SURPRISE PHOTO

Sam got a text from Nate Cannon posing with these missionaries.  Nate Cannon is one of Sam's friends who is getting his MBA in Chicago.

BACK VISITING MIDWAY

This week has been a pretty great week! That is so crazy that Josh is home already! Also, tell Emma that I say congratulations to them!!

We had some amazing things happened this week! On Saturday I was lucky and went on an exchange back to Midway and I absolutely loved it! We got to see Hermana Rojas and Santi there and it was so much fun! It was funny because when Hermana opened the door for us I was hidden behind Elder Wray, and when she saw me she was so shocked! And then we were talking to Santi and she was like Santi look it's Elder Eichers and he was like no Elder Eichers meaning that I had left. It was so sad but it was so cute! They see so many missionaries go through there! The rest of the family was all at on of the other members homes but I loved being able to see them! Then afterwards we went out with The Martinez family! This family we found and all of them were reactivated and then the 8 year old son is going to be baptized in like 2 weeks and the husband Freddy is getting so close to be baptized! He just has a few last things but we think that when he sees his oldest son baptize the youngest that he is going to have the desires! He already comes to church every week and loves the church so we hope that he will be baptized soon! My favorite part of the whole exchange was that we got to see Karina Huicochea and her family! We knocked on their door a little earlier than the appointment that we had and only the daughters were there with their dad and I was so happy because the youngest daughter Kamila remembered my name and it was the best moment ever! We had to come back though when the appointment actually started so that we could find Axel and Karina though! When we were out front of the house for the second time we hear someone yell Buenas noches esta bien si le dejamos con una tarjeta? Meaning can we give you a card and it was the hermanas. So they went in right before us and then we went in after because we couldn't be in there at the same time but when I went in We just had the best time there! Karina is doing so great and she is so bright with the spirit. She is struggling though because her husband still is really against the church but we had an amazing lesson that was so powerful, there was a reason why I had to be there that night and it was a great day! 

LOVING IT!

Photo from Liz White while Elder Eichers and Zacher were at zone conference.

This week was a tiring week but I loved it! We have gotten dropped by a few of our investigators so we have had tons of time to do finding but it gets pretty long at times! So we were teaching this guy named Luke and we have been teaching him ever since I got here in the area! He was so solid and he was loving coming to church and loving meeting with us but he never put full effort into seeking an answer and last week he called us and said that he just wanted to stay with the Catholic Church. It was so hard to hear because he is honestly one of the most prepared people I have ever seen for the Gospel but we are going to keep inviting him and keep talking because he is such a great person! It was really sad but there is still lots of hope!

On the bright side, we are teaching this girl named Aly and she is amazing! She was invited by her boyfriend to church who is a returning member. Her boyfriends name is Drew and just recently he invited another one of his friends named Allie who got baptized in a ward more towards the north and she just moved into our ward. There fire is there in their house! So all of them are actors and they love history and plays! They are just so much fun and so energetic to be around! But Aly is progressing so much! I'm her Book of Mormon reading she is in Alma chapter 60! She is so ready to be baptized it is just hard to get her to come to church because she has play rehearsals Sundays in the afternoon but two weeks ago all three of them went to the family ward and this week they were able to come because it was stake conference and earlier! She said that after going her first time to church, that any doubts that she had (not that she had any to start with) were all gone! She is just loving things and knows the gospel is true! She is so ready to be baptized we are just waiting with the right timing and helping here come into the ward and get involved. We are thinking she will be baptized once her plays stop going and when she wont be practicing on Sunday's!

I am glad you love El though! I haven't gotten the package yet but probably this weekI   I don't think I ever got the letter but yes I do love my companion a lot! And I use my spanish a ton still! We don't teach but we see lots of Hispanics out on the streets so we contact them! My companion will always stop people and we are both talking to people and then he will yell to me and be like hey they speak Spanish and so I still use it a lot!! I can't believe Josh is already going home! The time is just going by so fast! 

I am loving everything out here though! Everything is great, I have everything I need. I hope you have a great week!  Love you tons mom!

Elder Garrett Eichers

Illinois Chicago Mission

BLIZZARD AND A PHOTOSHOOT

Yes I am so sorry that I didn't have time to write to you last week.  Sister White told me that you texted her all worried..  But everything is great! The reason why I didn't respond last week was because we were with the new missionaries coming in and this transfer was huge, we had 22 leave and 21 come in so it is a giant group. I was absolutely exhausted and we didnt have any time on Monday but yes everything is great here. 

My new companions name is Elder Zacher and we are loving being together! He was just in the Logan Square ward where Sister White is serving! He is from Billings Montana! He is huge into basketball and football so we love talking about that! We are already doing so great together and having so much fun!

These last two weeks have been amazing! We have had two baptisms!! Last Saturday Jacki was baptized and it was such a great experience. She has been up and down on the whole idea for a while and we wanted to do the baptism right before Elder Foster went home but she was scared because she had to miss church the sunday before due to being out of town for work so we were just going to plan on doing it a later day. Elder Foster was going to extend his mission but he ended up not doing it. But on Thursday of that week we get a text from Jacki saying that she wanted to talk to us and she ended up telling us that she wanted to get baptized before he left. So anyways, we threw a baptism in like two days and she had a select group of people she wanted there so we were running crazy trying to plan it and find the clothes and everything. In the end, she was baptized and it was so great! She bore a powerful testimony about the love that all of the members have shown for her. She was confirmed yesterday and we got to stand in the circle.

 Then on Saturday, Dash was baptized.  I was so lucky because he asked me to baptize him! We had to pass him to the sisters because he is married so he got baptized into the family ward! The sisters just met his wife a few days ago and she is the sweetest! They think she is going to get baptized quickly because when they first met her she kept saying she was jealous that Dash was going to get baptized and she was so excited for him! They are an amazing couple!

And a crazy experience was that last week our church was canceled due to snow.  It straight up blizzared.  At the end of Sunday night there was probably about a foot and a half or two feet of snow that came down all in that one day. It was nuts, all of the people were getting stuck and the cars were all buried in.  So on Sunday we ended up just shoveling snow and helping people get out and then we had the Sacrament service in our home with just Elder Zacher, Foster and me. It was a great experience to have! Then we went to a members home and he did a photoshoot for us.

Elder Foster loved touching peoples ears so this was our picture

SLOPPY JOES

You never told me you were going to Maui!! That sounds like so much fun! Did you get another hole in one Golfing out there? That bike ride sounds great though, That would be sweet to start on the Volcano!

This week has been amazing though! We have had so many awesome things happen! So on Friday we went on exchanges with the Crystal Lake zone leaders and I loved it because I got to go to the suburbs for my very first time!! I had gone up there just to switch and drop Elder Foster off but on Friday I actually got to serve there!  We had a blast up there, I got to go with Elder De la Cruz and he is from California but he grew up in the Philippines! He is one of the funniest kids and we were just laughing so hard the whole entire time! My favorite part of it was that we went to dinner with the Bridges family up there. Last week Elder Foster was up in the suburbs too and he told me he had sloppy Joes and I started laughing because it's a classic white person food so of course this family gave it to us while we were there hahaha. But it honestly was the best! I forgot how good sloppy joes were and they had baked beans and everything! It was weird though because I felt so much like home there just because it was a bigger home and it was all nicely done with nice hard wood floors and paintings in the bathroom and everything, it was so great to be back in a situation like that! I now why I was serving in the city now my whole mission because if I would have started up there I don't think I would have ever gotten over homesickness! It is way too much like home! I remember when I started I just prayed to get sent to the suburbs and of course that was when they sent me to Chicago 3 which is in the heart of the city! I just loved being up there for the day! I would love to go serve up there one day!

Then yesterday was one of my favorite days of my whole mission. So we started off just by going to church and I just felt happy yesterday! It was so much fun to talk to all of the members and I just felt so happy to be there! I loved being there and then after we went to President Woodburys house and we had some transfer council so all of the sister training leaders were there and we talked about each of the sister companionships and how they are doing so that was fun! It's going to be a crazy transfer this time and also next because there are so many people going home! All of the Hermanas that I came out with will go home this transfer and the English sisters next transfer-- so it is crazy! They all came out in the wave so we will have to close lots of areas and change some of the sister areas to Elders.  It is going to be a lot of work but I am excited! Then we ate dinner and headed to a Book of Mormon fireside. It was a musical fireside and the spirit was so powerful there, the missionaries all sang I'll go where you want me to go.  I loved being there and it was with the whole Stake so I got to see lots of the members from Chicago 3 and 4, but my absolute favorite part was that the Vazquez family came!! I love them so much and I was so happy to see them!! I still think and pray about them constantly and have missed them so so much but they came!! Their family just has my heart because I love them so dang much!! I want you to meet them so badly! It makes me so happy too because the missionaries there right now are amazing and they have so much love for them too, They couldn't be in better hands! I just loved seeing all of the members though!

Everything is great out here though! I love you so much Mom! Have a great day today! Oh and today we are going down to Indiana to say goodbye to all of Elder Fosters Peeps.

Here is the picture of Vazquez yesterday along with Elder Randall (left) and Drebing (right). I'm kind of butt hurt that my suit coat was crazy but it's okay!

STEVE DIAZ' BAPTISM

This week has been great but it has been so crazy!! But I do know both of those missionaries! Sister Watts is in our zone and then Elder Bowden is down south! When I was in Midway we saw him on pdays because he was serving in an English ward down there! But that's good Nate is coming over on Friday! I was just emailing him the other day! 

But this week has been pretty stressful because we have been running around like crazy! On Monday night to Tuesday night we did exchanges with our district leader and that was pretty fun! Then this week since Elder Foster goes home soon we went on exchanges with Woodstock (all the way near by Wisconsin) and so I had another missionary come down with me! Elder Foster saw some of the families that he worked with up there and they told him that they would go to church if he was there, so he stayed up there! It was great for him and the area but it was crazy because Church was so busy and I was trying to talk to everyone but there was just too many people! While that happened there were two companionships who were having some issues that they needed our help with on and then there was a big thing happening with a bunch of elders meeting up today for pday which we had to work out and change so that has been stressful!

But while all of that happened we still had a great week! On Saturday we went down south to a baptism! It was for Steve Diaz! His family was one we worked with a ton in Midway and we reactivated his family and then he just got baptized! I am so happy for him and the baptism was great! Their family is so amazing and it is always hard to say good bye to them even though we only saw them for about an hour!  It was so great! We also passed off our amazing investigator to the sisters in the family ward! (His name is Dash and he is from Mongolia.) He is so solid and he loves the gospel! We have been working with him for about a month now and he is so excited to be baptized but we found out he is married. So it was hard but it was so great for the sisters to have that new miracle!! 

This is a 7 week transfer so we still have 2 weeks. This week is normal but next week we will be planning transfers and then the week after is transfers! It is on the 4th!

And I officially decided that I want to go to BYU. I have been trying to pray about it but I don't have too much time to think about it so I felt like every time I have prayed the Lord has said to go there. I just feel like that would be better for me so if you want to talk to Leslee Ellis and Zach and Matts parents that would be great! But I love you and I hope you have a great day! 

PRESSING FORWARD IN THE WORK

Thank you for sending the packages! I was really glad you sent them!  

Everything in this area has been amazing so far though! We had a baptism this week from the sisters in our ward with a girl whose name is Ola. She is from Nigeria and she is so amazing! She is super quiet but she loves the gospel! Her whole family are members of the church but she was the last one to come over to the United States so she just started learning and she is great! The baptism was so powerful! Then on Sunday after church we had one of our investigators whose name is Jacki and she is progressing so well! She has been coming to church for a while and has always been a little up and down but ever since Elder Foster and I have been together she has been on fire! She loves the gospel and has so many big goals for the church and for her life in general! She is an event planner so when she is working she is always super busy and crazy but she has had a little break for the holidays and she set one of her goals for this year as becoming a member of the church! She said she wants to get baptized before Elder Foster goes home! She has a friend/boyfriend (we are not sure what they are) who just recently got reactivated and they are progressing so well! I love them so much and am so excited for them!

But I have been speaking quite a bit of spanish! Last night we ate with our neighbors who are members in the spanish ward here and it was great! The guy Oliver spoke English so we would just translate for Elder Foster and also Oliver's sister who is married and has two kids. Also we still see a bunch of Hispanics out on the streets for example today we met an amazing lady at the lavanderia, I forgot the word in English but where we wash clothes.  Her name was Maria and we just started talking and she was just an old little lady and she was interested but when we were getting her information she had to bring her daughter over because she didn't know it exactly! I have grown to love the Hispanics here so much though so every time I see them I just fall all over them! 

The new ward is honestly amazing though! The people are all so kind and they love missionary work and the missionaries! We are just pressing forward in the work!

But Sophia Heiner is so young mom! She will still be in high school when I am home! And for your talk I love the healing power of the atonement but honestly any way you go with it will be powerful!

But thank you for everything you do mom! I love you more than anything! Honestly the reason why I love so many members out here is because so many of them love me just like you do and I am so grateful for that! Have a great day!

Thanks! And also can you send out that calendar please?

Elder Garrett Eichers

Illinois Chicago Mission

This was me faking asleep the other day: