Happy New Year!

Dear Fullmer Family,

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that you had a very special day. For me it was a very nice day! After we stopped skyping we went to a recent convert's house for dinner and it was really fun! It was weird to just chill and not really do anything. It was a really weird feeling just not having anything to do. But that ended soon. This past week my cold lingered longer. I'm just getting over it. I called up the mission nurse and she said, "Elder Fullmer, you still sound sick... How long has it been? 10 days? You need antibiotics." So I got some antibiotics and now i'm feeling a lot better! 

So today has been a lot of fun so far. Since the youth are still out for winter break we went fishing this morning. It was really fun! I caught 3 fish!! 2 small snappers and then a pretty good sized black grouper. First fish I've ever caught!! I'll send some pics. Later on today we're going to play some basketball with the youth as well! It's a lot of fun out in the Keys!

Yesterday we were privileged to have a baptism. ****got baptized! She's 9 years old, almost 10 and it was probably the hardest 9 year old baptism ever. When I met her for the first time when I got to Key West she basically said that she doesn't want to get baptized so we didn't really know what to do. But we gave her some time and then went and saw her and had a really interactive lesson and it went really well. This past week when we went over the baptismal interview questions we were trying to think of something to do to make it fun and not boring. We looked at the questions and there were like eight and we asked ourselves, "What can we do that has eight parts to it?" We looked over at my melting snowman kit that I got in my stocking and it worked perfectly!! She loved it and we had a great time. By the way, she was wondering if Santa had any extra of those...? If you could get one, if it's not too much hassle I'm sure she'd really appreciate it. The baptism was really nice. Everything went really smoothly and it was nice. President Louchez is still out of town but even without him we got everything done. 

Well that's about everything from my end. We're really excited for this next week to be able to work without being limited by sickness. We're going to be working really hard this week! I love you all so much! Sorry for the short email but I just can't think of anything else that happened this week. Have a very happy new year!

Con amor, 

-Elder David B. Fullmer

The fished from the coast since it is against the rules to go on a boat. He also had lunch plans with a member and basketball with the youth in Key West. 

Merry Christmas Eve

Dear Fullmer Family,

Since Sam sent a lot of Christmas "one liners" as he put it, i decided to start my letter today with one... Here it goes.

What did Adam tell Eve on Christmas?............................... Merry Christmas, Eve! 

It's probably not very doctrinally correct but I thought it was punny.. Haha. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Well I still can't fathom that it's basically Christmas. This past week it dipped down into the upper 50's and everyone freaked out and said how cold it was! Haha. However, it's still not Christmas weather. Don't get mad at me, I'm not complaining about the upper 60's and sunny with a slight breeze from the ocean, but I miss the Christmas weather. But nonetheless it's a wonderful time of the year. It seems like everyone is so much more kind and offer to help others out. We went to the store this past week to buy some cough syrup and a woman came up to us randomly and gave us a hug and said, "Thank you for what you do! We try and do what you do for a couple weeks by spreading the Love of Christ but you do this all the time! It's wonderful what you do." It was nice to see someone realize and recognize what we are called to do. Christmas season is the best time of the year!

This past week has been a little difficult. My cough that I was talking about last week progressed into a terrible cold this whole week! I was basically shut in the trailer for 5 days straight... It wasn't the best week of my mission. It was difficult since I wanted to be outside so badly. As I was talking with the mission nurse, she said something that impacted me. She said, "It's hard to be patient when you want to be on the Lord's errand." It's true. I really wanted to be out helping others but didn't have much of a choice in the matter... Luckily I'm feeling much better! I woke up this morning feeling great so luckily I won't be sick for Christmas, and amazingly my companion has come through unscathed. Just a little sore throat. I basically was forcing Vitamin C down him all week long because I didn't want him to get sick as well! Haha. 

Well there really isn't much more to talk about... I don't want to share everything before tomorrow!! Haha. Come ready for questions or stuff to say so we don't just look at each other for 30 minutes ;) Be there Tomorrow at two!! I love you all and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

con mucho amor y carino,

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Here are a few screenshopts of our Skype call with Elder Fullmer. He is doing well and happy to be on his mission.

Merry Christmas December 17, 2012

Dear Family,

Well this week has been a wonderful week! It's been a bit different with everything going on but it's been one full of memories! This week we were privelidged to have a mission conference to celebrate Christmas! You all saw the picture that President sent and I was doing so well in not blinking in the pictures!



Christmas Mission Conference. Elder Fullmer is on the back row (ninth from the left) His eyes are shut :)

 However there was only one picture that I blinked in and it just so happened to be the picture that he sent out to everyone! Kinda disappointing but oh well, what can you do :) But really the conference was so special. We started off with a delicious lunch with prime rib, green beens, FUNERAL POTATOES (I was on an almost two year withdrawal), and pumpkin pie. The food was so good!! We then played a white elephant game where I brought a piggy bank that was made out of a coconut! It was so cool!! I ended up with a stocking holding a notebook inside... Pretty lame but that's alright. After that we had the zone musical numbers. We went first and I have to say it went pretty well. Not perfect but it went well.

Homestead Zone- Photo taken from Bill and Mary's blog

We sang O Holy Night and it was nice! After all of the other zones performed we all went into the chapel where President Anderson gave a message to us. He compiled testimonies of prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ and put them to music. It was so spiritual and I loved it! He gave each of us a CD which I have listened to multiple times. I also like it cuz the music is by John Schmidt :) It's been a while! All in all it was a great meeting and it was so fun to see all of my fromer companions and other missionaries that I haven't seen in quite some time. It was probably the last time I'll see most of them so it was a bit difficult.

Thank you so much for the 12 days of Christmas! It is so much fun to open all of the things and feel a little bit more like Christmas. Actually last night I had a dream of a white christmas... Pretty sure I'm not going to have one this year :( Ohh well! I've got the beach. I'm not sure about what time we'll be skyping. We'll be emailing next Monday (Christmas Eve) and we'll know for sure when we'll be able to skype. It's hard because so many people are going out of town so we're not sure when it will be at. However we'll let it worked out! sorry I'm out of time today but I have a favor to ask of you... If you haven't sent my Christmas package yet could you include any sheet music you can find? Especially the Pall Cardall book that I have? That would be wonderful! I love you all and look forward to skyping with you this next week!
-Elder David B. FUllmer

Sorry that this email was so rushed... We had a survey to fill out for President.

Note from his mom: His ulcer has also been acting up again. Please keep him in your prayers so he can endure to the end. Here is the email from President Anderson

Feliz Naughty Dog! December 10th

Dear Fullmer Family,



One of his favorite Stake Leaders came to visit

 This week has been another great one! I don't have much time today so sorry if this letter is a bit shorter than normal. But it's been a great week! As you somehow already know, my new companion is named Elder *******. He's so great! He's from Lexington Kentucky and has been out on his mission for about seven months. I asked him when he was born and when he said April 1993 I felt really old... AHH!! He's a great missionary! He's Spanish is pretty good for only being out in the field for a little time. Also, he's very musical. He's an incredible pianist and knows his stuff about music It's a lot of fun! This past week we put together a musical number for the zone to perform and it's going to be amazing! So we're going to perform "O Holy Night." We're going to have a piano duet (he and another missionary), an eight man choir and a soloist! It's going to be awesome! I can't wait to see it all put together. I was put in charge of it by the zone leaders and it's quite difficult to get everything put together all the way down in the Keys. Luckily the senior couple are helping out a lot. So for the choir we wrote it out by ourselves and I have to say it's legit! It's a lot of fun having a musical companion again. No Dad, he doesn't have a southern accent :) Haha.

I have a cool story to share with all of you! Yesterday as we were harvesting I actually was bit by a dog... That wasn't the cool part of the story but bear with me... So it was a pretty good bite. We got to the trailer where we called up the mission nurse to see what I should do. She said I needed to clean it out with hydrogen peroxide (which we didn't have and we couldn't buy any since it was Sunday, so we started to think of some members to call.) As I was about to call a certain youth in the branch, when the phone started to ring and it was him! I said, "I know this is random but I just got bit by a dog, do you have any hydrogen peroxide? (I made sure not say Hydrochloric acid... I know you all were thinking it...) He said he did and told us to meet him at his house. We got there and as I was cleaning it out I remembered that he called me and I asked him what he called to ask me about and he told me he'd ask me later. We went outside of his house and I sat down and asked him what was up and he expressed concerns about going on a mission.This young man is 17 years old and is preparing for a mission. He reminded me of myself at his age and as we talked, the spirit was so strong. He called the branch president right there and asked if he could meet with him this week. I testified of the Atonement and of how it changes people. I gave him my copy of "the continuous Atonement" and I testified of how the Lord sees him as who he can become, not only at his current state. I felt so honored that this young man, who we have been utilizing in missionary work, trusted me enough to come and ask for advice. I'm grateful that the Lord took a not so ideal situation (me getting bit by a dog... by the way I'm okay) and changing it into a life changing moment for both myself and this young future missionary.

I love this time in my mission. I'm seeing how the Lord is strengthening me and puting me in a place where I won"t just "end" my mission but where I will "finish." I remember a quote that President Hale said, "Finishers wanted!" I'm going to finish. By the way, could you get in contact with President Hale and invite him to my homecoming whenever we find out when it will be? Thanks! Well I love you lots! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Note form his Mom: David will most likely give his homecoming talk on March 10th. (Meeting starts at 10:50 1565 Foothill Drive, SLC, UT)

Merry December

Dear Fullmer Family,

Well another transfer has come and gone. I can't believe that it's gone by so fast. The day of transfer call is usually full of anticipation but it just felt like a normal day. We got on the call where we found out that Elder **** will be getting transferred tomorrow. We were both in SHOCK!! We were almost positive that we weren't going to be split up. But our ways are not the Lord's ways. It will be hard to see him leave, like every companion, but it will open up a new opportunity to learn more.

Things in the area are going well. ******** was confirmed on Sunday by ELder ******** and also %%%%%%% was ordained a Priest by my companion. It was really cool to see our recent converts doing so well. This Sunday we attended the Marathon Sacrament meeting and there were a lot of people there! This past week on two occasions at the store, a person came up to Elder and Sister ********* telling them that they are members and have been looking for the church. Neither of them speak much english so they asked if we could come on Sunday so I could translate. Both of them wanted to bear their testimonies so I interpreted for them and the both expressed how they felt so alone and wanted to go to church but didn't know where it was and were praying for a way to go to it. It just so happened that they found them in Publix (the grocery store) by their nametags. Elder ********* went up afterwards to bear his testimony and said, "This makes me want to go to the store more often." It was really cool to see how excited Elder and Sister ********* have been seeing the branch flourish. They're amazing people and do so much for us.

This past week has been really great. It's been a little disheartening while harvesting since all of the people we have been finding have either not been "there" for their appointments or they just tell us they don't want to hear from us anymore. Both my companion and I have been praying fervently for solid investigators and specifically a family to teach and baptize. We followed up with a woman who told us to come back to bless her home and when we got there her husband answered the door. He wasn't going to open the door but he told us, "I felt like I needed to let you in." We came in and the husband explained how he is a spiritual man but is not involved in any religion because he doesn't believe he knows where the true church is. We sat there as he expressed questions that he had like, "why bad things happen to good people?" and "how can I know what's true?" We listened carefully and when he stopped we taught him the Restoration to him and his wife. As we explained the Restoration and the first vision they both looked at each other and said, "Wow!" The Spirit was so strong and it was an answer to our prayers as we were led to that family. I know that the Lord lives and guides us if we only trust in Him and live according to His Gospel.

I love this work so much and I'm glad I still have time left to keep working! Time is moving fast but I need to remember that this time will never come again! I've been working my hardest and I still plan to do so :) If you ever feel like sending notes or letters of encouragement that would always be appreciated :) I love you guys so much and I hope you have a great week! Also, let me know if there is anything you want for Christmas from down in the Keys :) It's more available for me than for you.

Cuidense Mucho! Les Quiero
-Elder David B. Fullmer

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Family,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Lurky day and stuffed yourselves well! I definitely did and had a great Thanksgiving! It was nice to be able to have Thanksgiving with the ***** family. They are such a great family and I'm grateful for their hospitality. The food was amazing! I'm definitely going to miss Thanksgivings with 70 degree weather but ohh well... 

I can't believe that Christmas is less than a month away... Honestly there really isn't anything that I need or want. I was thinking about it and there really isn't anything. Actually, a new belt would be nice. With me coming home a couple months afterwards I don't think I need anything but if I think of anything I'll let you know. An iPhone 5 would be nice :) Haha. Thank you for the 100 days till I die package that you sent me! I know you didn't want to focus on the short amount of time I have left but that is EXACTLY what my companion keeps reminding me of. Everytime time someone asks how much time I have left he, without hesitation declares, "94 days!!" or something like that. So thanks Mom :) The caramel apple was amazing and I really like the Apple shirt. My favorite part was the compilation of memories from throughout my mission. I loved being able to rememer all the things that have happened and to see the change that has happened within myself.

This past week we had a baptism!! ******** was baptized! I have never seen anyone have so much opposition before he got baptized and also after he got baptized. Satan was working hard on him. The morning of the baptism, he could not get out of bed. Every fear was entering into his mind and he said, "I was ready to give up!" He was up since 4 AM and the baptism was scheduled for 9AM. He was mulling over everything and was fearful of what to do. When it got to 9:15 we got a bit worried and the senior couple drove over to see what was going on. The man who was to be baptized described it as an angel came as an answer to his prayers. The missionary related to us afterwards of the spiritual experience he had as he talked to Orlando. The man got in the missionaries truck and came to the church. I had the privelidge to baptize him and he felt so amazing! As we came back after changing my companion gave a talk and then as he sat down, a man walked into the church and stood up and started preaching how the baptism we had performed was wrong. I had never seen anything like it. We went over later that night and the man who was baptized was struggling a bit with his family. He's in a hard situation but what he's beginning to learn is that Christ can take pain and frustration away. He's a great man and we were so happy to see him be baptized.

Besides having the baptism it was kind of a difficult week. Well even the baptism was difficult. No one really wanted to see us and it was kind of tough but we're looking forward to this new week:) I can't believe that transfers are next week... It's been going by so fast. I really hope my companion stays. We get along really well and we're having a lot of success. I don't see him leaving but there is a chance... Who knows.  Someone asked about Key Limes. I haven't seen any key lime trees but I have seen a key lime pie :) I had my first one this past week! SO GOOD!!! Way better than the one I made back in SLC :) Haha. Hopefully I'll see one soon. I don't think it's really lime season right now but maybe I'm just blowing snow since I'm not from around here. This past week we have been spending the majority of our time on bikes since we are running short on miles but I'm not complaining. This is probably the best place in the USA at this time to ride your bike. The weather is absolutely beautiful and you just feel like a missionary when you're riding your bike :) It's been fun! I have some pictures to send but I'm not really sure how to attach them to this tablet but I'll do my best :) Anyways, I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week! 
-Elder David B. Fullmer

He wrote his letter while lying in a hammock on the military base. 

Week of Gratitude- Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Fullmer Family,

What a week we had this week! It has been a fantastic week! I'm very thanksful for all of my blessings.This past week I was reading the talk by President Monson entitled "Consider the Blessings." As I did so I read the challenge that he gave us to take an inventory of the blessings in our lives and if we do we will be happier and recognize the Lord's hand in our lives. So during a personal study session I decided to do just that. I wasn't in the best of moods but I decided to do it anyway.  As i did so, all of the feelings of discouragement left and I ended up writing down blessings for the whole hour. It was one of my favorite study sessions that I have had. I invite all of you to do the same thing, especially this week of Thanksgiving and I promise you will be happier and this will be one of your most memorable Thanksgivings yet.

Well this past week we had Zone Conference in Killian and it was amazing! We learned so many wonderful things. President Anderson let us know how we need to think less of ourselves and think more of others. 

Homestead and Miami Zones

It was a great Conference to be able to see other missionaries. In my zone alone I have three previous companions so it was fun to see them again. It's suprising but I don't really mind being secluded down in the keys away from everyone else. It just makes it easier to focus on the work and to get less distracted. So with Zone Conferences this past week Tuesday was pretty much shot for working since all together we were in the car for about seven hours... Knowing that, our time to work was much shorter for the week. So my companion and I knew we needed to use every minute of every day as effective as it could be used. We did things that had never been done before in this area. We were able to have eight investigators at church which was awesome!

One experience that I had this past week was when we went to go visit the ***** family. They are such an amazing family! We shared scriptures and experiences with him and the Spirit was very strong... He looked down and then looked up at us and said, "I know what I'm missing! I need to do more missionary work!" He made the resolve to work more with us and to share the gospel with his friends. We left a blessing on their home and then they asked if we have plans for Thanksgiving. We said we hadn't made any yet and they invited us over to thier house for Thanksgiving! I'm really excited for it. They have a five kids who are so hilarious and a lot of fun! So Thanksgiving will be great!

This past week we had a branch Thanksgiving party this past week in Key West! It was amazing! It was nice to be able to get to know the branch members better and to have some great food. Also, yesterday in Marathon they had Branch Conference where all the Stake Presidency came down, which includes President ****, and my former Bishop in Miami Bishop ******. It was great to see them again and to talk with them. They all said to tell you all Hi! It was like sitting down with old friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

Ohh yeah, I was asked to give a last minute talk about how to teach by the Spirit in the Key West Branch. Lets just say I've come a long way in being able to prepare talks. I had about 15 minutes to prepare and I needed to give about a 15 minute talk. I feel like it went pretty well! Haha.


Plan of Salvation doodle he sent his sister

Unfortuntely we weren't able to baptize ******** this past week. Some things came up but he is for sure getting baptized this Saturday. Please pray for him to be able to make changes necessary for his baptism. He's a great guy and I'm so excited for him!

Well I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful blessings in my life, first and foremost my family! Thank you all for always being there for me and caring so much about me! I love you all and I know that the Lord gives us all of our blessings and we need to show our gratitude for all of our blessings. I love you all and Hope you have a great week!
-Elder David B. Fullmer

Greetings from the Florida Keys!

Dear Familia,

Feliz Navidad! I can't believe all of that snow!! That's so crazy... Not gunna lie, I'm not really looking forward to that in a few months... These past few weeks have been just right. It's pretty funny because you can tell the natives from the tourists because lately all of the natives have been wearing coats and scarfs because to them right now has been really cold! It got down into the high 60's and people were asking us, "how can you be in short sleeves? aren't you freezing?" We just laugh and tell them that they're crazy! Sorry to hear about all the snow but it's about that time again.

Yesterday we had a cool experience. So the senior missionary couple live right off of a little canal so their back yard is basically a canal. We came home from the baptism and there were three mannatee's out in the canal! Super legit! . Ohh yeah, we had a baptism yesterday!! ******  got baptized. He is a member referral from his fiancee. They're really cool. Apparantly he has been coming to church with her for quite some time but when Fantasy Fest was going on the Elders came up here (in Key Marathon) for a few weeks and the week before I came down here he was introduced to the missionaries. He invited them over for dinner and the rest in history. He has worked in like three different restaurants and his food is A Ma Zing!!

 Everytime we go over to teach him he feeds us and then we have lesson. I believe that's how every lesson should be :) So we had been teaching him for about two weeks and he was pretty hesitant about baptism. Last Tuesday we went and met with him, he made this breaded chicken bake thing with cheese and a sweet marinara sauce with asperagus.. Ohh yeah the lesson... We asked him how he's been feeling about baptism and he shocked us a little. He said, "I did what you told me to do and I prayed and I've been thinking about baptism a lot and know it's no longer if I'm going to be baptized. It's when..." I asked him, "Will you get baptized this Sunday?"  He said, "I work!" He then told us he gets off of work around two so we told him we can have a baptismal service at 2:15. We did! He works every other Sunday so next Sunday he'll be getting confirmed. It was such a nice baptism!

Another really cool experience that i had this past week was when we went to go visit the **** Family. About six months ago while I was serving in Miami we got a call to go give a blessing to a sister in the hospital. We went and it was this very frail old woman. We gave her a blessing and then a few months later I got another call for the same woman who was in the hospital for another medical condition. This time looking even more frail. I gave her a blessing thinking that she didn't have much more time to go but hoping that she would get better. Well,  I later got transferred to Belle Glade and never heard any more about her. Well when I got transferred to Key West I remembered how Sister **** lives in Key Marathon. I asked about her and this past week we went to go visit her and she has made a full recovery! She had open heart surgery and many other surgeries. However for the past month she has been able to walk to the end of her street daily, something she hasn't been able to do in four years. I talked to her on the phone before I saw her and she said to me, "Elder Fullmer, I was praying that you would come down to see me before you leave. The Lord has blessed me through you. I've been telling everyone I meet about the blessing and i know it's because of the Priesthood that you bear" She is known to the doctors as a walking miracle. She's in her mid 80's and she's doing amazingly well! There is so much power in the Priesthood and I'm so blessed to have been a part in this blessing and to see the results of the Lord's hand. They have a young man staying in their home who is now interested in learning the Gospel and will hopefully be baptized in a few weeks. This is the beginning of many reasons why I know I've been called to serve in this area at this time.

 

Well that's about all I've got to say. Thank you for all of your wonderful letters! Thanks Whitney and Marc for the great package with pictures and (kind of late) postcards :) I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Another Week in Paradise

Dear Family,

What can I say... I love my area!! This has to be the most unique opportunity of a lifetime! Sometimes I can't believe I'm actually serving in the Florida Keys! Haha. So we got a call from President Anderson saying how he wants us to spend more time in Marathon because of the success that we've been having. We're going to be spending at least two days a week in Marathon and the rest in Key West. So my area covers all of the keys except for the top key... Key Largo. Other than that, it's all in my area!

There are so many wonderful people that we meet everyday. ******** came to church yesterday in Marathon and from what we heard he loved it!! We were in the Key West branch but we will be in Marathon next Sunday because ******** will be getting baptized next Sunday. So in Key West we are living in a trailer... but a very nice trailer. We actually don't live on Key West but an island just off of it called Stock Island. I still don't know my way around this place very well but it's beautiful. A couple days ago we drove past the Southern Most Point marker and it made me really happy. I haven't gotten a picture with it but I will be soon!

However, being missionaries we get a privelidge most people don't. There is a military base called the Truman Annex that goes more southern than the southern most point... which I'm at right now. The branch president works and lives at the Truman Annex and so we come here an email every Monday and then play basketball with some of the soldiers. It's really awesome!!

The branch down here is absolutely amazing! There is a young man named ****** who is 17 and a senior in high school. He's a referral machine! He brought his non member girlfriend to church because he told her, "I'm going on a mission in a few months... You need to come to church.....Haha. She came to church! He got up and bore his testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and it was very powerful. He's going to be an amazing missionary. So in total this past week we had eight investigators at church, with 11 new investigators. It was a very good week!

Sorry, we don't have much time today. I'm using a tablet to email and I'm really not used to it and don't really know how to use it so this email will be a bit shorter than most. However we did have some great experiences this past week where we met some really cool people. On Thursday as we were coming down it just seemed like we ran into everyone that we needed to. We met with many recent converts that we hadn't seen in a while and also some former investigators. It's been a very special week! Well I got to go! I love you all very much! I hope everything goes well for you all! I pray for you all the time!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Living in Paradise

Dear Family,

How are all of you doing? Well just to let you know, I'm doing fantastic! As we went to transfer meeting I had a feeling that I was going to be called down to Key West. As they began to announce the areas they started from the north and went south. I wasn't in Stuart, Palm Springs, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah... so I thought I'm either going to Miami Zone or the Homestead Zone. Miami... NOPE! By then I was almost positive I was going to be called to Key West... And sure enough. "Elder Fullmer and ELder ****, serving in Key West!" I was super excited!! At the end of transfer meeting Sister Anderson came up to me and said, "Elder Fullmer, I have never seen you so happy before!" Let's just say I'm not too disappointed that I get to finish my mission in the Florida Keys.

The drive from Plantation down to Key marathon was about a 3 hour drive. We've been staying in Key Marathon for the past week because in Key West there's a little festival called, "Fantasy Fest." Don't think too much about it but there's a reason why we're not in Key West right now. Apparantly it ended yesterday but President doesn't want us to go back till at least Thursday. I'm fine with that because not only am I living in Paradise right now, I'm living with Elder and Sister *********... AKA Mission Grandma and Grandpa! It has been very different but very nice staying with them. I have never, NEVER in my mission while weekly planning have a knock on the door with homemade peanut butter cookies fresh from the oven and a class of milk. I've also never come home from a long day of work to homemade ribs with chocolate cake, and on Sunday night have an amazingly cooked Pot Roast with Potatoes. I might never leave this place! They are are so wonderful and I wish there was something we could give them to thank them for letting us stay with them. Don't worry, I've never been better taken of in any other time during my mission! :) My Companion right now is from a small town in Oregon. He's amazing!! He's been out just under a year on his mission and he's a fireball! Not flaming but he's on fire!! You're never too sure down in the keys... He's got such a strong testimony and it's a joy and a blessing to have him as a companion.

 

This past week we've been working hard trying to help the tiny branch in Marathon. Yesterday there were 11 people there (that's including us 4 missionaries...) I gave a talk and also did a special musical number. I sang "one voice" while Sister McCormick accompanied me. It was a very nice service but tiny! We've found some amazing people that are just ready for this gospel! Both my companion and I carry copies of the Book of Mormon while we harvest (knock doors) and at almost every blessing we give them a copy of the Book of Mormon. We harvested into *********** and he was very receptive to let us in. We walked in his house, his wife, who was on the phone at the time, looked at us and then yelled at him and told him to kick us out. We went outside with him and he apologized for her saying her father had just past away last night. We explained that death is not the end and how families can be together forever. As we were teaching of the Plan of Salvation, the door slowly opened and his wife came out. She didn't say a word but as we testified to her that she would live with her father again, you could see her heart melt and peace envelope her. We left them with a blessing and she was smiling. We invited them to be baptized for the 11th of November and they both accepted. We left a Book of Mormon with them and committed them to read Alma 40 as a family. This really helped me remember how real the Plan of Salvation is. We haven't been able to see them since but hope to soon.

We also have an amazing investigator named ********. He's half Cuban but he's been in the states for most of his life. I have never taught someone who wants to be baptized so badly. However it's really hard for him to be where he says he's going to be for his lessons... He's really busy! He lives in a trailer park and he's been fixing up a trailer for his family to move into. So this past week we scheduled an appointment with him and he wasn't there. He doesn't have a phone either so it makes it very difficult to contact him. As we were about to leave we both felt the impression to just wait for him to show up. We sat down on the stairs and about 15 minutes later he showed up! He was sorry he was late but then we taught him the Restoration! He felt the spirit so strong!! He knew it was true by how he felt! He talked about how he had studied with many other churches and he had never felt like that before. We then taught him the Word of Wisdom right then, which he accepted... even though he's had coffee for almost every day of his 39 year old life, but he gave it up! Then we taught the Law of Chastity right after that. He accepted to live it. He's not married to his "wife" but he said he's going to live in a separate trailer until they can get married. Which he has been doing for the past 4 days. His desires are so high that no matter what the Lord asks him to do he's going to do it! He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday but he'll be coming next week and then get baptized the following Sunday. Pretty Amazing!

Finally Yesterday as we went Harvesting we were having a hard time. No one seemed to be wanting to listen to us nor allow us in. It was about 7:00 last night and as we were knocking one side of the street, there was one apartment that stood out to me. I didn't say anything for a little while but after every door I felt like we need to knock that door. Right before I was going to tell my companion, he said, "Elder Fullmer, I feel like we need to knock that door." I responded, "I was just going to say the exact same thing!" We went over and knocked the door and this amazing woman named ****** came to the door. She's probably in her mid 20's from Cuba and she loved the blessing!! She felt the Spirit super strong. She explained how her parents are Jehovah Witnesses but knows that's not for her! We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and she accepted to be baptized! It's so incredible how the Spirit works by small means to lead us to who He knows is ready to receive us.

Sorry that this letter is so long but there's so much going on! I love all of you so much and I'm happier than I've been in a long time! I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and that the Lord is answering my prayers. I pray for all of you daily and I know that the Lord is blessing you. Have a great week and happy Halloween!!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

P.S. The Pictures are on the drive home, the picture of the back yard of the place we are staying and then of a crazy storm we got (we got the outskirts of the Hurricane... LOTS OF WIND AND RAIN!!) Enjoy!

Angel Moroni is placed on the South Florida Temple

Weekly Update- Leaving Belle Glade

Dear Family,

Well, my life in this area has been relatively short... Don't worry, I didn't get shot, but I am getting transferred... It'll be hard to leave this area since it has been very unique, unlike ALL of my other areas, but I'm excited to see what's to come! This next area will most likely be my last area. I have a feeling I will go with a companion for a transfer and then train a new missionary for my last two. Who knows though... Haha. Gotta love transfer predictions. It the most excitement that we get! Haha.

President Anderson sent some news to us. It says in his weekly email,

"We just got word last week that the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission is the highest baptizing Mission in the United States and Canada. This hasn’t happened out of the Utah Missions in a long time I am told. What an honor to know that you missionaries are working so hard and reaping such great miracles in finding the elect of God. I wasn’t going to announce this because we shouldn’t compare with others, but General Authorities are telling other leaders and I rather you hear it from me. Remember God’s hand is in this work and he has poured out his Spirit to make us instruments in His hands. You are amazing missionaries and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of your Mission."

 How cool is that? We're beating Salt Lake!! haha. It's not a competition but it's pretty cool news! This mission has increased dramatically in such a short time. All of the General Authorities are saying how well we're doing and are very impressed with our level of obedience. There is now way that we could do this without being obedient. I love this mission!

Well this week has actually been really good! I've been feeling great, health wise (by the way, I forgot to mention about the byopsis from my scopes... They didn't say what's been causing the ulcer but they think it's stress... I get to take my medications for about 5 more weeks and hopefully it'll get cleared up. They want to see my in 7 weeks from now but depending on where I go I might not come back :) haha. So that's a little update ).

We had stake conference up in Stuart this past Sunday which was really cool! There were over1,000 people at the conference! This stake is HUGE!!! It was really cool to see so many people. One of the talks that was given was given by this man from Mexico. He said that while he grew up in Mexico he never cut the grass because they really didn't have lawns there and if you did cut it, it was all by hand. He then described his first lawn mowing experience when he was about 45 years old. He was so excited!! He wasn't going in any pattern or anything, he had to fill up the tank about three times, and it took him about three hours to do it but when he was finished he was so proud of the work that he did! Every day when they would go outside he's say to his wife and kids, "Wow! Look at that grass! Isn't it beautiful?" He did that for the first few days and then it rained... then the grass grew and guess what? He wasn't as excited to mow it the next week. He realized why people pay so much for their lawn to be mowed. He then compared it to the Church. Our callings can be like mowing the lawn. At first we are really excited and pround of what we are doing, but as the weeks go on we put less and less excitement and meaning into it every time. We need to treat each week as our first and put everything into it. I really liked it! I've definitely had some weeks where my excitement hasn't been as high as others, but now that I'm in the final stretch, practice time is over and it's time to perform! I'm excited for these next three transfers to work harder than I've ever worked before!

After Stake Conference, since we had already driven 1 1/2 hours to get up to Stuart, we decided to go on an exchange with the ZL's (Aka Elder *****.) It was his last Sunday in the mission so I was with him and my current companion was with his companion. It was such a great time! Just like the old days in Miami! I learned something very important from this exchange though, he has not slowed down one bit. He treated his last week as if it was any other week in his mission. I've seen many missionaries "die" on their last transfer and slow down, but like President Uchtdorf said in his talk concerning regret and resolutions,

"Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. I don’t go cycling with my wife because I’m excited about finishing. I go because the experience of being with her is sweet and enjoyable. Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end? Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition. Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love. We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. 'Rejoice and be glad in it."

My goal is to not slow down, but rather to speed up! I'm excited to show the Lord the things that I have learned and to make the last few months the best ones yet! I love my mission and I'm so proud of what has happened so far, but I'm not content. I know I can give even more!

Not to start thinking about going home but as I was reading the options of going home I was realizing that there probably wouldn't be a better time for it than if you came to pick me up. I think it would be really cool for Sam to be able to see a mission before he goes. (Especially the best mission in the World!) It would be fun it think! It would also be cool to come home and have the whole missionary airport experience but I think I'd want you to come and pick me up. I'm not really picky though :) Whatever you feel would be best.

Anyways, that's about everything that i've got. The internet at the chapel wasn't working this morning, and surprisingly I couldn't fix it ;) JK I'm not that much of a computer whiz! So we ran to the library and I needed to get a library card, even though i'll be leaving tomorrow! haha. Ohh Well! Well, I love you all so much and I thank you for your many prayers in my behalf. I need them and I thank you for them. I know that the Lord loves us and is increasing his work here! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

P.S. You should all create Mormon.org profiles! It's an amazing website that's perfect for missionary work! You can also check mine profile ;)

http://mormon.org/me/76WR/David

Weekly Update. October 15, 2012

Hi Family! 

How is everyone doing? This week has been a very good week! Not much has changed but it's been good. Things are on the up and up! Nothing really crazy happened like getting bashed by a Pastor or anything like that but we're all happy and things are good :)

(He wrote some things about his area that will not be included in his blog) 

Health wise I'm doing well. Not much has changed. A few days I wasn't feel totally up to par but I've been a lot better than I have. This past week at church was really not too exciting. Going into Sunday we felt like we were going to have quite a few people there because they all told us they'd be there, however we had zilch! We did everything we could but we can't act for them... They have their agency and there's only so much that we can do. One of the investigators that we found this past week is named ****...  She's really cool! The day before we found her, My companion was on an exchange with another Elder and they talked with her sister who was kind of interested. However when we went back to follow up with her, her sister came out and said she wasn't home. However I felt prompted to ask if we could say a prayer with her which we did and she felt the Spirit very strongly. I then invited her to be baptized which she accepted! We went over there the next day to visit with her and she really wants to be forgiven of what she's done in the past. She has 3 kids. They're  a really cool family. Too bad they didn't make it to church but hopefully next week!

Another person that we met this week is named *****! She was also found by my companion while he was on an exchange. We went and taught her and her mom while *****was doing her mom's hair. Haha. They're very funny people! .....  Gotta love this area!

We got some good news here as well this past week! Our recent convert who's married to ***** got a job!! We are so happy for him! They're both doing really well! ^^^^^ is definitely the strongest one of them in the faith but they're both doing well! Another investigator is doing alright. We haven't really been able to teach him much since he's been so busy but the other day we were driving by his house and his 4 boys were playing catch with the football so we stopped and played with them for about 30 minutes and then ***** came out and we played some football! It was great! We're planning on going over there later today. 

Well that's about it here! This past week was a great sacrament meeting. It was a really spiritual moment knowing that I renewed my covenants with Heavenly Father. I love being able to contemplate and think of the Savior. Yesterday I read in Mosiah 14 during the sacrament and it was very spiritual. I invite you all to do so :) I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week! 

-Elder David B. Fullmer

When you have to be Bold, Do it with Love- October 8, 2012

Dear Fullmer Family,

General Conference was amazing!! I absolutely loved it! It was a huge shock to all of us when we heard about the change in ages for the missionaries. It's really cool to realize how the work of the Lord is increasing so rapidly. When I started my mission, there were about 52,000 missionaries in the field and in the press conference, Elder Holland said there are about 58,000. It's growing very fast and I can't wait to see what happens now. I doubt I'll be here when 18 year olds start coming in but it'll be interesting to see what happens. General Conference was amazing though. So many wonderful talks and messages that really were exactly what I needed. I love being able to listen to the words of the prophets. Sometimes I wish I had one of them as my companion so I could always be uplifted like that on a daily basis. Haha. It was a really great weekend.

Plan B to watch Conference. His last minute computer rig job.

We watched conference at the chapel. For most of the sessions it was only us in the chapel. We hooked up the satellite to a projector and watched it. For some reason though there was a loud hum that we couldn't get rid of. The Branch President thought it was our fault but we did all we could do. I felt like Stephen this weekend too because no one else really knew how to hook things up... I REALLY felt like Stephen though on Sunday when the Morning Session's closing song was finishing, the Satellite went out and we heard a loud "BOOM" along with the lights flickering... Turns out the Satellite got struck by lightning. We were hoping it would come back on but to no avail. I really wanted to watch the last session of conference. I said a prayer that we'd be able to get the things working (this was just after President Monson's talk about the JumboTron so I had faith.) So I got to work... I took a computer out of the Family History Center and ran the internet cord into the chapel. I hooked the computer up to the projector and then the sound up to the speakers in the chapel. I got everything working 30 seconds before the last session of conference started... And there was no annoying hum :) It all worked out and I'm grateful I was able to hear the last session of conference and hear the words I needed to hear! Thanks Stephen for inspiring me. I just thought of our basement with computers all over the place on the carpet. Good times! My favorite talk from this past conference was either President Eyring's Priesthood Session talk about finding our gifts or Elder Hales' about becoming more Christian Christians. It really was filled with things I personally needed to hear. 

This past week another elder and I had an interesting experience. Last Monday, we went and visited a man to teach both he and his wife the Plan of Salvation. We had been trying for weeks to meet with his wife who works a lot and we were able to meet her! We sat down and began the lesson when the door opened and his cousin walked in who happens to be a minister for another church. Right when he walked in I knew we were going to have an interesting night. He saw us and said, "Mormons huh?" He walked over, sat right in front of me and asked, "Who is Joseph Smith?" I went on and explained the Restoration and all that and he tried over and over to disprove the Book of Mormon. We told him multiple times how we aren't here to contend but to teach but he didn't want that. He said, "you need to be able to back up what you teach!" So I let him have it! However, the main focus I had throughout the whole night was to love him. I knew that if I didn't, the Spirit wouldn't be there and he wouldn't learn anything. He worked so hard to try and "prove" we were teaching another gospel to that which Christ taught but couldn't do it. At one point of the night he raised up his hands and said, "alright, I'm a sinner! Teach me how to come to Christ!" I took this moment and ran with it. I just opened my mouth and began to testify of what I know to be true. I testified of the Atonement of Jesus Christ which is available to everyone who will repent. I testified how much I value and strive to become like Christ and what it means for me. I was saying things that I had never realized I knew to be true and the Spirit was stronger than I had felt in a very long time. He broke down into tears and tried to deny the feelings which he felt and still tried to deny that we teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness. I know he felt the Spirit and I know this work is true! As we were leaving he left the closing prayer, which was more like a closing shout, it was weird, and you could noticeably recognize the difference in the Spirit between him and us. That's what I hoped the man we were teaching was able to feel. The other elder went back two days later while I was on an exchange with another elder and he told mim, "Man, my cousin has been trying to convert me for years... I don't feel anything in his church. I want to learn from you! I feel something different!" They gave him a Book of Mormon and the man committed to read it. It was a great learning experience for me to always follow the Spirit and when you need to be bold, you have to do it with love. 

Our other investigators are doing alright. They both said they would come to General Conference but neither of them came... It's hard in this area to get people to act. They don't have much in their lives but getting them to act is hard... We'll still keep working with them though.

One of my favorite quotes from conference was when Elder Hales said, "faithful servants of Christ are blessed with challenges and opposition." I never realized it's because of our faithfulness that we are blessed with challenges. If you look at all of the Prophets and Apostles in history, they all were/are "blessed" with challenges and opposition. I know that it's never easy and it never was intended to be easy but that's why the Savior came. It wasn't easy for Him either. But as we trust in Him, it doesn't become easier. However, it becomes possible. That's something I'm beginning to understand. We are going to have trials and problems and we are faced with two options: Go with Him, or go without Him. Satan tries to confuse that option but it's always the same. As we act and move forward WITH Christ, all of our trials and challenges come with understanding and He helps us learn and gain the perspective necessary to move past them. I'm so grateful for my testimony and hopefully I will continue to grow in my testimony until I can truly become converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all that I do. I love you all and I'm so thankful for my wonderful family. You truly are a blessing from my Heavenly Father and I really cannot (nor want to) imagine how life would be without you. Thank you for everything that you are and do for me. I love you! Have a wonderful week!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Here are some pictures of a crazy storm that they had

The docs found an ulcer in my stomach! Weekly update 10-1-2012

Dear Fullmer Family,

Well this week was an interesting one! Like I said last week I would be going in to have my EGD last Tuesday. So I went in, they put me out again and put a camera down my throat to take a litte looksie on my insides. Well, they found a stomach down there! Haha. But also they found an Ulcer in my stomach. They think this might be the cause of the problems, at least most of them. They're still not sure if it's the cause of all the problems but at least it's something that they can work with. They also aren't really sure of the cause of the ulcer since there are so many different ones but hopefully it will go away and I'll start feeling better :) I've already started to feel a bit better which is nice! Enough with my problems... Time to move on!

Mendoza Argentina huh? That's pretty legit Christian! I've heard it's an awesome mission! My last bishop served there and loved it! You get to speak that an Argentinian will all the sha's and when you get back i'll let you listen to Cuban spanish and you'll have no idea what they're saying! Haha. Can't wait! That's great to hear, too bad I'll just barely miss you but I might accidentally pretend to be a missionary and visit the MTC? :) JK!

This week has been a pretty good one! I was privelidged on Wednesday to go to a Specialized Training in Boynton Beach where President talked about cycles in the Book of Mormon, like the pride cycle and compared it to missionary work. It was pretty interesting. It basically said that we need to be balanced in all phases of the work and continually be humble and grateful for what the Lord has blessed us with. It was a great training where I was able to see some missionaries that I hadn't seen in quite some time!

Our investigators are doing pretty good as well. The biggest problem is getting them to church! But I feel like this week it will be better! We haven't been able to see ******* in probably like 5-6 days... He's been busy but he's still doing well! We had an amazing lesson with another invetigator last Monday where she expressed how she's been having dreams about water and being cleansed with water... It took about three seconds before we invited her to be baptized! She readily accepted and is very excited for it! Also, the day of the appointment, one of her good friends also passed away. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit was so strong! Unfortunatley we haven't been able to see her since then but we're planning on going over there tonight to try and see her. She's amazing and I hope everything is going well!

Yesterday was the birthday of the grandson one of our families that we are teaching. I love them so much! There was a pinata with tamales and it was so delicious! We finished it off with some tres leches cake! Delicious!! This family invited me to go to Mexico with them next year!! They feel like part of my family. They're pretty involved in their Catholic church but really enjoy the Spirit that we bring to their house. They will get baptized but I'm just not quite sure as to when. However, we had a great time last night at a mexican fiesta!

Yesterday in church I had a really strong spiritual moment! It was disappointing because none of our investigators came to church but again I felt the spirit tell me that I did my very best and I should be proud. Then as the sacrament prayers were being blessed, the Priest blessing the bread is a member with special needs and he kept messing up over and over again. It took about six times to read it. I kept making the connection to us how to be able to enter into the Lord's Kingdom we need to be perfect, however we make mistakes over and over and over again, but the Lord always gives us another shot! I love the Sacrament and how it is a perfect example of Christ and His atonement. Just how no matter where we are, or how many times we fall, there's still another chance, and another and another. I love the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how with Christ I can do all things! Thank you for all of your love and prayers. I couldn't keep going without them. You're all so special to me and I love you deeply! Have a wonderful week!

Con mucho amor,

-Elder David B. Fullmer

Birthday Email (September 24, 2012)

 Dear Fullmer Family,



Birthday Card Cover



Thank you all so much for your many birthday wishes! It was so wonderful to hear from many of you and also to see all of you on the birthday card. That was without a doubt, the coolest birthday card ever! Thank you all! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing family!



The branch that I'm serving in found out that it was my birthday a few days before and decided to throw me a surprise birthday potluck. This branch is amazing! They all have so much love for the missionaries and take really good care of us. One of the elders in our house called the Branch President's wife and told her it was my birthday this Sunday and they went all out! They got a Costco cake, Fried Chicken, homemade mac and cheese, salad, corn bread, lasagna, spaghetti... too much to say but it was all so delicious! They got me a birthday card and everything! They're so great! I had no idea either! Lots of fun! 

Inside his birthday card

Later on in the day we went to our investigator's house where they also made us dinner, (while watching the football game... Big temptation!) But it was very good! Now you all think I had a lot of food but it wasn't over yet! We then had dinner with the Branch President and his family. I didn't eat much at the last one but it was fun to be with the family. All in all it was a great birthday with wonderful gifts! Thank you again!

Also, this week was transfer week! I have a new companion from Brigham City UT! He lives about two blocks away from the new temple, so he was pretty bummed that he missed the dedication. He's been out just over six months, same amount as my last companion (they were companions in the MTC.) He's a great Elder! He loves to work but at the same time is very patient with my..err.. troubles :) I'm glad to be working with him. My mission trainer’s little brother went to the same district that I was trained in, the Miami Beach zone! Pretty cool! Funny story, my trainer,  went on an exchange in the area where his brother is serving about a week before he left and when he came back he said, "I'm glad I'll never have to serve in that area!" It pretty ghettoy (i don't think that's a word...) He'll love it though! I worked with his trainer when I was down in Miami. He's a great missionary! It was fun to see Elder *********, he looks just like his brother! 

Well there's not much to report about the tummy troubles, except that tomorrow I will be having a EGD where they'll put a camera down my mouth and look around in my stomach. Hopefully they'll find something! I'll also be having a CT scan on Friday hopefully. Luckily for the EGD I don't have to drink the Jugo de muerte! I just get to fast from midnight until the procedure at 1. I had to fast for the entire day before the colonoscopy along with the Jugo de muerte. So good luck Dad! Let me know how it goes! 

We had a great experience with one of our investigators this past week. We weren't really sure what he needed at that time so we asked him, what do you want to learn about and he responded, "forgiveness." We read with him Alma 36 and he got really excited, he then asked, "what did he remember his father saying about Jesus Christ?" It doesn't say in the scriptures but i took an educated guess and we then turned to Alma 7 and he felt the Spirit so strong! He said, "I finna get baptized!" (which means, I want to get baptized!) He then said the closing prayer and asked him at the end how he felt and he said, "I feel good, I want to cry!" He was feeling the spirit big time! This man is a big dude but the Spirit touched his heart. I love the Book of Mormon and the Spirit it brings. We went harvesting everyday and every day we found wonderful people. One of the blessings we left was with a very sweet woman. She opened the door and before we could say anything she said, "Come on in!" Since her husband wasn't home we couldn't because we are representatives of Jesus Christ, she said, "I just prayed for you to come! I was in the room praying and crying over my sister who just recently passed!" She then went on to say how she looked up on the internet about comfort from Jesus when we knocked on the door. We said a prayer with her at the door and the spirit was so strong. Mid way through the prayer, her husband showed up but instead of disrupting us he joined in the prayer with their daughter. They knew that we were sent by Jesus Christ. We told her to go to Mormon.org and to look up the Plan of Salvation. She said she would. We're going back over tonight!


 Well this week was pretty interesting but all in all it was great! I learn more and more everyday about the Atonement and the enabling power to keep going! I love this work, even though it takes everything out of me, but there is nothing I'd rather be doing. I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon!

-Elder David B. Fullmer

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