A random picture...

This picture was recieved by Dad on his cell phone today. Pretty silly, but fun to get none-the-less. He and his companions were helping a member move some stuff or something and she snapped a picture on her phone and asked what numbers she could send it to. Fun Stuff!!!

Our little Jake is growing up!!!

Jake added this little tidbit of info to his email today. It gave us all a good "chuckle" that's for sure!

"You will probably chuckle at this...i did the dishes today! Tons of them and they were all nasty and dirty, you would have been proud. anyway i just wanted to say that...peace."

Way to go Jake! We are so PROUD!!!

Member Missionaries...

"So our week was great! we had a great turn out at church(the whole zone) which means there are alot of baptism in store for the lakewood zone. I wanted to tell you a little bit about our friends stacy and david scott. they have brought their friend April into the church, it hasn't been the missionaries, it's been them, all we've done is taught a few lessons to her. our work as missionaries is so easy when the investigators have friends to help them. Members are key to missionary work. the cool thing about the scotts is, is now that they have seen the change in Aprils life (who is getting baptised this weekend) they are now wanting to bring more to the happiness that comes with the gospel. they are having new neighbors move in, and they have already invited them to a get together and stuff that we will be too. they are doing all the work for us. they are both just recent converts and they are so excited to see the work progress, thats how we need to be as members. Just by bringing one person into the church, you bring a lot more, if that makes sense."

"pres. pearson came and spoke in our wards this sunday and gave two amazing talks in both the lakewood ward and the bridgeport singles branch. it was awesome. He keeps coming back to a key point in his talks that he gives. it's the fact that all of us have things to worry about in this life and we hardly ever have peace of mind, but through the gift of the holy ghost we are allowed a constant peace of conscience (read Mosiah 4:3-4, i think) when we are in accordance with the things of the lord we can always have peace of conscience which is more important than having peace of mind, because with peace of conscience and that knowledge that God is our loving heavenly father, nothing that the world throws at us will seem as bad and it will seem bearable and we will be able to bear our burdens. I love that thought, i wish you could hear it from him (maybe in october over the pulpit!) because he just says it so much better and so much clearer, but also read the words of king benjamin, cause thats where the idea comes from. We are given such an amazing gift after we become a confirmed member of the church, the gift of the holy ghost."

Stolen items... But an amazing Trip!

"So we just got back from the temple not to long ago, and it was incredible. That place truly is the house of god. President pearson spoke to us for a little while before we went into the session. He talked to us about his experience he's had the last few months, and he again bore detailed testimony of how he knows that the priesthood keys have been returned to the earth and Thomas s. Monson is the man who is able to use them. He then told us about how he is humbled by his new calling but he bore awesome testimony about he will do whatever he is told to do because of his knowledge of the truth. It was one of the most powerfull experiences i've ever had in my life. After the session president welcomed each of us into the celestrial room with a big hug. you all know i'm not much of a hugger but i must say it was one of the better hugs i've given back. it's not very often you get to hug a G.A. ha ha. It was amazing to see a huge group of missionaries in the celestial room all at one time. what an experience."

"As my luck would have it, i had a pretty terrible thing happen after the session. someone broke into our car, by shadering the window, while we were at the temple. they stole my camera and my backpack which had my temple clothes and my bike lock and my scriptures in it. so i'm without a camera, and without my scriptures that i have had for years, and my patriarchal blessing which was in the scriptures. Luckily My camera can be replaced and I can get a new pair of scriptures sometime, and hopefully you can send me another copy of my blessing soon. It was a little bit of a bummer, but i still was so happy about what had happened just hours before in the temple. nothing could have got me down after that experience."

Rough time, but at the same time what a neat temple experience. Jake has grown so much already. We are so proud of him! He ended by saying, "God knows me personally, i know that more now than i ever have. the church is true."

We get to go to the Temple!

Jake emailed today and said, "I'm so excited for the temple this week. This is a rare occasion as you can probably imagine, because we don't have a temple in our mission, so i am definately looking forward to it. President (Elder) Pearson got back from salt lake on wednesday and because my senior companions are zone leaders, we were able to hear a little from him in the weekly conference call that the zone leaders participate in each week (for numbers purposes). anyway he didn't say anything about his new calling the entire phone call, until the end when he mentioned how he was excited about going to the temple with us this week, and he said before we do a session he is going to share with us his experience that he had last week(meeting with the bretheren and all) and he's going to tell us about the change in his life since he heard about the call back in January. He then bore his testimony over the phone, and said that he KNOWS, without a doubt that this church is true, and he knows that the authority, and those priesthood keys that the Bretheren hold, has been restored to the earth, and he knows the men that have them. I wish you all could have heard it, it's one thing hearing a testimony like that over the pulpet at General Conference, but to hear it from someone you know personally in that kind of setting was something else, i wish i could express how it felt in words. I can't wait to be in the temple with that man, and hear about his experience...wow."

He stressed once again what we can do as members to help with the missionary effort "Again Members play a huge role in missionary work. One of the girls we are teaching is the friend of a couple who are both recent converts (the husband is david scott who we baptised last month). The only reason this girl knows about this church is because of the scott family. Us as missionaries have hardly done any work at all, and she is probably going to get baptised in a couple weeks. People are alot less likely to come to church if they don't know anyone."

He added "ps. our new president is president bowen. he's been a proffessor at harvard and M.I.T. if that gives you any indication of what kind of president he will be

Mission Pres. is now a GA!

President Pearson will return to the mission this wednesday and all the missionaries are excited to see their new General Authority mission president.

Jake wrote "I still can't get over how great general conference was! I loved how straight forward everyone was. President Eyering left no room for doubt that this is the only true church on the earth today. And Pres. Packer complimented him nicely by explaining how this is the only church that same authority that Christ's church had, with the same organization."

He ended with "My companions are awesome! And we are still having a lot of fun. The church is true."

Thoughts on Conference

"Wow what a weekend! Conference was honestly beyond words for me. And it sounds like you didn't pick up on one minor detail that i'm excited to tell you about. while President Uchtdorf was anouncing the new members of the seventy, you should have recognized there was the name of a white guy in the middle of all those spanish names, that guys name was Kevin W. Pearson, my current mission president, who is now a member of the first Quorum of the seventy! pretty crazy huh? we all knew he would be a General Authority, but none of us expected they would call him while he was still serving his mission, so we were all very shocked. good news though, he is staying until his mission is over and he will begin his new calling at the beggining of August. It is still so crazy to me. Anyway, that was exciting, and the rest of the conference was even better. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, and it was witnessed to me during each of those conference sessions."

"During Elder Hollands talk saturday afternoon i think i felt the spirit stronger than i remember ever feeling it before...ever! the things that he was saying and the way he was saying it and the things that were going through my mind at the time all just made it possible for the spirit to touch me, and it let me know that those men are truely inspired of god, it was incredible to say the least. I wish i could talk more about conference but i don't have that much time, there is so much to be said. I will say this though, the bretheren are changing the way they aproach General conference, and i think we are going to be seeing A LOT of change in the world concerning the church in the next decade or so. I'm not saying the second coming or anything, but things are happening. these last couple conferences have been directing us and preparing us for something."

"I loved the focus on the family this conference, and also member missionary work. Members are so Important to this work, don't ever be affraid to share your testimony with anyone, and pray for missionary opportunities. Sorry mom for not always helping you as much as i could have. I was never good at helping, especially when i wasn't asked to do something. But i do love you, and appreciate all that you have done, and all that you do for me. I want you to know that, and i will try to be better. I've been spoiled, you spoiled me to much ha ha, but i'm extremely gratefull for it. I'm definately a moma's boy, you're the best."

"Another thing that was so great this weekend is that D'Andre got baptised. He came to 3 sessions of conference and he is such a solid convert (well we make sure they are all pretty solid before baptising them of course, but D'Andre is the best i've seen so far) He loves the book of mormon, and thats what converts. If Investigators have a Testimony of that book than they are ready to take those next steps. We told D'Andre to read Lehi's Dream, and then draw it, and he did and its probably the coolest thing i've ever seen. and the other night he just felt like reading and so he read all the Abenadi story and all the story of Alma baptising the multitudes, and it's amazing cause he understands it perfectly, good enough to teach me some new things about it, and i've been hearing that story for years! he's the man, ill send you a picture of his baptism."

"Tell Amy congratulations, and let Ryan know that i did see him during that last song in the choir, and he looked studly. My bike is great and My companions are amazing. Elder schultz has given us a whole new view on missionary work, and it's really helping, i feel like i'm beginning to progress alot and it feels pretty good."

"General Conference has given me a boost that i hope to carry with me for awhile, and i hope it did for you too."

Grateful to still be in Lakewood

In a letter recieved today Jake expressed how glad he is to still be in the same area and zone. He is excited to see what happens with the zone and his companionship this time around.

He shared a favorite quote from his amazing mission president, "Shatter your personal best. It's not about hope, it's about faith, and faith is all about doing."

He is loving the Mission!

Transfer day!

He wrote an email telling us "So heres the lowdown on transfers. Elder Mcdaniel got a call saturday afternoon from President Pearson and he was told he was going to be his next assistant. So he got called to be A. P. and he was shocked, but i think he was the only person was, we all know he's going to be amazing there. We then got a call from president pearson a little while later and Elder Jones is Going to Steillacoom which is the neighboring area and he is going to be a district leader, he's still in the lakewood zone. And Elder Reyes and I are still here in Lakewood...Woo Hoo! so we are in another foursome and Elder Schultz, who has been an A.P. for the last like 7 months or something (and is arguably the best most talented teacher/missionary in the mission) is one of our new companions, along with Elder Blake who is a new missionary fresh off the plane. I'm extremely excited, and i keep thinking i must have done something right in the pre-mission life to have deserved such good fortune ha ha. I was extremely sad to see Elder Mcdaniel go but also excited to work with elder schultz. this is amazing, I'm Learning from the best! I hope i can someday be as good a teacher and an example as these guys. Its also cool for me to see how much i learned last transfer, through elder blake. He's going to be a good missionary and i'm excited to take part in his teaching and growth."

He also says that he has been noted as the best dressed missionary in his zone. And " i'll be looking for Ryan in the choir next week. I'm So Excited about conference next weekend and to take part in the solumn (sorry about the spelling) assembly. Deandre, that investigator that i told you about is so Legit and he is way excited about coming and seeing the prophet. I'm excited to be a part of that sustaining of president monson as well. We have been challanged that we pray to have the spirit testify to us that Thomas S. Monson has been called to be a prophet of God and we have been promised that during that special meeting on saturday it will be witnessed to us through the holy spirit that he is a prophet of god, and when we have that spiritual experience, we've been asked to write it down. I issue that same challange to each of you. Pray for that Knowledge when you got to that meeting, and i know that when you do that you will recieve a confermation that is unique to you. so write it down and remember it always. Keep that in mind this week and prepare yourself spiritually for that meeting because it's truely going to be amazing. I'm Stoked!"

He ended by saying "I love Lakewood and i'm so excited to still be here. we ar going to have an amazing transfer and we are going to bring even more people to the gospel than last transfer. I'm particular excited about deandre who i have been with from the beginning, he's getting baptised sunday and he's way excited, and he's going to bring alot of others to the truth, including his wife laschelle. he came to church on sunday and ate it all up, to say the least. he even participated in sunday school making comments and answering questions! he then told me after all the meetings how much he respected us as missionaries, and i told him how i was naturally shy and it is hard for me to start up conversation, he respected that and thinks is cool that i am so passionate about this message. it made me realize how that truely is why i'm here, its hard work but this is a message that i know can change lives, and there is nothing else i want to do right now then to share this message. we can all share it, in our own way, but this is a unique opportunity for me and i love it. We are blessed to know what we do."

Food Poisoned...but still alive!

It sounds like Jake along with his three other companions got food poisoning last night from some shrimp they ate... No Fun!

It sounds like his Easter was good, but very busy. He said "the meetings were very good. All centered on Jesus Christ, of course. The evening went well. We were invited to a members house for Easter dinner, and it was very good. We then went to a very powerful baptism of a husband and wife. We then went back to that families house for dessert. I love having baptisms on Sunday nights."

They have been teaching a lady named Lichelle, but she has decided that she doesn't want to be baptised, but the good news is that her husband, D'Andre REALLY wants to be baptised and says that once he is baptised and his wife and friends see how happy he is, that they will want to be baptised too.

He says that he is used to doing the church tours thing and can't imagine doing it any other way because they are SO effective.

He also said "I love the new Ensign that just came out. I haven't had a chance to read it all yet, but my favorite article so far is the one by Pres. Packer. He just explains everything so simply, and it made a lot of things about the atonement so much clearer to me. There is nothing more powerful than a sincere testimony of Jesus Christ."

...and more rain!

In the letter mom got yesterday Jake explained that he got dumped on for 4 days straight, and all four days he was lucky enough to be on a bike. Welcome to Washington!

He thanked mom and dad for "raising us right" and shared his gratitude for the gospel and knowing that It truly blesses families. He said, "I've seen a lot of joy here. Whether it be my own joy, or the joy that the gospel brings into others lives."

and
"To all of you I'd like to say, never be afraid of talking about the gospel with someone who is not a member. I don't doubt that you share it every chance you get, but the members of wards are so important to missionary work. Don't be afraid to invite someone to church with you." I know that I need to be better about that. Not necessarily because I am "afraid", but I just forget to look for the opportunity. Thanks for the encouragement Jake.

rain, rain, and... the church is true!

In the email we recieved this week we were told that Elder Slater is finally seeing/experiencing Washingtons best known fact. "Me and Elder Jones have been kinda working together for most of the week this week, so we've been on Bike, and of course it's been raining. The rain finally caught up with me this week and it's come down hard. and it just happened to be my first almost full week on bike, just my luck." Ha ha.

It sounds like he had a harder week with investigators when he said, "Yesterday was Stake Conference here, and two of the speakers were our amazing stake president and his wife. It was so good, but since it was stake conference we didn't get very many investigators to church. We were supposed to have eleven come with us, but we ended up with zero. That was kind of a bummer, but the meeting was still good. This weekend was the first weekend my companionship hasn't had a baptism. but of course I've only been here four weeks so that's not sayin' much." But he still sounds really upbeat! He ended the email with, "I'm doing great, and I'm improving little by little with only minor setbacks. I can't wait to be better ha ha. I love studying and learning. The new Ensign is Amazing! Study it like scripture - cause it is. Anyway, I love you always, and hope to hear from you soon."

Isn't he amazing?! We love you Jake!

Short Letter

Jake let us know that he approves of the future home that Chris and Abby have just picked out and have decided to build, and he let us know that he got the laundry bag that mom sent to him. It was a really cool laundry bag that we put together for him with all his nieces and nephews handprints on it. He said, "It is a wonderful asset, and I love all of the handprints. They make me smile!"

He mentioned once again his lack of sleep because of the time change and said, "At home you are either awake or tired. In the mission you are either tired or exhuasted, and I am feeling the later right now."

Not enough sleep

Jake is doing really well! He is loving the experiences. He has had a rough time adjusting to the time change, but the work moves forward.

He informed us that he and his companions eat a lot of hambuger helper, frozen dinners and cereal. He also mentioned that they eat out often because it is the most "convenient". How is that for a healthy diet?!

He said, "We had Zone conference on Friday, and it was Amazing. President Pearson is quite the speaker, and he is so straight forward he almost makes you nervous, if that makes sense, but I love it. I came away from zone conference feeling very pumped. I still have a hard time talking to all these strangers. I Know I just have to be more patient, because those skills will come."

He also said, "We had an awesome baptism last night. We baptised a guy named David. He's the first guy I've seen converted from the beginning. His wife was already a member, and now you can just tell they are going to have such a great little family, they have two kids." Isn't that amazing!? It's true that this gospel helps bring true joy--- especially to families.

He sounds awesome! And sends his love to everyone. And he thanked Grandma and Grandpa for thier letter.

"All is well"

We recieved an email from Jake yesterday that informed us he got to witness his first missionary baptism on Sunday night. A woman named Rose from the Marshall Islands. She was referred to them by her brother Saila, who is apparently moving to SLC Utah this friday. He wants to meet Thomas S. Monson... among other things as well.

Jake is "really enjoying the mission!" He has struggled with the fact that he hasn't taught anyone yet that has accepted the message. but it will happen. He is also just starting to get his voice back. Poor guy! He also said "It still hasn't rained!! I brought the sunshine i guess. every day i've been here it's been pretty, and i'm beginning to think that everyone was lying to me about washington being really wet ha ha. i'm sure the weather will change soon." He told us that they got to play Frisbee Golf on P-day.... It is a huge sport in Washington I guess. He said it was a lot of fun, but his skills weren't the greatest.

He sounds good. Remember him in your prayers!

Email from Washington!

Jake reached the rainy state yesterday and today we got an email from him. It sounds like the mission is really thriving. The goal for March is 250 baptisms. Wow! He said "I got here just in time", To be a part of those baptisms. He said that the mission President expects a lot and told Jake that he would succeed... no question about it. So Jake said "I guess I'm going to succeed!!" He sounds really happy, possitive, and upbeat about all that is ahead of him. He said, "I'm still fighting this cold which is kind of a bummer, but thats ok because now I just sound like a smoker which kind of fits in nicely up here ha ha" He also said that he loves getting mail, so whoever gets a chance feel free to drop him a line.

We're happy he got there and that he sounds so great!

Flying to Washington

Today is the Day!!! Elder Slater left the MTC early this morning headed for the mission field. He called my mom around 6:30 this morning and sounded great! (except he has a cold, so his voice was scratchy) But she said he sounds really happy and excited to be on his way. Then later this evening Mom got a phone call from one of the senior missionary couples, telling her that he had arrived and is doing great. He is in Lakewood. They also said that she would hear from them again soon. Mom is amazed at the contact she has had with his mission. They are just very good to let you know what is going on.

I guess we will hear from him soon.

Letter

He talked about how excited he is to get out to the mission field. He had a hard time with one of the new missionaries that thought he wanted to go home... He spent a lot of time with him. The missionary ended up going to the hospital for medicine and for now is still on the path to the mission field. He said helping that elder had been a good experience for him.

He has gained 4 pounds, and he says it is all fat! But I think he was sad about it, He was hopeing that he would gain more.

He says he has loved the 1st lesson, about the restoration. He is anxious to share it with others.

Email!

We got an email from Jake today!! Not much of anything new, but he said things are continuing to go great!!!

Letter #2

The letter told us that he hasn't been homesick at all, and that things have been going great! He feels like he has already grown a lot. "Even after the 1st day I felt stronger" he said. His companion is Elder Meehan, and he will be serving in the Washington, Tacoma mission as well. He says they are different than each other, but that they get along fine. He mentioned that one of the hardest parts is being with a companion "ALL THE TIME" but that he would get used to it. They have been called as the Zone leaders.
He talked about an Elder Tolentino who is his "HERO". Elder Tolentino is apparently philipino and is the only member in his family. He has been called to the Provo mission, so Jake encouraged the family to look him up. Elder Tolentino had a lot of trials after he joined the church and almost got disowned by his family, but he stuck it out and is now 22 years old and anxious to get to bring others into the gospel.
He bore his testimony of living prophets and the true gospel.

What a guy. It's great to hear that he is doing so well.

First Letter

Mom recieved the 1st letter from Elder Slater today. It was so good to hear from him! It always seems like forever waiting for that first letter to come to know how they are doing. It sounds like things are going great. He said "So far things here have been really good" and "I have felt very normal about being here." Which is awesome. It was a really short letter. Hopefully we get more info soon about his companion and stuff.

Missionary Training Center - Provo, Utah

Jake checking in at the MTC. This is where he was given his name tag...

and his "dork dot". Exciting time!

Mom, Dad, and Jake at the MTC. I think this is a neat picture because now Jake truly is in the Lord's hands... and it is almost as if my parents are turning Jake over to Christ's open arms.

Here we all are, before the tears :) Notice that Jake is giving the "Slater gang sign" in this photo. Ha ha! Every thing went as well as can be expected at the MTC. Jake held tough and practiced the "band aid Method" (faster=easier) when he said goodbye to us all. He was the first missionary out of there. He just gave us all a quick hug and out he went, with his head held high. What a guy... We love you Jake!!! Good Luck!

Officially a Missionary

Tonight Jake got set apart as a missionary! It's official now. It was a great setting apart by the 1st counselor in the stake Presidency, Pres. Prows. They also just spent some time talking with him about what kind of missionary he is capable of being. Jake is amazing! And tomorrow he enters the MTC... where this new journey will begin.

Brent and Margaret Slater Family at the Temple

What an awesome thing to have all my parents children in the temple together.

It is a credit to them, and so neat for all of us!