12-29-09

On Christmas eve we ate dinner at a member's house and then did our weekly planning, as per instructions from our leaders.
Then on Christmas Day we ate breakfast with our ward mission leader. We then made the phone calls from a member's home's, having lunch with the first one. After that we went and visited some less actives before we had dinner at another member's home. We then came home and I went to sleep, (way to much food).
Does she have to sign up for classes or what?
Uncle Bill is still working on getting his bike to me.I think it will all work out. For now we are borrowing the Zone Leader's bikes. They work but are extra small and my legs are killing me.
Transfers are next week and one of the Elders in the Elderado area said that he had a dream that he was coming to the Sandia area to replace Elder Smith so we will see.
We had a pretty good week last week besides the cold. We have been getting more referrals and picking up some new investigators here and there. Not to many are fully interested. We do have a new investigator who is deaf. We met with her for the first time on Sunday after church. There is a sister in the singles ward that signs very well because her brother is deaf and she came along with us to translate. She helped out a bunch! Unfortunately, we are loosing another one of our investigators who is moving back to TX. We will miss him!

12-22-09

Some kid somewheres will be having a very wonderful Christmas with a new bike or two. No we did not donate our bikes (knowingly). They got stolen on Saturday night. We had them locked up outside of an apartment complex where a recent convert lives. We were inside teaching him and came out and they where no longer there. I sent the cut bike lock home in a package that won't get there until after Christmas. Sorry but there's not much in there. I wasn't to much in the Christmas shopping spirit.
I feel sad for Elder Smith one transfer out and his bike gets stolen! He is already making arrangements for a new bike from his work back home i think. (he worked in a bike shop) I on the other hand don't know what to do. I don't really want to buy a new bike with only 7 months left, so I'm trying to find the cheapest an best way of doing things. Ya, sorry. Merry Christmas kid...

Elder Smith did get wet with Frankie.
I would love to send a picture of the ginger bread house but unfortunately it didn't fair so good on the ride home so it is no longer with us.
(Commenting on his sister's first trip home from college).
I bet Emily is very tired! Strange for her. I don't even want to think of how strange it will be for me, lol.
Please don't make me sing a solo when I get home. Please!
Have a Happy Merry Christmas!

Love you all!
Elder Jake E. Buhler

12-14-09

We have had a great week. Frankie's baptism went well. We had trouble finding a jump suit big enough for him bc the ward mission leader from the other ward took all the suits home to wash them and hadn't brought them back until we called him. I then did the conformation on Sunday and that went great as well.
Just gearing up for the holidays. I do love this area a lot. There are a lot of great people here.
The sister that Pres. Richards and Jeff took the the sacrament to at that camp last summer is leaving on Saturday. She's going to go to England on vacation and then to Utah for school. We are joining her for lunch at her work today.
I received the 12 days of Christmas supplies and have opened the first day card and one of the notes. I love the picture of Mrs Katz. I haven't seen her in, well as long as it's been since I've seen you, lol. I see that Jen R's new make-over didn't go so well. Her eyes are way to big =) (zoom in on photo)
When you send stuff to the mission home they usually forward it to the apartment but we have a senior couple in our ward that works at the office and she just delivers the mail to us at church on Sunday which is nice.
I also received a package from my cousins in VA containing some very wonderful drawings, m&ms and a gift card to Walmart.
I was wondering if i could get Uncle Jim's ice box cake recipe. A member who we are dining with asked what we wanted for Christmas and I was going to give them that to make.
We got a cold front and a dusting of snow with ice but that's about it.
We had a Singles Ward activity where we made gingerbread houses. It's great if you melt sugar and then dip the ends of the graham crackers in it and stick them together. It hardens like a rock and is still edible.
(Commenting on Elder J. Johnson's first area in Zealand, Denmark.)
That's a good point. I never did think of where New Zealand came from... now I know =)

12-07-09

Things are still on tract for Frankie's baptism and are looking good.
That's sweet that Jeff Receveur's in Belgium! Elder Smith II said that he saw and remembers Jeff from the MTC. I find it kind of interesting that Elizabeth Smart is in the MTC going to France.

11-30-09

Thanksgiving was great! We had District Meeting in the morning and then we went to Bishop Nielson's house for lunch (he's the Bishop over the Sandia Ward) which was way fun. Then we had dinner at a less-active member's home. That was great fun 2!
We are very fortunate here in these wards. We get fed almost everynight. It's great. We are blessed.
Elder Smith is from Taylorsville Utah and has 4 sisters. He, like me, came out after he graduated high school. Thanks so much for the package of the thermals and apples! The apples are wonderful.
Elder Smith from VA went from here to Belin.
The group that returned home left early because of Thanksgiving and thus I didn't get to see Elder Besler off. He did give me a posterity tie which I am so happy about!!
Thanks for the prayers for our investigators, they are needed. We have a baptismal date coming up for the 12th of Dec with a single brother named Frankie. His girlfriend is a member and that's how he came to know about the church.
I do like busy but sometimes it reaches the point of overwhelming.
I got a letter from dad and he said the '84 ranger is no longer around. That makes me very sad. It's ok, though. What happens happens.
I got a letter from a member of the Branch but the letter had been opened and was missing! Not sure what happened there.

11-25-09

11-23-09 Transfers

I will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in the Sandia/Eubank area. Elder Smith is going to Haines East, we believe. My trainer, Elder Besler, returned home this week and I am getting a newbie, just as you are in Hudson.

It's been busy and I have a feeling it's only going to get busier.

The baptism didn't happen this week. Our investigator backed out saying she still has questions, but we haven't given up on her.
The retainer is working fine. The pain is lessening, but I still wake up with my teeth sore, but that's ok.

On Friday the rim on my bike split on me so I had to get a whole new wheel and tire.

Since I am staying in this area for the next month my thermals and my boots would be highly appreciated. Thanks.

Phone calls are coming up, as our mission president reminded us. We can't make calls on the cell phones so we are going to use either a member's phone or the church's phone. I can call you and you can call me back if you want or I think I have enough on the phone cards to cover it.

11-16-09

A lot of the members of the student ward attend the local community college. The University of NM, in another part of the city, has its own branch. We cover all the singles on the east side of Albuquerque.
I do like being on bikes, but it's still tiring even after doing it for over a year =)

I had to spend some money to repair my bike after it got damaged. We got a ride home from an investigator's place in their low-rider. It's an old Monte Carlo with hydraulics in it that make it go up and down. We had our bikes on the back of it on a bike rack and they got stuck under the car as we were backing out of the driveway. Elder Smith's bike got the brunt of the damage, but mine also needed a little repair.
Yep, so that's the exciting week we had. We had to walk a lot while our bikes got fixed but it was all right.

It's been cold and so I would like my boots and thermals sent once I know where I will be after Transfers this next Tuesday.

11-09-09

Our next bapotism is set for Nov. 21st. We have a few more who are looking promising, just trying to work through issues.

We are feeling good. tired as none other. but good. We went to get the free flu shot that the State is offering but when we got there there were like 100 people waiting in a line that went out and around the building and we said "like ya" and left.

Because I have been feeling my front teeth moving I made an appointment with an orthodontist nearby. She said I should try my old retainers and see if they might still work. I am sending a file of some pictures they took for our ortho at home to look at. She was really nice and the people who worked there were great. They didn't charge me for the visit or the x-rays. Then at Staples where I made the scan of the ortho picts the guy said he scan was on him so I didn't have to pay the 50 cents. Wierd stuff, lol.

Yep, so it was a busy week. Running around to appointments and tracting.

The little old Ford Ranger Jake drove before going on his mission died.
I am going to miss the flames. Before you scrap it, can you take pictures for memories sake? lol

11-05-09

11-02-09

Our newest convert was introduced to the Church by the Bishop who his next door neighbor.

I have talked with Brother Roper who is on the high council and he says Dietre, the young man we taught last fall and was baptized after I was transferred out of the Indian School area last winter, is doing amazing.

The singles ward is different because it's so quiet and well, different. The family ward is like any other family ward, except they only have one young man. We attend the singles' sacrament at 11 am, take lunch at 12, and then attend all 3 hours with the family ward, 1 - 4 pm..

Pball is dodge ball with tennis balls and tables set up to hide behind like shields. Its a harder version of dodgeball which we sometimes play on preparation day (P-day).

I met someone in the singles ward a week ago who has an amazing story. She is from CA but this past summer she worked in upstate New York at a "Camp Eagle Hill" in a place called Elizaville, a small spot on a map. She and another LDS friend working there could not get off on Sundays to go to church. So one week the Branch President, a Pres. Richards, and a youth from the nearest congregation brought the sacrament to her and her friend. (This camp is approx. 7 mi. from Jake's home and Pres. Richards is the current Pres. of Jake's home branch. Pres. Richards recalls the sister stating she had been attending BYU Hawaii before taking the job in Elizaville. It's fantastic how small this big world can be.)

I want to write about the whole area and everything, but that would take to long, so if you ask questions then I can answer those.

10-26-09

The baptism went way good! It was practically perfect. The talks where all good and the water was good. We had some light refreshments after He was confirmed on Sunday by the bishop.
We are also working on a few more baptisms, hopefully coming upthis month.
Scott, our recent convert, lives next to Bishop and he became interested after his girl friend died in a car accident. Anne has family who are members of the church and Sergio & Andrew were found by the Elders.
The new apartment is nice. It's old but it's still good, just a little grungy. It is on the second floor. We do not have a washer and dryer. We go to the apartment laundromat which costs $1 per wash and $1 per dry.
I am still on a bike and I crashed a few days ago. lol
We live behind an Albertson's and that's where we shop. It's a bit more expensive than Walmart or Smith's, but it's the closest.
On p-day we usually play ball with the two zones in the area.
On a sad note, Bro. Morgart, who we taught and baptized in Edgewood, lost his fight with cancer on the 13th of Oct. It's even sadder because his wife was hoping to go to the temple next year to have the family sealed together. They have two children in High School. Now it will have to be done by proxy.

10-24-09

New photos just posted, dated 8/30 and 10/09. Love Mom

10-19-09

Yes, I am still in Albuquerque so please continue to send my mail via the mission home address.
We cover 2 wards, the Sandia Ward, which is a family ward, and the Eubank Singles ward. We meet at the Eubank building on Eubank and Montgomery.
The area I just moved from attends the Haines chapel. When I was in Albq. last fall, we worked in the area which meets in the Indian School chapel.
I am in the Albq. East Stake now which includes the Indian School Ward. The Haines Ward is in the Albq. Stake in Cherry Hills.

Elder Smith is from Buena Vista, Virginia. He is not to familiar with the Richmond area-where Aunt Janet lives.

I'm doing great and the area I'm in is doing great! We have a lot of good investigators and have a baptism coming up this weekend which we are way excited for! His name is Scott and he has been meeting with the missionaries for about 2 months now. He is very excited, too. We also have a few other baptismal dates down the road which we are preparing for. Things are going great!

10-13-09 Transfers

Elder Tuttle and I didn't get to see any balloons up close, but saw a bunch from a distance.

That's sweet that my bro is getting his permit!

Transfer News:
I am leaving and am actually now in the Sandia/Eubank Young Single Adult areas with Elder Smith from Virginia. He was trained in this area last transfer and his "dad" was made district leader in Farmington 1&3. So I'm follow-up training.

I am now in my new apartment and am getting all settled in. It sounds like the area is being pretty productive as of late so that is good.

Elder Tuttle is staying in Cherry hills which will be 6 months for him there. I don't know why I was transferred and not Tuttle. Tuttle was set that he was leaving for sure and that I was his replacement. I thought we were going to get doubled (both transferred at the same time) and I would be sent to the rez (Indian Reservation) like Pueblo, Ramah, Lupton or somewhere. Well, we were wrong like usual. lol But all things are done in the wisdom of him who created all things. =)

10-09-09

10-05-09

That's funny that Carrie had the "Think it Over Baby" for the week-end.
So is my brother learning to drive now?

I'm sick right now, so I'm not in the best mode. I have diarrhea and am tired. I get hot, then have cold chills and am really shaky. But whatever!

09-28-09

Though as missionaries we are to minister to the living I am glad we get the chance to attend the temple periodically.
A member drives us to church and back again on Sundays and other than that we don't go to the building.
I'll think about getting a flu shot. Missionaries say that if you're obedient you won't get sick. However, I'm not sure it's contingent on obedience.

09-22-09

we went to the temple yesterday and it was amazing. It felt so good to go after not being able to go for so long. Yesterday we went to work after we returned from the temple and so today is P-Day.
Our Stake Conference is two weeks after General Conference, just like Albany Stake's.

Elder Tuttle is from Riverton, Utah.

The apartment is a decent size. comparable to Cotez and bigger than all my other apartments. still with 4 elders in it I can see it being crammed. When I got here I didn't really miss the black ceiling in the last apartment much at first because we had black mold in the shower. But I did a good cleaning and it's back to white, lol. I had to use bleach and everything else, it was amazing.
I definitely have to keep my nose clean living so close to the Mission Home, especially when President Anderson stops by to do weekly planning with us which was great! I got to ask some questions that I was wondering about.
It is about a 20 to 15 min drive from our apartment to the Haines' Chapel. Things are kind of weird with the buildings here.

Our week went well. Really slow, unfortunately. No one wanted to talk to us on the doorstep or otherwise. we have a baptismal date for the boys on the 10th of October but I'm not sure if that's going to last. They canceled on us last week for unexplained reasons and then didn't come to church. Their mother is a member but father is not.

09-08-09

Transfers went great. No problems. It was just a hop over the hill so nothing two bad. I'm close enough to the mission office you can just send all mail there and it will get to me in about the same amount of time.
We meet in the Haines Chapel.
The area is pretty slow right now but I was ready for a change and am happy to be on a bike again. We do have a couple of possible baptisms coming up. They are two boys from a part-member family that we just started teaching last week.
The apartment is way nice. It was messy when I got here bc 4 missionaries had been living in it but now its just me and Elder Tuttle. I think the area will be fun and productive.
In the past two weeks have talked to alot of people who actually were in New York (via Cell Phones) or were going to New York. I had the later wave towards Germantown and the family.
Elder Condie went home to Delaware this past transfer so I had him wave north for me too.
Ya Elder Tuttle is a BYU fan and he couldn't wait until Sunday to find out how the game went! He was very happy that they won. That's cool that mom got to watch it with grandma.
It will be interesting to see if Emily turns into a football fan now that she's at the Y.

08-31-09

Ok transfer info!! I am being tranfered to Cherry Hills in Alb. with Elder Tuttle as my companion ( we were in the same district in the MTC)!
Elder Thompson is staying in Edgewood and Elder Crebs will take my place.
Elder Cooper is staying in the District.

Elder Grow was way cool! He is a great speaker.
Our zones just got rearanged this transfer so the all the zone boundaries now follow the Sake boundries. There are 9 stakes in our mission and now each one of them has a Zone. I am transfering to the the Albuquerque Stake (Zone) from the Albuquerque East Stake (Zone).

Yep so next time I write I will be in the biking area of Cherry Hills.

Send all mail to the mission office until further notice!

08-30-09

08-24-09

We had a good week here. Picked up a new investigator, had a few good lessons and had some bible discussions with a young Baptist guy and a 76 year old lady on 2 separate occasions. We are really excited for this weekend. The sisters are holding an Open House for the Edgewood building because it was just remodeled. We are hoping and praying for a big turn out! Yep and then tomorrow we have C. Scott Grow from the Quorum of 70 speaking to us at a Zone Conf. It should be a fun week!

08-19-09

8-15-09

08-17-09

We have an open house for the newly remodeled Edgewood building coming up on the
29th which we are excited for.

We just had our Stake Conference on Sunday and the Stake Presidency was reorganized. Our bishop is now the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency so we will have to wait 'till next week to hear who our new bishop will be. Exciting stuff.

The people in Edgewood are different from other places I've served in. Work wise it's definitely more difficult. People are here to get away from everybody, not find religion or anything. It's also referred to as the Bible Belt of New Mexico. There are plenty of gates and dogs to go around.

08-10-09

Today is the anniversary of the Pueblo Revolt (as well as the birth of his mother & sister. Not all in the same year, of course ^_^).

Thats awesome that Robbie (Beavers) is on his mission now!! Its even more crazy that he is in Hawaii!

I have not lost my driving privilages as far as I know. I dont think I will bc it has been quite awhile since the accident.

Ya we had a pretty good week. We got good numbers for OYMs (open your mouth) and had fun tracting.

I was sick for about 2 days with something but its pretty much gone now. So yep, other than that, not much to report.

08-03-09

07-27-09

That's pretty cool that one of your former employers (Elder Douglas Shumway)is now the Temple President of the Albuquerque Temple. I'll try and remember that the next time we go to the temple.

We only go on Exchanges with DLs (District Leaders) and sometimes ZLs (Zone Leaders).

We do have to have someone backing us up, but Elder Thompson was on the other side of the truck and couldn't see the fence post.
I love driving, but I don't like driving here on the mission for some reason. It feels weird and I am always worried about the truck.
I just wish I can serve most of the next year of my mission in a bike area. I miss biking.
Hey and it's my year mark this week, sweet.

07-24-09

07-20-09

Ah, I'm jealous that you guys get to go to the pageant. Everyone asks about that out here when I tell them I'm from NY.

The new converts in Farmington I spoke of are Bro. Roddy and Williams Their is also a lady whose name escapes me now, ah man.

To my knowledge the lightening storms which made national new didn't do any damage. We sat outside and took pictures of the lightning on Elder Thompson's camera.


As for transfer news both Elder Thompson and myself are staying in Edgewood. Elder Cooper is coming down from Farmington to be in Estancia with Elder Mier. Sister Marchant is leaving for Shiprock and Sister Anderson is coming to be with Sister Wheatherston. Yep and Elder Garcia is going to Indian School.

I also have some other news but not to make you worry. It is mostly all right. Last night I had an accident with the truck. I was backing out of driveway and well I clipped a railroad tie that they make into fences out here. It slightly disfigured the bumper, bumper guard, and quarter panel. We reported it and everything so yep, ya that's about it =(

Well on a happier note Bro. Morgart's baptism went very well indeed. There was about 70- 80 people there and the spirit was way strong! It was the shortest one that I've attended, only about 35 to 40 min. but one of the best. The only thing that could have been better is that the water could have been little cooler.

Elder Thompson and myself filled the font and b/c it was our first time here we filled it a little warm, about 106 degrees by what Elder Thompson's watch said before we started putting in the cold water. We were only able to bring it down to 95or so before the font was full and we couldn't add anymore. In Elder Thomson's words "That's people cooking temperature." So ya, other than that it was great.

This Saturday is Pioneer Day and the stake out here gets together and holds a huge picnic. We can go if we have an investigator.
Ya so all's good in Edgewood.

07-13-09

Well we are not out of the Somerville's place yet. We now have permission to stay until they sell it.

We had apartment inspections last friday and well, we got a super wow lol.

Brother Morgart is the father in a Part member family and has had a lot of contact with the church but it was a spiritual experience that he recently had that really made him want to learn more and eventually join.

The date is for Thursday Jul. 16th at 7 pm. We are way excited!
This weekend there is a baptisem for a lady that myself and Elder Hullinger found tracting in Farmington and then one for a way awesome guy that Hullinger & I taught.

Crazy awesome! Elder Hullinger and his greeny are doing a great job!


We have alot of moving going on out here that we help with every now and then.

I also gave a talk on Sunday in Sacrament Meeting, along with Elder Thompson. I gave mine on missionary work and everything and I think that it went really well even though I only had like 5 min. left for a 20 -25 min talk lol. I only went over by 10 mins. =)

Yep this past week has gone good and this week looks pretty good 2 except we don't have dinner appts. every night. The Relief Society was slacking this Sunday I guess. Oh well.

Hope all is going good at home. Love you lots!

07-06-09

On Sunday we got a referral for an elderly gentleman who is ready to get baptized, practically. We hope to set a date with him tonight for the 18 or 25 of July.

On the 4th we had to be in by 7 pm which didn't make much sense to me, seeing as the sun was still 35 to 40 degrees above the horizon, but not my call and I just do what I'm told. But it was way cool, bc we sat on top of a hill (with our landlords) and we could see like 12 different people's fireworks that were being set off.

We have been getting some really good rain here which everyone is grateful for. Haha That's going to be weird seeing (my brother) Spencer as tall as me when I get home!

The week finished well. We had interviews with President which went well.

We are moving out of the Somervilles by the 13th I'm pretty sure bc Sister Somerville and the kids are coming back home then but we are still waiting on the word.

06-29-09

Last night I got a call from President Anderson telling me that I was being ET (Emergancy Transfered) out of the area and was heading to Taos, NM. The reason is that one of the trainees (just new to the mission field) up there has been having some severe medical problems and is having to come down here to be closer to Albq. for treatment. He would lake my place and I his. So I started packing my bags bc I would be leaving today.

I then received another call from President A. a little later telling me that we are holding on that plan bc they are going to decide today whether they need to send the sick Elder home or down here. They have to get direction from Church HQ so I am not moving yet, but still may be. I'm just waiting on a call. I have 1/2 my bags packed and am afraid to unpack them so there is just stuff all over our place.

An interesting day is right. I am like freaking out with energy or something. Last night we couldn't get to sleep bc we had so much energy so we went out and star gazed a bit which was cool, but it was just a little to cloudy and the moon was a little to bright.

I am not worrying about staying or leaving. I've found that over the many transfers, what is going to happen will happen whether I want it to or not, so I stopped making predictions.

On P-days we have been getting together with others from our district. The Elders in Estancia and the Sisters. The District Leader & companion is in Albq so they don't come out on P-Days. We play tennis, Bocce Ball, P-Ball, B-Ball, and whatever else we feel like doing.

We use the laundry at the member's house so we don't have to go to the laundromat.

Our ward mission leader is Bro. Krause and he is a great guy and eager to help.

Finding new apartments is taken care of by the mission office.
We may not be staying at the Somerville's house much longer so it may be beneficial to send mail to the Mission Office and they will forward it to where ever we may be.

Hope all is going well! I'm doing great out here! Tell everyone I said hello. Oh and
tomorrow is my 11th month mark! Wow, it's flying.

HRS. LATER

I got a call from President Anderson a bit ago and I am now staying here in Edgewood. The ill missionary is going home for a time for treatment. All the energy I had all day is gone and I have to work now to think straight. Man its going to be a long night!

06-23-09

06-22-09

Although the town is called Edgewood, there are no woods here.

The Ward is a comparable size to 3rd Ward in Farmington.

We refer to our "space" as our "shack" b/c Elder Thompson kept calling it our trailer b/c he just came from living in a trailer. But that wasn't right, so we named it the shack. The missionaries had been here for about 2 transfers, after they had moved out of their old apartment in town. However, the Somervilles are moving to Utah b/c Bro. Somerville got a job there, so as soon as they sell the house, we are out.

NEWS!!!!: I accidentally deleted all the pictures that I had on my camera from last transfer! I thought I was deleting just one but I misread and it was all of them. I am very sad b/c I had pictures with members and investigators that I really wanted. So I only have the ones that I forwarded over the internet.

06-15-09

Edgewood is like working in Cortez, CO but without having the additional Mancos Ward.
It's really spread out. We have 44 miles to use a day.

We did double transfers into the area so its been kind of slow this first week finding out where everything is and meeting people. We didn't meet the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader until Sunday b/c the Bishop was on the Stake youth trek all last week and the Ward mission leader was on business in Boston. Unfortunately, the previous Elders didn't leave that great of notes, but we are beginning to get a good idea of the area. We have been way busy.

We live with members of the church called the Somerville's. We live in a corner of their huge garage where Bro. Somerville had built a two story office-like space that we now occupy.

The District consists of the City View Spanish speaking Elders, the Estancia Elders, the Cedar Crest Sisters and us. We meet for District Meeting at our Edgewood building. For church services Estancia has their own branch building but Cedar Crest meets in our building. City View meets at the Indian School Rd. building in Albq. Yep.

The truck is way nice. Her name is Claire and she is a tan color. She runs great and only has some 2000 miles on her.

It turns out I am Senior Companion. My new comp. is Elder Ben C Thompson from
Syracuse, UT. He arrived in the mission in Dec. '08 and had been serving in Thoreau, NM on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

(additional notes provided by Elder Thompson)
"Edgewood is mostly white or Hispanic people. The area is full of upper middle class white people who live on acres of land and are very content with what they have both temporally and spiritually...so finding new people to teach is going to be challenging."

"The ward is good sized, ea sly about 150 people. We are being fed almost every night (which is good seeing) we have no kitchen. However we do have a microwave and a camp stove."

06-08-09

ON THE ROAD AGAIN....TRANSFER NEWS!
We were informed on Thursday that transfers were postponed a week bc of the out- break of 17 cases of swine flu in the MTC.

Then on Friday we were told that transfers were back on as usual bc the MTC changed its mind.

We were informed Saturday morning that Elder Hullinger will be training a new missionary here in Farmington 1&3 wards.

Saturday night I learned I am going to Edgewood, NM to serve with a companion I have not met or heard of, Elder B C Thompson. Edgewood is on the east side of the mountains which serve as the eastern border of ABQ.

The two districts in Farmington are being combined bc the mission is loosing sisters and are not getting any, so they are shutting down the sisters area in 4th ward and are combining the district to create a huge 12 person district.
Elder Hullinger is the District Leader. Oh and Elder Cooper is now coming back to Farmington, but will be working in 7th Ward instead. Crazy.

I am pretty much all packed and everything. I will be in a truck area but I don't know if I am senior or not. My guess is that I'm probably still junior and Thompson is District Leader bc last transfer that area was a DL area, but it could have changed. We will see. They told us very little this transfer as to anything that was going on.


That's great that the missionary work is progressing in Hudson! We had an investigator at church as well, which was great.

I am doing great and am just tired from packing. Hope all is going good!

06-01-09

20 YEARS OLD TODAY!

In addition to sharing my birthday with Frances' grandfather, I also share it with Elder Hullinger's sister, who is turning 19, and with an investigator here in Farmington.

(When asked about having room for the sports equipment he's been acquiring/A volleyball, softball mitt, Frisbee golf discs etc.) I'm still figuring out about packing the stuff but I'm sure I'll fit it all in =)

The family we had scheduled baptism on June 14 is no longer ours. They live in 7th ward and somehow we missed that when we started teaching them so we are handing them over to the 7th ward
Elders. =( But so goes life.

05-26-09 pm

My birthday is coming up June 1st. Yeah!

This week we have our nights pretty much packed with appointments. Now we just pray that they don't flake out on us, like many have recently. Bro. Kelley said that it's a trial of our faith but I don't know. I just think that people are lazy or something.

We have exchanges with the Zone Leaders tomorrow. Then Thursday we have exchanges with the Spanish Elders. On Friday we have interviews with President, District Meeting and planning. Then on Saturday we have correlations with our Ward Mission Leaders,some more appointments and lots of "finding". (We call it "finding" not "tracting" anymore ^_^). Ya, so everything is going good oh,and then on the
30th it's my 10 month mark and on the 1st my birthday so busy, busy, busy.

I finished my jigsaw puzzle but there was one piece missing so it wasn't worth hanging on the wall.

I hope everything is going great and that you all stay safe.

05-29-09

05-26-09

Ya my flowers are still very small but I didn't expect much.

I went to the graveyard last night with Elder Hullinger b/c our appoints fell through and looked for the Jensons' graves finally. We did find them after a few minutes of searching and almost giving up.

It's been raining here a lot the past few days and we got soaked 3 nights in a row coming home. Not to great, but whatever.

Oh, I also think that I forgot to tell you that I crashed on my bike. I'm all fine with some flesh wounds on my knees and hands and the bike is fine. I did destroy one pair of slacks. I also ruffed up the Eccos (shoes) a bit, but I think they will be alright however one of the shoe laces got destroyed so guess I'll have to get a new pair.

05-21-09

Thanks alot for the new patriotic tie! It's way sweet and I'll def. be using it coming up soon. I'm going to miss the Memorial Day parade...they don't have one here.

That would be so awesome if I would be sharing letters (from the Branch) with 2 other missionaries by Halloween!

The temple was amazing as ever! I'm just sad that we only get to go a few times these two years. Can't wait for college where I can go like once a week ^_^.


I'll see if I can find someone to teach me the way of "frybread".
We now have 3 with a baptismal set date for June 13. They are a Navajo family whom the Bishop referred us to a few weeks back. We are way excited for it!

We are looking at setting dates for some others pretty soon as well.

I'm glad that you think that I look great b/c if my own mother thought that I looked ugly then I def wouldn't have any chance at getting a girl. lol jk

05-19-09

I had an amazing day at the temple yesterday! Yep, it was closed to all but the missionaries and the people that brought us. It was long, but very up lifting and a great experiance. [Twice a year arrangements are made for the the missionaries to attend the Albuquerque Temple. They attend on Mondays when it is normally closed. They go by Zone/Zones.]

Yes, there is definetley green in the flower garden. They are all still little things, but I'm going to take a picture of them when I leave this area.

05-11-09 pm

05-11-09

The reason that I didn't tell you about some things is because when we have such a good time I forget to enlighten you about it .
Then sometimes it's better to not tell you how I'm feeling because the way I feel one week can change completely by the next.
I personally think that its very hard to prepare someone to serve a mission. Once you get there it all starts making sense. Until then, just follow the program. When they're out of the youth classes send them straight to Gospel Principles! It will help them to read the manual because everything we teach is in that book. We just condense it more. Doing splits with the missionaries might help as well. Home teaching is great !
Ya, well, I saw like 5 purple ties at church yesterday worn by various members and the bishopric were wearing bright yellow ties. Ya.
I think that obedience is important, but more than that is attitude, when it comes to the spirit. I had been in a rut this past week or two and am now just starting to come out of it, so I don't know, it's all good.

Thanks for all of your support! I love you!

Umm how about for my birthday a mini "Preach My Gospel. Oh and chocolate is always welcome at anytime! Especially the Lindt lindor truffles.

05-10-09

Mom Buhler's notes.
We were able to talk with Elder Buhler for approx. 2 hrs. He sounds great! He remembered all of our names and retains his Yankee accent.

He called us in the middle of the day (our time) because the two wards they work with are currently relocated due to renovation of their building. The unfortunate thing is that they now both meet at the same time in the afternoon, but in different buildings. He said that once his new companion was oriented to both wards they will do splits on Sunday's because in doing the every-other-week thing they miss the opportunity to meet investigators that come to church.

He said those whom they have baptized since he arrived there, were introduced to the church by other members or they had had previous experinces with missionaries.

He said he was having a good time riding his bike again and that they had ridden 20 miles on Sat. His previous companion had acquired athletic induced asthma subsequent to a bronchitis infection he got soon after he arrived in Farmington, so for the previous 12 weeks they had mostly hoofed it.

Either way, the excerice is probably a very good thing in light of the fact that they are fed by members almost every day, and have an open invitation to dinner if someone does not schedule an appt. with them. (Wow, how our local missionaries would LOVE that arrangement.)

He said some of his funniest experiences have been in trying to talk to people who are intoxicated and that one of the most challenging aspects of the work for him, has been in talking to people in general. He said it is a lot easier when you're with a companion who finds it easy to do.

The thing he sees the most differently from a year ago is how to apply the gospel.

His current favorite scriptures are Helaman, 3 Nephi, Matthew and Isaiah.

05-04-09

I will call sometime after 1 pm your time next Sunday.

Our investigator pulled out of the date and is not looking at getting baptized anytime soon as far as we know. She decided that she didn't want to stop living with the guy she is living with or some such thing.
Ya, so we don't have any baptismal dates set right now but we are looking to set some during the next few weeks, hopefully.


I am planting a flower garden out side our door on a patch of bare dirt. I hope they grow quickly so I can see them before I get transferred.

Hope all is well in New York and that there is missionary success there as well!

04-27-09

Transfer news: Elder Cooper is going to Kirtland 3rd ward as Senior. I am staying here and am being juniored to Elder Hullinger who is going to be the District Leader in place of Elder Ramirez. Ya so that's about it. Elder Hullinger is the Elder who was with me my first 2 transfers in Cortez. I have a pic with him holding a cake in a pan for when we left Cortez. .

Its been up in the 80s here as well, but today its in the 70's or so.

Umm concerning the writing thing [the lack of] it's more along the lines of my being busy and happy.

We didn't get caught returning the pizza box. lol

Paula works every other weekend at the hospital so she only comes once every 2 weeks.

Umm that directive to extend we feel is better left up to the Spirit as it directs. We still do them on the doorsteps, but not really in lessons with investigators much.

Yep so that's the news. Keep sending mail to my current address its all good!

Hope everything is going well for everyone and that things look bright!

04-20-09

Ya sorry for the slow down in snail mail. I don't know why, I just keep forgetting to write I guess. I'll write some this week!

Elder Cooper is doing good.
Our new converts are doing pretty good as well. Unfortunately, Paula didn't show up for church.
Our teaching pool is starting to look slim. Our District Leader has told us that everyone we are teaching should have a baptismal date extended to them by the end of the month, so it's interesting.

04-15-09

04-13-09

We had a very nice Easter. We got to color eggs on Saturday with an investigator family and then spent time with them on Sunday when they did their egg hunt in the park and had a bar be cue. It was kind of windy but not bad.
That's very sad that Brother Rice past away! I'm sure everyone is going to miss him greatly!
That is great that grandma is able to walk on both feet again!
Paula was baptized on a Mon. because it was the only day that she had off last week, besides Sunday, so we had to do it then. It worked out great. Its being on the same day the church was organized, as well as the anniversary of Christ's birth were bonuses =)

04-06-09

Our trip to the temple trip is planned for sometime in May I think. It usually is in March but for some reason they changed it.
I've seen Elder Condie quite a bit bc they come into Farmington to shop. Just today we ran in to them at Walmart. Walmart and Best Buy are not in our biking area so we can only go on p-days.
Thanks for the Easter package. I haven't gotten it yet but am waiting for it.
Two of our investigators viewed General Conference on the internet. They enjoyed it alot! I loved Bednar's talk and L. Tom Perry's talk as well =).
Last Monday, Mar 30th, at 10:30 pm we had a pepperoni pizza delivered to our doorstep with a ring and run. After they dropped the pizza I got my running shoes on and went out to find whoever had done it, bc we figured they couldn't have gotten far. (We figured it was a relative.) Right when I finished tying my shoes a truck drove by and honked its horn. We knew it would be them, so I took off running down the ally after them. To make a long story short, I ran them down, but they didn't know I had followed so fast. It was pretty funny. They had removed 1/3 of the pizza and wrote the message mom had instructed on the inside of the lid. It's amazing, 1/3 of my mission already gone.
Tonight is Paula's baptism. We have been teaching her about a month.
Our teaching pool has started to dwindle but we are going through our former investigators and seeing if we can pick any of them back up. That is what President wants us to do.

03-30-09

Paula is an older lady who works as a nurse out in Ship Rock. She works the night shift and is usually very tired. We are teaching her with the help of the Woodlands, a senior couple from Idaho, who are working in Ship Rock. They are going home in about 4 weeks or so.

It's turned very cold and windy with all the foul weather going accross the country, so we have done very few outdoor activities.

Hope all is going well and that the weather is better there than here!

03-23-09

Our week went good. I was sick for most of the day on Thursday with some stomach thing but got over it fast and am doing good.
We have another baptismal date with a lady in 3rd ward for the 6th of April. Her name is Paula. We have also been giving blessings out like crazy to people and finally got to do some service for our Ward Mission Leader in 1st ward. We spent almost all of Saturday sanding cupboard doors for their house so they can repaint them in order to help them sell their house faster. It was way dirty and I almost burnt up the belt sander bc of someone not doing the electrical wiring right.
Ya, so we fixed that too. Yep fun stuff all week. We also have spent the past couple of nights rearranging our furniture so that Elder Cooper will feel as if he was transferred to a new apartment or something. lol =) Yep so its all cool now. We are also going to plant some flowers in the "growing beds" outside our front door, but we probably won't be here to see them bloom. To bad, but oh well.

03-21-09

03-16-09

The baptisms of Tether & Shatosha were amazing! Elder Cooper did a great job with the baptisms and it was all nice!
Transfer news had no impact on our companionship. Elder Cooper and I are staying together for another 6 weeks.
Everything is doing great. We played tennis and ultimate Frisbee again today. Then on the way home we were followed by an SUV full of girls. Scary... they drove by us back and forth. We saw them like 6 times. Oh well, just another day in Farmington.
We baptized everyone we had prepared this last transfer, so its back to finding.

03-09-09

Michelle's baptism went great! The two scheduled for this week are sisters and their mom is looking at getting baptized in May or so. They are a way cool family. Unfortunately, the dad isn’t much interested right now but he is way nice!

03-02-09

Did you hear about the guy who made national news when his girlfriend swallowed the engagement ring he was going to propose to her with? He had put it in a "Frosty" and when she was challenged to see how quickly she could eat it, she swallowed the ring unknowingly. Well Reed is a member and lives down the street from us. His family is way cool and his little brother gives us rides all the time.
It was way nice out today. We went shopping, played tennis for about 2 hours and then Ultimate Frisbee for about 2 hours. It was way fun. Great to be able to run again!
The chapel our two Wards regularly meet in is being renovated so we have to go to two different buildings for church services.
This weekend we have the baptism of a blind lady who has been taught for about 6 years. She has kicked her boyfriend out, so she can now get baptized! We have two more baptismal dates for the 14th of March. That will bring our total baptisms (if they all go through) for this transfer, to 4.

02-22-09

02-17-09

The baptism went great!! Very nice and well, the only major thing is that the first speaker forgot to shut his phone off so it went off while he was giving his talk. Funny? Absolutely!
We had Zone Conf. today which went way good and everyone had an awesome time!!
By the way card got compromised somehow so they had to shut it down for like 10 days. I got my new card on Friday and when I tried to use it on Monday it wouldn't let me buy anything. So I had to use my debit card for groceries yesterday. They are looking into and hopefully they will be able to fix the problem soon!
The computers here at the library have .5 hour timers on them so I have to go now.

02-13-09

We are way excited for our baptism coming up! Phillip is a great guy and very strong in Spirit! We also just set another baptismal date for the end of this month with a woman investigator who is blind. She just kicked her boyfriend out so she can live the law of Chastity. Her befriend says he won't marry her. We are also looking at two other baptismal dates soon, maybe by the end of transfers.
I still don't care for the area much, but I can't complain about the work that we got going, that's for sure!
I have something else to tell you. I have a new PET!! Her name is Amy and she's a pretty hanging plat. Our living room wasn't much so I decided to get a plant to brighten it up.

02-09-09

This much I can tell you. They (the Elders who were moved into the Indian School Ward) were two lucky Elders. However, we're having a baptism here on Valentine's Day, so I leave one to get one. Elder Proskine was close enough to our last area to be able to get permission to attend, which he did. I am sending a picture of Deter's baptism. I'm going to try and photoshop myself in where I would have been next to Elder Proskine, when I get home. ^_^
Farmington isn't to appealing, but I can't really pass judgment, yet. I arrived on Tuesday and then was sick Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I had both the head and stomach flu, according to Sister Anderson. I didn't like it at all!
We met a few people Wednesday, but that was about it. I feel better today, but am still not 100%. I look forward to going out tomorrow, for my companions sake.
I've been telling myself that quote especially as I go to sleep. "Come what may and love it."
It looks like a good area anyway. The wards seem great. It's 1 & 3 wards so we have a pretty large boundary even though we only have bikes for transport.
The apartment is larger than Indian School's but for some reason ( the painting or something) it seems almost claustrophobic. Ya, and me being sick doesn't help.
I did go senior but he's cool. He's senior as far as the area is concerned. He's been here since he arrived from the MTC the end of Sept. His name is Elder Cooper and he is from Oregon. He attended BYU-I before his mission so he's been talking about that.

02-05-09

Farmington, New Mexico
Located in the picturesque San Juan River Valley, Farmington is within sight of Colorado's rugged San Juan Mountains and desert highlands of Arizona and Utah. Farmington, New Mexico (pop. 41,000) is the largest city in the Four Corners area. Farmington is a perfect place for enjoying extraordinary outdoor recreation and travel adventures. Farmington is surrounded by world class cultural treasures and outstanding landscapes. The Four Corners area is legendary for its year-round pleasant climate, which makes the area a pleasurable destination during any season.

2-2-09 TRANSFERS

I am being transfered. I am going to Farmington, NM 1st & 3rd Wards. It's a biking area, so that won't change. I leave for there tomorrow. Elder Proskine is going to Cherry Hills and there are two new guys taking our places. Don't ask why. We already did. It's what the Lord wants. Yep, so today is my last day in Albuquerque, for now, and guess what we are going to do... go bowling!!

1-27-09

Dieter's baptism is set for Feb 7 and tonight is his interview with Pres. Anderson. He is a great guy and way strong and ready to be baptized. I just hope that I can stay to be able to watch.
Umm transfers is next Tuesday Feb. 3 and we get news at the end of this week. I'll let you know in my e-mail Mon.
We just recently picked up 3 new investigators. The first is from a referral we got from HQ. He is a 22 yr. old guy who is way interested in the Church. We taught him on Friday the first lesson and then invited him to Church and he accepted. So we picked him up, with the help of a member, brought him to Church and home again. He said that he enjoyed it and that he looks froward to our next visit this week.
The other two investigators we picked up last night after P-day. They are our neighbors in our apartment complex. They had some questions about this letter that the mom got from some church that pretty much gave her a prophecy. Elder Proskine and I both agree it is bogus, but we didn't tell her that directly. We got into a little discussion about our church and we have invitation to come back Saturday and read from the Bible with them.
This last P-day was one of my favorites so far. After e-mailing in the morning, we went and played lazer tag with some youth members. One is Aaron who is going on a mission to Russia soon and the other is a recent convert, Naomi. After tag we went bowling with them, (free as usual). I got a new high of 184 and Elder Proskin got his new high of 188.
Hope everything is going good for you and that you're not frozen.
Love, Elder Jake Buhler

1-22-09

Sandia Peak Ski and Tramway
A trip on the world’s longest aerial tramway transports you above deep canyons and breathtaking terrain a distance of 2.7 miles. The vantage point from the observation deck atop 10,378 foot Sandia Peak in the Cibola National Forest affords an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley and the Land of Enchantment.

The Sandia Mountains (Tiwa name posu gai hoo-oo, "where water slides down arroyo") are a mountain range located immediately to the northeast of the city of Albuquerque.

Sandia means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset. Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the "rind" of the watermelon. "The most likely explanation is the one believed by the Sandia Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo."

Sandia Mountain Tram Ride

1-20-09

We did indeed have a great Stake Conference. (The missionaries met with Elder Russell M Nelson on Sat. and then he addressed the whole Stake on Sunday.) Our two meetings with Elder Nelson went great! Very inspiring. He talked alot about families and relationships on Sunday and about missionary work and the Book of Mormon on Saturday.
We went to the tram yesterday with our investigator Dieter and a youth member , Aaron Preswitch, who is going to the Moscow Russia Mission in March. It was a great day. It was about 30* and I had on long underwear, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. When people tell me to bundle up I usually do, but I forgot who was telling me to bundle up, people from NM. I could have gone in a long sleeve shirt and would have been fine. It was great though and I got lots of pictures.
I fasted last week on Wednesday for grandma and I continue to pray for her.
Thanks for the care package. I have lots of cookies now and not enough time to eat them. It was good to see Aunt Shelly and Uncle Bill.

1-12-09

I seem to get the same thing over and over. I think it's because of the wall I'm sleeping next to. It's brick and gets way cold at night. But it could be something else. Either way, I'm doing good now and am trying to keep it up.

Elder Proskine is a good guy. He's up for what I want to do usually.
He's good to teach with. He knows most of his stuff and that is always a help.
However, he does not really like to talk to people. Like me, I don't normally like to talk to people either. But I'm trying to get him to start up more convsations at bus stops and stuff bc its really easy to talk to people here.

We just set the baptism date with our investigator last night. It's for the first Saturday in Feb and unfortunately, transfers are the first Tuesday in Feb so I might not be here. But oh well, one can always hope.

We taught a guy at a bus stop and it was way good. We gave him a pamphlet and some other stuff.

That stinks that grandma isn't doing to good! I hope to see her after my mission when I make a trip through to visit this place again. I hope she gets better. I will keep her in my prayers!+

1-6-09

Hey mom sorry it took so long to get back to you and what not. the college is closed until next Monday so we haven't been able to use that. We have started using the computers at the public library but it is not open on Mondays so we use it on Tuesday instid. Unfortunately, I was sick last Tuesday and part of Wednesday so we didn't get a chance to email last week, but today im feeling fine.
I just blew my back tire tube on my bike on the way here so I will be buying a new one soon. It was an old tire and had quite a few patches on it.
Happy New Years to you too!!! It was funny bc at that time it was exactly 6 months 'till I'm 20. lol.
We had interviews with Pres. Anderson and he said that I was doing good work and what not, so it went well.
I finally got my suits dry cleaned yesterday. Yesterday I got a book on Yoga exercises so now for my morning exercises I am doing yoga. Yep, sweetness. lol.
You asked about which Christmas presents I liked. I loved Uncle Jim's gift card to best buy. I got rechargable batteries with that. I also loved all the chocolate that I got and the cookies. The giftcards where great. Ties from u were great.
Thanx! The tape was nice to hear. ya and probably some other stuff i just cant remember sorry. I got Bro Andrews package.
We got a new investigator on Christmas eve and then dinner was great. The dinners went very well Christmas day. After we talked to you guys we visited 3 people, 2 of which we ate with. Crazy.
We spent New Years with a way cool member and had lots of fun.
Hey, I just remembered that you (mom) are in AZ again!! All Jan 1 whenever a plane flew over, while we were walking, I waved at it hoping that you where on it lol =)