July 29

Dad:
Elder Feidler,

More Pictures here!

Wow, July is almost over.  Myka is almost 4 months old and she is pretty happy about it.

Here is a  little comparison photo.  Who do you think she looks like the most?

I think both of us.  She is lots of fun and misses you bunches.  Just as we all do.  Just imagine what it is like here.  Every time we go somewhere it looks like this.

Load the baby in the Swagger wagon.  At least it has power sliding doors so we can open them on the way to the van.

I  was able to open the picture you sent at the end of last Monday.  You look healthy like you are putting on weight and getting buff!  Maddie says you have a bigger neck now and look older.  Zack had a robot war this past Tuesday night for scouts.  His car had Game Cube discs for wheels. So if it flipped over you could still drive it. It never flipped, but a giant mouse trap that he hit went off and smashed one of the wheels.  They had traps they had to avoid like fly paper and the mouse trap.  His car did not do so well.

I'm still busy in my church calling as the ward clerk.  I do have a financial clerk and a membership clerk now, so that is very helpful. Here I am folding the programs I print each Sunday before church.  I usually print about 45 of them.  We had 142 people out to church this week. A little low.

 We are trying to get a box together to send out this week to you. Here I am looking for your hat. I think I found the wrong one.  We haven't found the English one yet.

So today Monday, Chelle is having surgery on her foot at about 10 am.  Her sister Jennifer is watching Myka.  Hopefully this will fix Chelle's foot and get rid of the pain.

I'm still busy at work.  Hoping to sell a bunch of Houston ISD playgrounds in the next week or so.  All is well here.  We are praying for you all of the time.  I hope you are doing well and getting plenty to eat.  Teach lots of people and serve them well.

How's the new companion?  I hope its going great.  Every companion will bring new challenges and ways to learn.  I'm sure it all prepares you to be better suited to find and pick the perfect wife in the future.  And get along with her.

Pretty exciting to hear you will be getting technology in about a month.  Let us know what that means when you get it.

Maddie had a good week at girls' camp.  Saturday she also had the ends of her hair dyed blue again. She will have to send you pictures.

We love you!  Have a great week!   Work hard!

Love, Dad

Graham:
Hey Family!! This past week has been a great one. Lance accepted a baptismal date and we had some other lesson that went really well. We are bringing members with us to almost every lesson to try to involve them more and to set up friendships with our investigators. So far it has been working really well. It gets the members more excited to share the gospel and helps the investigators feel connected. Something I've noticed in a lot of our ward meeting is people talking about issues or problems but not coming up with a plan to fix or work on those problems.

That is not the right hat but almost. You fold the flyers?? They have made us fold them a few times out here :P You and Chelle look more like each other than the baby looks like either of you. 

Sweet scout activity!! Wish we would of done something like that when I was in scouts. When is Zack's eagle court of honor?? And did he destroy my Gamecube games??? I wanted those. :/ 

Wish I was there to see Myka grow up and to ride in the swagger wagon! She sure is cute. Has your mini cooper blown up yet? Sounds like it has had some problems since I've been gone. 

Today for P-day we are going to play Frisbee golf and the we have another lesson with Lance tonight. Wish I knew my scripture better then I do but I'm learning them now. My grey suit pants ripped down the side. Everything is getting worn out already. I heard they might change the missionary dress code soon. Kinda exciting!!

I love and miss ya'll a bunch!!

Elder Graham Feidler

Dad:

That's great about Lance. Keep up the good work.  How might they change the dress code??

Chelle just had foot surgery. I'm waiting to see her. Dr says it went well. They removed her sesmoid bone from her foot.  

Yes I print & fold fliers every Sunday. The MINI is still rolling. I paid over $700 for the new harmonic balancer to be installed.  Seemed to fix the main problem. 

None of those game cube games worked. 

I have my 25 yr class reunion this coming weekend. Grandma & Grandpa are in Utah right now. 

Have fun at frisbee golf. 

Did you get the box from Grandma/pa??

Luv u!

Dad

Graham:

I got grandma and grandpas package! :) yum and I'm not sure how they might change the dress code.

I can wear that tan suit now! They changed the dress code so we can now wear khakis and any color of suits.

July 22

Dad:

Elder Feidler,

Wow, 1/8 or your mission is over and you are on to your second companion. I hope all is going well!  Tell us about the new companion:

Name:

From:

Age:

Length on his Mission:

Parents Name?  They on Facebook?

Is he your senior companion?  I called and spoke to Sharon on Wednesday and she said Elder Jackson had been transferred.  She had lots of good things to say about you!  I'm very proud of you for working with the first companion and hope you find great success with your new companion.  I guess I was pretty lucky on my mission because I can't remember having any companions that were too difficult.

This is my new companion

She is awesome!  Really expresses herself loudly, and that is helpful since I am hard of hearing. She is still not sleeping great at night, but seems happy during the day and very sweet and lovable.

This past week we got to rescue Chelle's friend from Oregon, Autumn Papritz. She ran out of gas and Chelle just happened to be a minute behind her and stopped and picked her up.  She is house sitting for the Woodfords for the next couple of years.  I public shamed her by putting this picture on Facebook.

We got a new Elder here.  His name is Elder Hartshorn.  He is with Elder Bown.  We learned that Elder Bown can play the piano like Chopan!  Here he is doing an awesome job playing.

The elders will be singing in Sacrament next Sunday so they stopped by to see if they could print off the music. Last night they had an investigator go with them to a baptism up at the Sunnyside building in Houston.  We had to go and pick them up afterwards and then drop them and their investigator off.  It was a good trip and their investigator came out to church today!

Grandma & Grandpa came over yesterday and Maddie just got home from girls' camp.  Zack was at your mom's house Friday night and Saturday.  He painted his room over there a grayish blue color and assembled his bed. here's a pic from what he Instagrammed.

So that's it for here this week.  In a week from tomorrow (Monday), Chelle is going to have foot surgery to hopefully get rid of the pain. She will be in a boot for a couple of weeks.

We love You! Keep up the good work!!

Dad

Graham:

Tyler Della Lucia

Farmington, Utah

19

5 months

Idk???

He is my senior companion. 

Everything is going great here! We have a lesson with Lance tonight and hope to put him on date for baptism. We have been doing a lot of labor service for people. Sharon and Alvie are getting rid of a lot of their things. Sounds like we should be getting technology in our mission next month! :) I'm excited for that cause it is hard to find new people to teach in the middle of nowhere.

Love and miss ya'll and haven't seen a letter in the mail box with my name on it in 3 weeks... lol 

July 15

Dad:

Elder Feidler,

 I hope you are doing well!  This is the week you or your companion might get transferred.  If they move you then you won't get to do the Texas style BBQ for the ward. :-(

Here's a pic of Maddie on 4th of July with fireworks in the background.

You could see lots of fireworks being lit in our neighborhood.

Busy week here.  Myka caught a cold and she now ways 14 lbs 11 oz.  Here she is at the Dr's office.  She seems to be doing better now.

Maddie & Zack are settling into the new Bedroom furniture (waiting on the bedspreads to come.)

I went to league city to take a picture of a completed playground I sold to a school there.

When I left there, my car nearly died and would not run over 2000 rpm.  I drove it straight to MINI of Clear Lake which was about 2 miles away.

It had the Harmonic balance/ dampener / belt drive pulley on the end of the crank shaft come apart.  That cost me $750.... installed. Ouch.

Of course they looked my car over and found many problems; like an oil leak and lower control arm bushings split, low speed cooling fan not working.  About $3500 all together. I didn't have them fix the other stuff.  It's drivable and I was able to fix the low speed fan.

Friday we drove over early to Port Arthur in the Swagger Wagon.  It was Grandma & Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary.  We spent most of the day setting up for it and it went really well.  They had lots of people come out and had plenty of finger foods and cake.  We then spent the night there and came home Saturday.

Grandpa's garage now has the green Camaro up on the rotisserie for restoring it.

So that's the highlights of our week.  We sure miss you, but time is flying by.  We love you and pray for you all of the time.  At our meal prayers, Maddie is always praying that you are being fed good food too.

We love you!  Send a video micro SD card soon of your area so we can see before you get moved.

I love you and am very proud of you!!

Take care,

Dad

Graham:

Hey! It's Monday, Monday, got to go pee on Monday! It has been a decent week. We got Sharon and Alvie to church because Elder Jackson got forced into singing a solo in sacrament meeting. It went well and it was good to see them there. Right now we have a three pack until tomorrow. Elder green (Came from the MTC at the same time as me) is with us because his companion just finished his mission. Also heard that 35 new missionaries will be coming in tomorrow!! 

If you can find my skeleton watch, I'd love to have that. I love all of the pictures. I print them off and hang them up on the wall next to my study chair.

Dad:

Great!  3 of you!  That's awesome.  Do you think you will be transferred or your companion this week?  Been busy here.  I saw your skeleton watch just the other day.  Chelle was about to swipe it and wear it!!

Luv Dad

Graham:

Haha. I'm thinking I'll stay because Jackson has been here longer and he used to be the district leader but now someone else got called to be the district leader.

Dad:

I see, I don't know why you didn't sing with him in church!  You have a good voice.  Any iPads or new stuff happening in your mission yet?  How's the weather?  We should get some rain this week it has been soooo dry.  Our yard is about dead. 

Send some pics or video soon!

 Luv dad

Graham:

The song he picked was to high for me to sing. Weather has been in the 70's with lots of sunshine and no rain. Everything is still green though. This morning during our study a rabbit tried to hop inside our trailer. We have a glass front door and he tried to go through it! haha Wish I had it on video. Nothing new about technology in my mission yet, however I have heard several other mission that now have Ipads and Facebook pages!

July 14

Dear Feidler Family,
Hello! It's Sunday night. Elder Jackson is most likely getting transferred on Tuesday so he is in the bedroom talking on the phone with other missionaries. I'm cooking brownies, watching a Joseph Smith video and writing home to y'all! 

This past week had been a good one. We had a few lessons taught and got a few less active families to come to church. 

I really miss and love y'all so much!! I'll try to send an SD card soon. Just haven't been taking many pictures or videos. 

I'd love to have my skeleton watch and that hat if y'all get a chance. I still make lots of Dad's homemade donuts and impress everyone. :-) 

Just wish we did more scripture reading or FHE centered on Preach My Gospel back home. In my spare time out here I read my scriptures and pray! How important these two things are!

Well I can smell the brownies so I'll stop writing. 

Love y'all
Elder Feidler

PS I've ripped a pair of suit pants! 
PSS If you find cheap ties feel free to send some and more beef jerky. :-)

July 8

Dad:
We are out shopping for some bedding for Maddie & Zack.  They got some bedroom furniture.

We miss you. Hope all is well. Myka is still being fussy when tired.  Luv u


Graham:

Is that my bedroom??

Dad:

Yes, your room!  You may very well get to take that bedroom suit when you get married!  How are you?  Details, whats up?

Dad

Graham:

Feeling a lot better! This morning we went to the Boeing building but didn't take the tour because it was $20 but after that we went bowling and now we are emailing. I'm planning a ward Texas BBQ in a few weeks! Other then that things are great. Had a good fourth of July. Didn't get to see fireworks in person but we watched the New York show on tv with Sharon and Alvie.

July 5

Dear Maddie,
I hear it's cold and rainy in Texas! JK! Looks like it's hot and muggy. Do you take care of Myka a lot? How's Mom's house?

Here in Washington we have had lots of sunshine but the temp only gets up to 80! :-)

We have been doing a lot of service while the weather is this nice. We chopped wood, moved a few people, cut paths to a river, put up rain gutters, changed a tractor tire, helped random people on the side of the road and watered some lady's plants. We have done more but I can't fit it all in the letter. Also we have been teaching a few investigators. Hopefully we will have a baptism soon.

I love and miss y'all a bunch!

Elder Graham Feidler

Dear French Fry (aka Zack),
Hey! How's the hot summer in Texas going? It has been nice and cool here with a few rainstorms. Nice weather for doing lots of service and yard work.

This week we hope to teach a few lessons to our investigators! Also we need to go see some more less active people.

You should try living like a missionary for a day! We wake up at 6am and exercise or run. Then we eat breakfast, shower, study scriptures alone for an hour and then have two hours of companion studies. After that we eat lunch and look for service to do. Then we teach people that we have planned and also those walking on the street. Then we eat dinner at 5:30pm, teach some more and come home at 9:30 to plan for the next day. Busy days! :-)

I love and miss y'all a lot!

Love,
Elder Graham Feidler

July 1

Dad:

Elder Feidler,

I hope all is going well this new week! One of our missionaries (Elder Wright) is going home this week. We will miss him. They came over and ate last Thursday night and again on Friday after they tried to visit our back yard neighbors. No luck there. I feel sorry for them because my car thermometer said 105 degrees on Saturday after 5 pm!  They must be cooking when riding their bikes.

Sorry to hear about the whole "ticket thing".  Things sometimes get worse before they get better.  Transfers are this Wednesday and your office mentioned that it may be a remedy to your companionship issues.  Or maybe you will stick together for a little while longer?  You never know.

 Have you met President Bonham and his wife yet? That's pretty exciting that he will be your mission pres for the rest of your mission.

Your mom got moved into the new house.  Zack and Maddie were over there helping pretty much Thursday til Sunday morning. Sounds like she is getting everything done she needs there.

Zack is off to EFY in San Antonio this week.  He left at 7am this morning with the Lloyds.  Maddie and Chelle have gone to the new Pearland Library in the HEB shopping center and I am at home working away.  I went sailing on Saturday at the Big Kahuna Kup in Galveston.  I don't think I did very well on the finish time.  It was all down wind and I was sailing solo and using the spinnaker.  I flipped over once near the end and was able to right the boat by myself.  It was fun, but I'm wore out and sun burnt.  I think I may need to take a 5 year break from this sailing until Myka is older and Chelle can go with me.  Not as much fun by myself.

Myka has been a sleep fighter lately.  She gets real loud with lots of squealing / crying before going to sleep.  Hopefully this stage will pass by soon.

I hope you all are having great success.  We are enjoying the extra room in the new Toyota Sienna / Swagger Wagon. 

Our yard is about dead because it is so dry here.  No rain in over a week and the grass is browning.

Take care Love you!

Dad,

Graham:

Transfers here are in two weeks and a day. But since we are getting a new mission president I'm not sure if they would move us around. Should I use my home money to pay for the ticket? Has mom made it to church lately? How the baby doing besides crying? Any summer plans? It has been in the 90's here and are A/C in our car hasn't been working very well. It blows smoke out of the vents. I'm just disappointed in our investigators. They don't have a desire to change. Hopefully that will change soon.

Dad:

I would not use your home money to pay for the speeding ticket unless you have to.  Take it out of you normal $140 a month and try to get more dinner appointments.  Try not to spend your total $140 every month.  Save $10 back for emergencies like this.  It's got to be hard to budget, but do what you can.  Time for your companion to feed you!  Did you let him read the email I sent to both of you?

Baby Myka is doing great!  She is getting so big. I just sent a pic under a separate email from my phone.

No summer plans here.  Baby is kind of like an anchor.  Hard to go too far from home.   Find new investigators.  Usually they should progress quickly or else they aren't catching it.

Luv,

Dad

Graham:

This past week was decent. We visited a few more people but nobody is showing too much progress. We took Br. Tonks with us to teach a lesson to Lance. Sunday Br. Tonks talked to bishop and our ward mission leader and said it went really rough. Then they sat down with me and Elder Jackson to figure out why. Sounds like I don't have a clue of what I'm doing plus it doesn't help that I keep getting sick. It's hard...

Dad:

I'm sure you are doing fine.  Just remember to study the Preach My Gospel and share your testimony about the things you teach. Read the scriptures, pray lots and listen to the Spirit.  Not every lesson goes perfect.  Remember you are not the trainer.  It is your companion's responsibility to train you and help you learn what you need.  If that is not happening, discuss it with him or your mission president.  Maybe transfers will bring a breath of fresh air!  We are praying for you here.

Luv, Dad