Dear Family,

Things in Connersville are going great!  We have a lot of exciting things going on right now. The Ward here has many members, but sadly, a large portion of them are less-active members. That is one thing that we try to help with, but our main job as missionaries is to find new people.

I do think that I am in better shape than I ever was before. We are out walking all of the time, and it won't stop, even in the winter. I really, truly want to try and keep this up when I do eventually get home. I can fix up my bike there, and just bike around during the warmer months. Maybe I can also put the treadmill to good use. One thing that I could do better at is eating a little healthier. It is hard though when you are on a budget. That is why we like to get fed by members. They usually feed us better than we would feed ourselves.

There has been a lot of sickness around here as well. The Bishop’s family here has been plagued with the flu. I am trying my best to keep myself healthy, and so far it is working. I am also trying my best to get the flu shots. It is just hard to get them around here as well. One of the best things I have found is to wash my hands right when I come inside, and then I can't spread germs to the rest of the apartment as easily. The problem with the vaccines is that there is a limited number of facilities where they make the vaccine, and they just decided to make the H1N1 in half of them, so it is twice as hard to get just the regular Flu Vaccine.

It is good to hear that Grandma is doing well enough to travel. I just hope that she continues to stay in Cedar as much as possible. I think that she likes it better in Cedar anyway. I hope that you enjoy the Thanksgiving dinner this year. I know that missionaries usually get fed really well on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I could end up going to 2 or 3 dinners. That could be a little crazy. I just hope that I don't pop from all of the food that I will be eating.

Now Spencer is getting married! What is going on? By the time I get back home, everything will be different, but I guess it wasn't meant to stay the same. I didn't expect it to stay exactly the same as I left it, but I also didn't expect this many changes. But, life has to go on. I hope that the girl is really nice. I don't expect to be married that fast, but I guess that the Lord has a plan for me, and His is always the right one to choose.

It has been getting cold here as well. I have had to take the trench coat out again, and I even had to wear it once already. I am not looking forward to the cold again. Time just goes by too fast. I am also not looking forward to the bitter winds we have here. Here in Indiana, we get the cold, wind, and humidity. Put those three together, and it can get quite painful. I will survive though. We have had what they call an Indian summer here for the past week. It got nice and warm again, but it was chilly when we woke up this morning. I think that I will just stick with the garments that I have, and I will get some thermals from Walmart. Then I can wear the thermals a couple of times before I have to wash them. There is no point in having more pairs of garments to take care of, but thanks for the thought anyway.

As I said before, the work here has been amazing. Earlier this week, we went to Jeremy’s house. We had already given him the first lesson and a Book of Mormon. We had previously asked him that "when he knows that the Book of Mormon is true, and when he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet, then will he be baptized?" He said yes! Well, we went back this week and sat down and read out of Alma 32 with him. At the end, I asked him how he felt about the Book of Mormon, and he said that it answered some of his questions. I asked him if he thought it was true, and he said yes. Then, I asked him if he thought that Joseph was a prophet, and he said yes. So, I asked him if he would be baptized. I will never forget the answer he gave me. He said, "I can't this week, but how about next week?" I am so happy right now! He has a few problems that he has to work through first, but things are going great with him. We also have another family that we are teaching. They are Jonathan and his wife Roxanne. Jonathan said that he already knows there are prophets on the earth. Now we just have to get him to understand that Joseph was a prophet. Things are going very well here in Connersville.

Thanks for all the support you guys give me. Also, thanks for the updates. It is nice to hear from you every week. Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to answer them for you. Take care of yourselves.

Love,

Elder Savage

      Elder Colton Savage

     1216 N. Central Ave. #7

     Connersville, IN  47331