Michael: May 4, 2011

Dear family

IM CLEAN! The 7 years of famine have passed and now i am prospering enough that I bought the right part to fix our shower head (and I fixed it myself, to toot my own horn) and IM CLEAN! Ironically enough not much time passed until I got messy again, real messy...

when your walkin down the road

and you cant hold in the load....

.....

cha cha cha

.....

cha cha cha

I was surprised that nobody passed me the news of the assassination of Osama Bin Laden! Ya I shouldnt be worried about it, but a member said our country was having a party because of it and for some reason I thought it was so cool, I couldnt stop smiling.

I just found out that a lady who I taught in my last area, where I was there only 3 weeks, is firm going to church and her daughter was baptised and her other children we being taught (she has to get married first) so that was awesome! I did something of worth while I was there.

We also had transfers late, on Saturday. 23 Missionaries got here - the biggest group thats ever come. As a result there are a lot of people training, including myself. Yep I went ahead and joined the club- had myself a kid. (missionary jargan ? is that right)

His name is Elder De Lima. Also as a result of the many new missionaries President is cracking down on the rules and to my beloved in-laws I hate to say that I will not be able to read your emails.

The work is going pretty good. The baptism I wrote about last week happened smoothly, now we´re working with other relatives of that family- lookin at a baptism this Sunday too.

Matt- haha Crazy run in with the Congregaçao crista no brasil!! Ive participated myself in a couple heated discussions & prayers with them but none desta mae.

Nate - I think I´ll be OK but I´ll send my info to Natalie. Nice shots of Nick, Avery and Bug Doug! You were def inspired you even got a shot of Sara Townshend! Que Bençao. Also the story you sent me last week was probably the best thing Ive recieved on my mish haha I loved the story!

Erika - Your email rocked! Im sure your future letters will be even betta hahah. No nobody had told me you picked out a name! Molly is hot, due to its ties with a certain life guard ex-coworker (HIGH FIVE MATT!!! now pound it) not that I wanna date my niece or anything- I realize she´s 17 years too young for me. Nice that you are working in Sandy, a great city. Tell Duke I miss him to and want a letter from him!

Nick - What happened to the use of track shorts? You look like you´re flexing/swollen in all your pics. PARABENS Mens chair!!! Too bad my 2 years of service in stud gov didnt get me a pic forever on the walls at Alta like you and Rhett. and SWEET to your All-star spring break crew! Do you have a journal? Last of all but most important- Im glad you got your patriarchal blessing, thats an amazing experience/blessing.

I want to write to you all part of a talk I liked called ´´the way´´ from the october 2008 conference, I think by Elder Lawrence?

´´Jesus Christ is the way. He is Light..Life..Bread..Water..the Beginning and the End, the Ressurection and the Life, the Savior..Truth, and the Way.. ..He is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.. ..Either we eat and hunger no more..follow Him and see clearly..learn of Him and have life more abundantly..accept..His Atonement and are made clean.. or we don´t and foolishly remain thirsty..weak..hungry..blind and in darkness..dead..alone and filthy.

Only God can bless..sustain..preserve and protect..forgive..heal and change us. Only He can give us strength..power, knowledge, peace, and joy.

And He will do all of that and more if we but remember Him to keep His commandments. What then shall we do? We shall remember Him to keep His commandements. It is the only intelligent thing to do.

One of the most popular and attractive philosophies of men is to live life your own way, do your own thing, be yourself, don´t let other tell you what to do. But the Lord said, ``I am the way.. Follow me.. What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am´´

The Lord´s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel.. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple.. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone-- without His support..power..guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don´t quit, and you will make it. There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way is foolishness.´´

Love, Elder Michael Gagon