed with us because we had Mission Leadership Council in
Dallas the next morning.

Brother Spencer picked us up bright and early in the morning to take
us to MLC! The meeting was pretty amazing. I usually really like MLC
but this one was just so great! One of my favorite meetings! It was
all about the Book of Mormon. It's the tool we use for the gathering
of Israel! It brings us so close to Christ! It has nearly 4,000
references to Jesus Christ! I actually finished the Book of Mormon
this week for the third time on my mission and I love it. I know the
Book of Mormon is true. It's brought me so much closer to Christ as I
have abided by its precepts. The meeting was a lot of fun. I got to
see my MTC companion again, Elder Douglas! It was good to catch up
with him! After the meeting ended, we went to eat dinner with Brother
Spencer at Raising Canes. It's a fried chicken place that is one of
those "Texas Staples you HAVE to go to." It is pretty good. On the way
back we also stopped at Buc-ee's! (It's the huge gas station here in
Texas). It was a really fun trip to Dallas!

The next day, Elder Christensen still stayed with us as we had to plan
our Zone Meeting the for the next day! We woke up super early again (I
feel like I've lost so much sleep from waking up early this week) to
go help Bishop Sullivan and his family. They needed us to move 4
refrigerators up and down a hill and into the house. They also needed
us to tear apart their swimming pool that broke the previous day. When
we got there, they had made us some breakfast! Bishop Sullivan was so
grateful we came to do it for them that he was in tears when he prayed
for the food. I love Bishop Sullivan and his family. They are such
great people and good examples to me! We spent the morning doing that
service for them. Later that day, we went to help Brother Alldredge
and do some service for him. We had to level his house! Haha! It
didn't take too long and they ended up making us a ton of food for
lunch. It was so good too! We were then able to teach his wife who is
not a member! Her name is Sylvia. We taught her the Restoration and we
each testified of the truthfulness of the message and of the Book of
Mormon. We are hoping Sylvia continues to open her heart so that the
spirit can testify the same to her too.

That night we went and taught Cherri and her family. Cherri is the
mother of Lily (one of the 9 year olds who got baptized last month). I
have come to love this family so much. Teaching them is a blast too
(for the most part, when the two youngest aren't being crazy). Cherri
has just so much real intent and a good heart. She asks so many
questions and is learning so much as we come to teach. I am learning a
lot too from it!

Friday we had Zone Meeting! It all came together really well! It was
centered around the Book of Mormon and some things coming up that we
want to do as a Mission with the Book for Mormon. We are wanting to
have a flood of the Book of Mormon by making 1,000,000 invites in one
month using the Book of Mormon (missionaries AND members). We were
wanting to push for the members inviting over social media in order to
make it happen. After President & Sister Taylor felt impressed to do
this as a Mission, they got an email saying that our mission is now
going to be a pilot mission for Facebook! WHAT! We're getting Facebook
within the next month or so. It was a cool confirmation from the Lord
that we are going in the right direction as a mission and that He is
very aware of our efforts. I was jumping around with excitement as it
boosted my testimony of this work and of my Savior! After zone
meeting, Elder Christensen was finally able to go back to his area!
Haha! It was one of the longest exchanges we've been on! It was a lot
of fun though.

Sunday was great because Zack got the Priesthood and Cherri and her
family came to church! Her kids really loved coming and had a good
time. She seemed to have a good time too. I was so happy they came to
church and we're able to feel the spirit that is there, especially as
we take the Sacrament. We didn't have any investigators come to church
which made us kind of sad, but we know as we keep staying diligent we
will find those prepared to hear he Gospel. We are looking! We did so
much finding this week. Regardless of if we found anyone yet, I know
the Lord has a plan and is pleased as we put our all into the work. I
love serving here in Gilmer. No other place I'd rather be serving
right now! I love the Lord and I know He lives. He has suffered for
all of our pains, sicknesses, afflictions, and sins. We can be clean.
We can be pure, and forgiven.

I love you all so much! Starting Wednesday, I have exactly 10 weeks
till I'm home! Can't wait for that day! Have an amazing week!

Elder Joshua Needles

LAST HOLIDAY JULY 4, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!! I hope you all are having the best Independence

Day today! We're so lucky as missionaries that the 4th lands on a

P-DAY! I'm excited to see what the day brings. This is my last (big)

holiday as a missionary! Holidays are very bittersweet as a

missionary. I can't believe this is my last one! Then for Thanksgiving

and Christmas I'll be home with my family again. So excited for that!

This week was a really good week. We didn't get transfer calls until

the next morning (which unfortunately was and is incredibly stressful)

but we finally got the call! I'm staying in Gilmer ANOTHER transfer!

What! I've been here for quite a long time! Elder Alkonis and I had

gone and said goodbye to people he wanted to see before he left. We

gave Little John Kit Kats for his birthday. He was ecstatic. Then we

were off to Dallas for Elder Alkonis to go home and for me to get my

new companion! My new companion is Elder Lu! He is from Taiwan! He

speaks Chinese and is currently learning English here in the states.

He's really good at English even though sometimes it's hard to

communicate. He's awesome, though. He is 25 years old, already has a

degree in computer engineering, and served in the military in Taiwan

before he came on his mission. He's also been teaching me bits and

pieces of Chinese! I can now count to 7 in Chinese Haha!

This week was filled with a lot of finding. We don't have a ton of

investigators right now so we have been doing everything we can to

find new people to teach. We saw some miracles happen! We went to a

dinner appointment this week with the Dodd Family. They fed us fajitas

(super good food) and as we were leaving they mentioned their next

door neighbor, Chloe. We told them we'd go knock on her door and see

what happens! We went and knocked on her door and she was so awesome!

She went and showed us her cows and pigs that she shows at the

Yamboree! The Yamboree is a huge celebration in Gilmer. Kind of like a

fair. She has a cow named Fergie! Haha! Well, we were able to teach

her and tell her that her neighbor sent us by. We shared the

Restoration with her and invited her to be baptized. She accepted! Her

date is August 6th! We were so excited about it. Then, the next day

she texted us and said "Hey when we,wet again is it alright if I bring

my friend? She's interested too." We're so excited to teach them and

hopefully see them progress!

We also met with Jan this week again. Jan is just amazing! We had her

first new member discussion and set up an appointment with Sister

Breedlove (the family history consultant) so that Jan could do Family

History and print off some names to take to the Temple. She is going

this Saturday and we're so excited we get to go with her! It's going

to be a blast! We also were able to see Zack again and he met with

Bishop about receiving the Priesthood! Thursday we had District

Meeting with the new missionaries in the District. Sister Howell got

transferred so the new Sister is Hermana Schreiner with Sister Van Den

Berghe. It was a fun "get to know you" district meeting. After the

meeting. Elder Lu and I went with Elder Whiteley and Elder Lazenby to

get some fried catfish! There is a pretty good restaurant in Quitman

that has really good grilled and fried catfish.

The next day we ate so much food! Too much! The members here in Gilmer

sometimes give us a lot of food Haha. We went to Brother Alldredge's

home and his wife Sylvia made us some churiso. It's Mexican food and

it's so good! They made a ton and we stuffed ourselves. I seriously

felt like I was going to explode I ate so much food! It was so good

though, so it was worth it. And, Brother Alldredge is planning on

going to the Temple as well which is super exciting. Later that night

we ate at Bishop Sullivan's home. They made us these HUGE burritos and

they were so good too. After, though, I felt like I had eaten an

elephant. We taught Aber her last new member discussion. I've loved

teaching Aber on my mission! She's come so far from where she began

it's incredible!

On Saturday, someone from one of the Wards that the Sisters are in got

baptized! We were able to go to the baptism and do the missionary

presentation. It turned out really well and I was happy to be able to

go to a baptism. I always love attending Baptisms. The spirit is

always present and you always can feel joy all around! I'm so happy I

was baptized. Almost every single blessing I have, I can trace back to

my baptism! The next day, the teacher for Gospel Principles didn't

show, so Elder Lu and I taught! We taught about talents and how the

Lord gives each of us different talents that we need to share with

others! It was really fun and I'm grateful we had that opportunity to

teach.

Well, this week was pretty darn good. Sometimes I get stressed but I

don't need to! I love serving a Mission. I love all of you and am so

grateful for all of your love and support. I only have 2 fast Sundays

left before I see you all again! You're in my prayers!

Elder Joshua Needles

A YEAR IN EAST TEXES 6/27/2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Today is June 27th! I'm super anxious today because we are waiting on

transfer calls! I'm pretty confident I am staying in Gilmer, but you

never really know! Elder Alkonis goes home on Wednesday! I can't

believe it's already here. It feels like we became companions just

yesterday! Time really does start to fly. I'll miss Elder Alkonis, we

had a blast serving together. This is also an interesting time,

because I've officially served half of my mission in East Texas. I've

been out here for 8 transfers which is one year! It's really rare that

a missionary in this mission can say they've served out here for that

long! I'm super blessed and incredibly grateful! I love East Texas so

much!

This week was incredible! I loved it! It consisted of us doing SO MANY

AMAZING THINGS. The beginning of the week was spent helping Jan and

Zack prepare for their baptisms which would be that weekend. They are

so awesome and we love teaching them. We taught Zack about missionary

work this week and he told us that he is thinking about being a

missionary one day. That would be so amazing! I'm so grateful to have

been able to teach Jan and Zack. They are both so great and I'm happy

I was able to meet them.

Tuesday night was hilarious, because our District had all taken a

bunch of funny pictures as companionships and made slide shows out of

them, so Elder Alkonis and I followed suit. We tore apart our

apartment taking funny pictures that made no sense. I was literally

sore afterward. It was so funny and so much fun. Our District all made

successful and hilarious slide shows. We have such a good District!

That weekend was INSANE! We probably had the best weekend you could

ever ask for. Friday began with an appointment Elder Alkonis had in

Tyler, Texas. We went to the appointment in the morning and went to

lunch at the one and only Stanley's BBQ! One of my converts came to

eat lunch with us (Faye)! It was so good to see her and her daughter!

It also was so good to eat the amazing BBQ sandwiches that Stanley's

provides. After that, we went back to Gilmer and prepared for a trip

to Waxahachie! Elder Alkonis got permission from President Taylor to

attend the baptism of one of the people he taught while he was there.

So Brother Spencer came and volunteered to drive us down to

Waxahachie! IT WAS A BLAST. Brother Spencer had to stop at Costco

along the way in Duncanville! It brought back so many memories as I

served there for 6 months! We also ate at Panda Express which also

made my life. After baptism we headed back to Gilmer and we stopped at

the biggest gas station I've ever been to! It's called Buc-ee's! It

was insanely huge! It had around 50 pumps and the inside was

ginormous! Elder Alkonis and I bought some hats as souvenirs!

The next day was so awesome, because Jan and Zack both got baptized.

Jan has come so far. She told us when she first met us that she's

already been baptized and that she didn't want to again. But now, she

told us she wanted to because she believes Joseph Smith to be a

Prophet and the Book of Mormon to be true. It makes me so happy! I was

honored to be able to baptize her. Zack is also amazing. After he was

baptized he was talking to me about how he might serve a Mission and

it just filled me with so much joy! On Sunday, they were both

confirmed in Sacrament Meeting! It was the best way to end this

transfer. I'm so glad I've been able to serve here in Gilmer for so

long. This place is just amazing and I love all of the amazing people.

I will send another email later if I'm able to in order to inform

y'all about transfers!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your emails, thoughts, and

prayers. I will be forever grateful for all of you. I hope you have an

amazing week!

Elder Joshua Needles