Yup it`s finally coming up. THese past 2 years have been long and fast all at the same time. It`s been pretty fun and hard. But SO worth it. I was thinking that Toucanos would be cool Dad. But if you want to hit up Chilli`s that`s cool with me. I guess it really doesn´t really matter where we go as long as we`re all together. That will be super cool. Haha it still hasn`t hit me yet. So i`m just going to keep working hard and not remember that i only have a week left. But things are going good here. Yesterday we had 4 investigators in church. And we helped 2 inactives come back to church. It was a very successful day. Ya know....some people just need to know that others are thinking about them and that they too are important. I have the biggest testimony about visiting and home teacher now. All it takes is just a simple visit and they know that the Lord loves them. So yesterday was good. Wow Debbie died the other day? That`s really sad. Does brittany know about that doctrine? She should know. But that`s super sad though. I guess the Lord has his ways with everyone ya know? But Halloween does not exist in this country. I`m a little bummed that i`m missing Halloween but i gues i can just steal Mike`s candy haha. Ya my group is huge. The biggest group in the mission as we speak. Once we leave there`s going to be no one haha. But hey i love you guys! Pray for me to stay focused my last week in this little tropical island ok? Thanks :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day today. What r u guys planning on eating for dinner.....let me guess....shredded beef tacos? If i`m right please send me a reward or something haha jk. But things are going great here. I`m just chugging along. We`re working with a lot of people now. But due to time i don`t think they`ll be getting baptized this transfer. But it`s totally cool cause it doesn`t matter who baptizes them as long as they get baptized right? Dang that`s really sad about Cody....there have been a couple of kids here that had a lot of desire to serve but for medical reasons have had to go home. It`s really sad but the Lord has a purpose for everything so i guess we just have to except it. Try our best ya know? But there`s not really anything new here. We`re just working working hard to get my comp prepared for next transfer. So i don`t leave him dry if ya know what i mean. Give him something to work with. But i`m enjoying my time here in the DR and i`m healthy and very happy. So no worries ok? But i love you guys so much. Can`t wait to see you in a couple of weeks. :) Take care

Hey just one thing......HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!! I hope you have an awesome day today. Full of presents and junk food haha! But it sounds like things are going good with all of you guys. Here....Wendel got baptized on saturday and got the gift of the Holy Ghost on sunday. It was very special. He{s 18 years old and i think he has plans on going on a mission. I sure hope so. That¨d be very special. But we are working hard to work with that family. They have marriage problems so we are focusing on families and the impact the Gospel has on our families and our lives. It is very special. We watch church movies with them. This one member family is helping us a ton with them. But things are going good here. Im just trying to finish strong. I know if i keep working hard the Lord will bless me. But yes ill be getting home at 4 40 in the afternoon. Haha its a little crazy to think that ill be coming home so soon. But i dont want to think about that too much. I dont want to get trunky ya know? But i love you guys so much!!! Write back soon

Hey guys!! So yes Dad i did get to see all of the sessions live in spanish here. It was really awesome. I can´t wait to get the ensign to really study the talks. It was pretty good. But things are going good here. We have a baptism for the 15 of this month. His name is Wendel. He´s 18 years old. Priesthood! We are also working with a whole family. Parents and their 2 kids. They went to general conference...all of them. We had a family home evening with some members. We watched the Restauration movies with them. It was very spiritual. If all goes well this transfer we´ll get 6 baptism. I hope so. THat´d be an awesome way to end my mission. Yes my new comp likes to work just like me. We´re going to do good this transfer. Last night my comp and i and my friend and his comp we all walked to the beach and watched this huge waves crash against the rocks. They were huge!!! It was so relaxing. But this are great here. I truely love the people. They are my family. It´s true....it will be a little hard leaving these people. But i´ll be leaving one family and going to another one haha :) But i still have umpf to keep working hard so don´t you guys fret ya hear? I love you guys so much. Pray for my investigators so that they will soften their hearts and except this beautiful gospel ok? Thanks

So i´m back in my area called Los Molinos in the zone of Las Americas. I love it here. I have seen all my old baptisms and all the members. I truely love these people. It makes me feel bad that i only have 6 weeks to be with these people. This ward is so strong here. This is the area that everyone dreams to be in, in this mission. And the Lord chose me to go back to work with his children here. I really feel honored. It´s a good feeling. Things are going great here. For my B-Day we went to an all you can eat buffet and stuffed ourselves for and hour and a half. My comp is named Elder McKee. He lives in Utah. He´s 6 foot 9 inches 270 lbs. He´s a monster. But he´s so kind and gentle and full of love. I love the kid. I enjoy working with him. We are going to get a lot of success. But it doesn´t feel like i´m 21. It feels like i´m 18 again. Haha but i´m loving the mission and i love you guys so much. Take care and i´ll see you guys soon ok? :)

Ok so we are both getting transfered out of the area. We worked so hard to get this ward moving again and now we are betting ¨whitewashed¨ but it´s ok. We left the next set of missioaries 2 people ready to get baptized and so that´s all that matter is the lives we are making better not the glory of how many baptisms we had or who baptized them. We did our part and now i´m moving on. I´m going to one of my old areas again. It was my favorite area out of all of them. And my new comp i know him. He´s way cool. And one of my best friends of the mission lives in the same house. I´m so stoked! I get to go back and talk to all my friends and baptism there. It´s the best way to finish off my mission. I got the package! Thanks so much! The granola is amazing. I already finished a box. The boys look SOOOO old now. I can barely recognized them. They are so different already. But things are going great. We played soccer and basketball today and i´m beat. The sun is killer over here. You feel like you´re being baked alive. But it´s good for the soul....puts hair on the chest. But last week i did this way cool challenge. I read the Book Of Mormon in a week. 75 pages every single day for a full week. It was a very special experience. I got a lot out of it. It makes you tired physically and mentally but it was worth it. I love the Book Of Mormon. And i love you guys so much! Stay safe and keep filling up my poster :) Take care ok?

So Dominicans don´t eat tacos ever. It´s just rice, beans, meat, yuka and platanos. But we suggested it so the family attempted tacos. They were really good....not as good as yours moms but they were pretty good. But José Andrea got baptized on wednesday. It was good. I´m trying to send a picture of the baptism but we´ll see if this computer will do the trick. It´s not the best computer. Rachel....the dominican republic is a million times different at the resort then in the slums of santo domingo. But the resorts are very pretty. haha. But that´s way cool that she came here. The health....it´s doing good. I´m healthy and happy. We will be getting the transfer call on sunday. So next email i´ll write you guys and tell you what´s happening with us. Nobody knows. But we´re working with the members a lot to help them be self reliant and do their callings. And with referrals and what not. It´s working. We´re getting success. They just need a little push that´s it and they start to move. But things are great. I´ll be coming home to a mad house full of dogs. Eh that´s nothing new for me. There are dogs in the street here all over. Dead dogs....dogs mating....dogs fighting. Ahh the life of Santo Domingo en el barrio con mis compadres. Así es la vida para los duros. But i love you guys. Write back soon and i´ll keep you informed ok? Paz y Amor

Hey guys. So the baptism didn´t go down cause José Andres had to work. You know how satan is working super hard. They called him in the morning that day and they told him to work. He never works that day. But this up coming wednesday he will be getting baptized. We´re working with him. But things are going good here. I got a package from grandma with tons of candy in it. Can you tell her thank you so much for me and that i love her. But we will be having another transfer in 2 weeks here. I hope i just stay here. I don´t want to have to learn another area. Just let me die here in my area haha. Just send me another comp who wants to work and things will be great. That´s all i ask for. But things are good here. Tonight we´re going to be making tacos at a family home evening. Ya!!! tacos!!!! But i can´t wait for cold weather. I´m at the moment sweating like a pig cause the light left and we don´t have fans blowing on us. It´s a sauna in this room. But i love you guys so much!!!!! Write back soon

Hey guys. Ok i´ll answer all ur questions......I´m in Villa Mella, our investigators have to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ-faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and perservere til the end, the restauration of the church of jesus christ ´joseph Smith´, book of mormon, law of chastity, word of wisdom, sabath day and any other problems they might have. They have to go to church at least 2 times and they have to have a testimony that these things are true. Sorry if anything is spelled wrong here i don´t ever talk about this stuff in english haha. Only me and my comp in our apartment here, our house is made of cynder blocks and rebar. I don´t think it´s super stable to be honest. We just stay home. Yay i think that´s every question. But things are going good here. We will be having a baptism on wednesday. And another one scheduled for the 17. We´re working hard over here. I´m healthy don´t worry about that. I hit 22 months yesterday. All of my friends here in the mish are all going home. It´s crazy. But i´m not trunky yet so don´t worry about that. I heard the other that my little friends a member in my old ward in Los Mina was stabbed to death the other day. He was like 12 years old. He made fun of this girl in school and so one night the girls friends grabbed him and the girl stabbed him to death. I´m really bummed to be honest. He was our little buddy. But Los Mina was a super dangerous area. But i love you guys so much! Take care

Hahaha those ties are super ugly it´s true. We wore them cause they are matching. The same design just different colors. But i´ll agree they are super ugly. But how is everything going with all of you? It sounds like all is well over there. That´s good. Things around here are just peachy keen. Just working hard with all of our investigators. We have 2 planned baptisms for this month so we´ll see how things go with them. We helped a man ditch smoking, drinking coffee, and alcohol. He´s a trooper! So we´re working hard. Ok so for my birthday package......u guys can send me granola. Just the normal kind with oatmeal, raisins, and nuts. The super market doesn´t sell granola anymore and that´s an awesome breakfast that keeps me going. Granola and yogurt/milk. Mmmm. But other then that i´m good. I´ll be home in 2 months anyway. But ya....surprise me :) But i´m healthy. I weighed myself i weigh 155 as of today. I´ll work on getting back up to normal size after the mish. For now i´m just going to eat healthy. But that´s it from over here. I love you guys!!!!!

Hey family :) So ya they told us about the hurricane today. We weren´t allowed to leave the zone we´re in. We were kinda bumbed. They said it was going to hit but we haven´t seen anything yet. I hope not cause it doens´t cool the DR down when it rains. It stays hot.....and then you´re wet. But things are going good here. Just chugging along trying to get all that i can out of the mission. I´m learning alot about patience and humility. I´m not humble or patient but i´m working on that. But the mission is such a good learning experince. We had a baptism on saturday. Ezequiel came back and we baptized him on saturday. He´s way good. I´m sending a picture of his baptism. But we´re going to keep chuggin´ along trying to find some good solid people to teach the gospel. My birthday? Surprise me :) i have no idea to be honest. Lot´s of pictures of you guys. And the rest.....surprise haha. But thanks for everything. I love you guys so much! Remember....family home evening will bring the spirit into the home and make life a little bit easier. Stay safe and i´ll do the same :)

So every 6 weeks we get called to see if one of us is staying and to
see if one of us is going. We got the call and both of us are staying.
At the end of this transfer i will have 5 months 24/7 with my comp.
But we have some people who will be getting baptized this transfer.
I´m excited for that. But the mission is the biggest patience test of
my life. You people have never spent 24/7 with another person not of
ur choice. Mom and Dad you don´t have to be with each other for 24/7.
So that´s not very easy. But it´s all just a good experience right?
I´ve for sure changed spiritual, and physically, and mentally. But ya
2 more transfers and back in the united states of apple pies. That´ll
be good for me. But i love you guys tons! And miss you also. Take care

Hey guys :) Wow trek sounds like it was a huge testimony builder. That´s so great. It makes you realize how true this church is huh? Ya every day i realize more and more how true it is. It´s truely flawless. Things are going good here with me. Yes i am a little skinnier but there´s not much i can do about that. I´l just gain it all when i get back. This transfer is coming to a close and i have 2 left. That´s it. I´m chuggin´ along just fine. We only got 1 baptism this transfer but he´s a strong one. Satan sure got in the way with our investigators. So annoying but there´s nothing to do besides just keep going ya know? The mission is just a big patience test haha that´s something that i have needed. I wasn´t very patient back in the day so that´s helping me out tons. Life is great. We get the transfer call in a week and i´m excited to find out what´s going to happen. But that´s about it. I love you guys! Stay safe and thanks for everything :)

Here´s some pics of luis, bbq 4th of july event, and me in the hood. Enjoy :)

So we were supposed to have Ezequiels baptism on saturday but......his grandma got sick so the whole family took off to see her. Satan is trying so hard so that he doesn´t get baptized. That happens with all of our investigators. Something always happens. All we can really do is wait patiently until he returns. That´s what happen with carlos and luis. So we´ll just keep chugging along. But that package came on thursday. My comp`had never eaten any of that candy. Thank you so much!! We finished it on sunday haha. 4 days. My comp has a VERY big sweet tooth. It was good. So i weighed myself today and i´m 157. I haven´t been that skinny since i was like 15. But i don´t look all emaciated so don´t worry. Just everywhere i´ve lost a little bit. BUt things are going good. I´m trying to eat healthy so if you feel the need to send a package :) you should send me granola or something like that. But i´m good for right now. But i love you guys so much! Stay safe and shower daily.....that´s important

So we had a baptism on saturday. It was amazing. We got lots of support from the members and he received the Aaronic Priesthood right after it. This man was also ready to hear the gospel. He`s a very spiritual guy. His name is Luís Garsón. Very special guy. He`s all.....i feel all special and different now. It was a very special experience. The next saturday we have another baptism. We´ll be baptizing a kid named Ezequiel. He`s all excited to get baptized. He keeps asking us....when are you guys going to baptize me? haha we´re all....let us talk to you mom and dad first. But things are going good here. We don`t have a lot of baptism´s but our baptism´s are solid people who will be leaders in the future. So i´m content :) But i´m healthy and happy. Working hard trying to find new people. That`s the hard part about the mission...finding the people prepared to hear it. I thought that i got away from ¨weeding and gardening¨ but little did i know that it would be 2 years od weeding haha. I love you guys so much! Take care and stay safe :)

Ya so i feel way better now. I bought these pills from a pharmacy to kill the bacteria in my stomach and it worked. So now we´re back in the game working super hard. We took out our recent baptism Carlos out to go contacting with us. It was a lot of fun. If you were to talk to this guys you would think that he has 5 years in the church. Just an intelligent guy. He loves to read the Book of Mormon. This guy was so prepared for the gospel. I´m very proud that the Lord chose me to be apart of his conversion. I know it had nothing to do with us. Just at the right place at the right time. The Lord blessed us and Carlos. Things are going good here. We´re just chugging a long working in the Heat of the Dominican Republic. It{s such a good experience.....i didn´t say it´s been easy but it sure has been a good one that´s for sure. But i love you guys so much. I always keep you guys in my prayers. Stay safe and tell becca to go on that trek. That will be a super awesome experience. Peace

So i´ll start off with the bad news. Thursday i got super sick. I had a fever and diarrhea and a huge headache. I didn´t leave my bed for 2 days. But here´s the good news....i´m better. Yay! I still have a little bit of a stomach problem right now but i can work fine. We are working super hard. We are taking members with us to as many lessons as possible. Cause the investigators need friends and they need to know that this church isn´t just filled with foreigners haha. Some people really think that. But that´s really working. The members makes a HUGE difference when it comes to visits. So announce this to the world....go and do visits with the missionaries! They need all the help they can get. But it sounds like everyone is doing good over there. That makes me happy. I´m doing good here so don´t worry ok? I love you guys! Stay safe and GOOD LUCK MIKE! You´ll be in my prayers. Hit a homerun!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE! Things are good here. Ya i hope to finish here. I don´t want to pack up all my stuff and have to get to know another area. That´s no fun. Things are going a little slow here. We´re working hard but it´s been hard getting people to church every sunday. But if we keep working hard i know the Lord will provide a way. I guess that´s where the whole Faith factor comes in haha. But i haven´t heard from the new prez yet. He´s here but it´s only been a week so he hasn´t changed anything. There are some rules that i would hope that he changes but if not....oh well right? But i can´t wait to go camping with everyone. Oh my health? It doing great. I´m eating right and working out everyday so i can stay super healthy. We make sure to drink a lot of liquids. I´m starting to buy gatorades a lot. But today we had a BBQ with all of our friends. It was a lot of fun. We even bought an apple pie to celebrate. I´m proud to be an American! I love you guys so much! Stay safe and be good....all of you :)

Hey! So things are going good here. There´s really nothing new over here. We got transfer calls and we´re staying another transfer together. But our mission President goes home tomorrow. Along with my trainer. So the mission is really changing. It´s crazy cause a lot of my friends are going home now. The next three groups that go home are huge! So the mission is going to get so much smaller. We have some people that are way good and are preparing to get baptized so we´re excited for that. That´s about it from over here. It´s been raining alot lately so we walk around with umbrellas. I´m just trying to stay focused and finish my mission working hard. We´ll see what changes the next mission prez brings. But i love you guys so much! I can´t wait to see you guys again.

Hey so my email won't let me on so I have to email you guys with facebook. But things are going good here. Pretty normalhere. Just chillin like a villen. It's so hot here! Hotter than last summer. We are being baked! But we're still working hard trying to get people to the waters of baptism. But I love you guys so much! Take care and don't fret...I'm still alive.

Pictures:

Hey guy. So i have good news....we had a baptism on saturday. This guy
named carlos. He´s a year older then you Dad. But it´s just what this
place needs....strong worthy priesthood holders. So we were jazzed
about that. Very proud of this baptism. We had no doubt that he had a
testimony about these things. So ya. We have like 2 other guys who are
getting ready to get baptized. Both older men. But sorry if my emails
are getting shorter. The mission is the same thing every single day.
So.....but i am healthy and happy. I now weigh 163. I´m eating a pound
of spaghetti every day and working out. So i´m putting back on the
weight haha. And that protien powder you sent me thanks! It´s just
what i needed. But we´re working hard trying to find more people. The
Lord is sure blessing us right now so we have tons of things to be
greatful for. But i love you guys SOOO much it´s true.

Haha my bad dad. When i say we had 6 people in church i mean we had 6 investigators on top of all of the members. But we are going to have a baptism on the 11 and another one on the 18. 2 very solid men who will be awesome priesthood holders. We´re excited for that. But things are going good here. We´re working hard trying to get people ready to get baptized. We are always in the search for new people. But nothing new over here. Same ole same ole. I´m healthy and happy. Me and my comp are really learning a lot being together. Like how to love the people here. My love is growing rapidly for these people. I have this strong desire to just share this gospel with everyone. I´ve always had this desire but it´s greater now. So that´s my progress right now. I love you guys! Good luck mike with baseball!!! I know you´ll do good :) Peace

Hey guys! So things are going good here. We had 6 people in church last week. So the wwork is progressing here in El Eden. We work hard. That{s one of my goals is to finish my mission working super hard. Im doing good so far. Nothing new here. I got that package the other day:) thank you so much! That protein powder is just what i need. And my comp is enjoying american candy haha. But ya i lost my mission credit card today so i have to wait 3 weeks to get a new one. I have money saved up so i{m not going to die so dont worry about me. But things are going around here. Time sure is passing by super fast. 5 more big ones and it{s apple pies and fresh milk for me. Yay!!! But i love you guys tons! Stay safe and write back soon

Hey guys :) How´s everything going in the United States of American home of the apple pie? I bet great. Things are going good here. So i just weighed myself and checked my height. I´m 6´0 and 157 lbs. I´m dying! I´m eating a lot of carbs and working out to get big but i guys i have to be patient. But we´re working hard trying to figure out how to work this area. I haven´t figured it out yet. But in time things will fall into place i guess. That´s just the whole patience process huh? But nothing new here. We´re just working hard and passing the time away. All of my friends are starting to go home here so that means time is running out. I´m trying to keep giong strong cause i don´t want to get burnt out. Perservir.....i don´t know how to spell tha in english. But i love you guys so much!!! Stay safe and write back sooooon ok?

Hello Family! It sounds like things are going great over there! Things are going great here. We´re working hard and trying to find new investigators right now. The members are a thousand times better here. They are showing us around town helping us find new people. This area is going to be booming soon. So we just need to keep working hard and we´ll be seeing our fruits soon. I really like this area. My comp is pretty cool. He´s a little innocent. So i´m helping him with the mission. But things are going good with me. Just same old same old. We just got done eating pizza and chilling with all my mission friends cause one of them is heading home in a week so that was super special. But hey i LOVE you guys so much and stay safe. Sorry that this letter is so short but i honestly can´t think of anything else to write. But Les Amo con todo mi corazon :)

Wow it was good to hear you guys! It gives us an extra boost to keep going when we get to talk to our families no joke. All of you guys sound like you´re so different...but in a good way. But things are good here. We are working super hard trying to find people to teach. We didn´t have any previous investigators so it´s starting over from scratch. I have a comp from England...you guys know this but it´s for the blog. He´s a really good guy. Good hard worker. He only has like 8 months so i´m trying to give him a lot of teaching experiences and hand him the ropes. To give him practice for when he goes up to SR comp. Cause i had a comp like that...Elder Mercado....he gave me a lot of teaching chances and that helped me a lot. But ya things are going way good here. I don´t have a lot to say cause it was all said in the phone call. But i´m healthy and happy. I love you guys so much!!! Stay safe and send my love to Lindsay and Brian. I think they come home today. Take care

Hello neighbors!! Haha how´s the heat treating you? It´s pretty brutal huh? But it´s a good diet for us eating oily rice and beans everyday. But that´s so cool that you´re just right there! Things are doing good here. My kidneys are doing great. I have a bit of a cough but i can work no problem with that. M health is going up and we´re working hard. Yesterday we had a meeting with the branch here on how we can makes things better. Everyone started pointing fingers at each other and saying that they are working so hard but nobody else is helping them.....Liars all of them! Nobody is working here. Only us the missionaries and the Relief Society. But it´s getting better. Give me a call so we can set up when would be the best time to call. I can´t believe that it´s time to talk with you guys already. I swear i just barely called. Time is sure flying by. But we baptized this guy named Onassis on saturday. And he was conformed on sunday. Yay! Seeing our fruits! We´re going to try to get another baptism this up coming saturday. But things are going good here. I love you guys. Stay safe and drink some fresh milk for me. I´d appreciate that ver much :) Con mucho amor!

So do i have a story to tell you guys! So i had this kidney stone in my kidney and when it left and headed down for me to pass it it hurt SOOO bad. I had to go to the emergency room for 3 hours. It was the most pain i've felt in my life. And the doctors here DO NOT know what they're doing here. So i laid there for 2 1/2 hours in so much pain. It was a crazy experience. But i think they're all gone now. We're back to working hard again. We are going to have 2 baptisms on saturday the 30th. One guy named Onasis and another named Jose Alberto. Priesthood!! Yay! But Dad....i'll sum it up for you. My group was the last Big group of the mission. So there aren't very many people below us. So we haven't had any opportunities to get callings cause the groups in front of us are big too. And they need a chance to have callings. But my President told me something is coming my way soon. I'm hoping to Train. That would be special. But hey guys...expect an easter egg hunt next easter cause i'm going to look for eggs like a mad man! I'm older and wiser so hide those eggs real good ok? That's awesome that you guys are coming to the caribbean. Bienvenidos a todos y ojala que disfruten su visita. Even though they are totally different cultures but i'll wear my Bob Marley shirt for you guys :) But things are going good here. I'm healthier and happy and chugging along. Oh ya easter here....it's this whole week. Everyone leaves for the beach or rivers and eats tons of Habichuelas con dulces. (a sweet shake made from beans and condensed milk) It's very delicious. But i love you guys tons!!! Cuidense mucho y que Dios les bendiga siempre!

I have dreams constantly of me getting home! One dream you guys didn't buy milk and i was super disappointed. Fresh milk is a must when i get back ok? haha. But things are going here. We're working hard and seeing very little fruits. But we're trying to stay busy. But i've got some great news.....i have a kidney stone! yay for pain! My kidney is killing me. I just have to let it pass. We're heading over to the doctors right after this to get some gnarly pain pills so it doesn't hurt to bad when i give birth to my first child (special...i know right?) I'm going to name it after you dad! Little Kenny Plymale the younger one. But i'm glad everything is going well with you guys. That makes me excited. All of my friends out here are starting to go home so that means that time is running out. So gotta stay strong ya know? But that's about everything. I love you guys with todo mi corazon! Quidense mucho ok?

Hey Guys:) Dad i weighed myself the other day...i'm 5'11 and i weigh 162 haha. I'm a skinny little turd! It's so hard to gain weight here not eating my regular diet and just eating rice. But that picture is pretty rad. It explains you guys in a bag. But i hope everything went good with Birthdays and conference. It snowed here too for conference......not! The temp is rising and we're getting skinnier haha. We sweat SOOO much. And our area is big so we do a lot of walking. Elder Hampton has a step counter that his parents sent him. He brought it with him the other day and guys how many miles we walked in one day? 11 miles! I would consider that an average day. But we're working hard here. Not getting very much help from the branch so it's kinda frustrating. But we have a couple people that will for sure get baptized this transfer. This one kid named Onassi. I'm pretty sure he'll go on a mission when he's older. He's 16 right now. Goes to seminary every morning. The kids a stud. But i love you guys so much! I'm staying healthy and working hard so don't worry about me ok? I LOVE YOU GUYS! :)

Hey Family! Happy Birthday Mom and Becca!!!!! I just want to tell all of you how much i love you guys! Conference was BOMB! It made me think of how blessed our family is to have the gospel in our lives. Dad and Mom.....just want to give you guys a huge thanks for being my parents. I have never seen you fight and i'm so greatful for that. You have truly set a HUGE example for me. I brag about you guys to people. With the gospel you guys can be like my parents...super respectful to each other and they work together as one. Cause in the scriptures it says....you you are one you aren't of God. So thank you guys so much! But things are going way good. We're working hard. Teaching a lot. Trying hard to find people. We have a couple of people that are progressing. This one lady named Carolina loves the Book Of Mormon. But she needs to get the backbone and tell her "pastor" that she's going to visit the Church of Jesus Christ. Once she does that she's golden. But things are going good. But mom......in my cedar chest in my room there are tons of surfing magazines. Can you send me one. It's so i can decorate my missionary planners :) But hey i LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!! And yes as of today i have 7 months left. A month after this next conference i'll be coming home. Exciting huh? But stay safe ok? Take care

Wow it's so good to hear from you guys! This week has been a long one. But it's picling up. We found this one lady who is way great. She said the closing prayer and she started to cry. She felt the spirit. It reminded me of you Mom :) buts that's a good thing :) But ya i'm healthy and happy. I was wondering if you guys could send me some protein powder? I lack protein in this country cause i'm not drinking milk anymore. It's just too expensive. And it's not the same as milk in the States. I miss milk so bad! haha. But it's so true. I dream in spanish too! I even sleep talk in spanish haha. My dreams are in english then they switch to spanish. It's funny. But a Disneyland/Knotts trip sounds like a BLAST!!!! i can't wait! But Dad you need to eat more! 182 that's tiny!!!! I'm going to get home that size ok? I bet the spanish will be the same between me and Matt. Our Mission Prez is from Chile so i know how they talk. They both speak a rather lazy spanish haha. But Happy Birthday to Kenna and Becca coming up!! But ya we're working hard trying to find people. So prayer for us :) thanks. I LOVE you guys and i'll stay safe i promise :)

Hello Family! Wow it sounds like you guys had a blast in California. I'm super jealous!! But i'm healthy and happy :) My kidneys feel great. I'm just making sure to drink lots of water. But i bought pills the other day to help my kidneys and i woke up with a rash on my whole body haha! Ya i won't be taking those pills ever again haha. I work the whole day with a long sleeve shirt on lol. But that'd be way fun hitting up Knotts Berry Farm when i get back. But who knows what 2 years away from roller coasters will do to me. I could come back as a wuss....but who knows. Wow that's so awesome that Matt is home and that Trev comes home this week. I can't wait to hang out with them when i get back. Did Matt talk in spanish? But this are going kinda slow here. We're working super hard but nobody wants to hear the Gospel. But we'll continue to do our 10 contacts to find those chosen ones in Hato Mayor. But ya things are great with me. Me and Hampton bought protein powder cause we're working out. And i lack protein in my diet. So maybe i'll gain all the weight back that i lost. I started out the Mission at 180 and i weighed myself today and it said i weigh 164. But i'm trying haha. But i love you guys so much!!! Take care and be safe ok? Que Dios Les Bendiga!

Hey Family!!! Yes i would LOVE to hit up Disneyland when i get back. That would be very very awesome!!! We're working realy hard it's true. I feel very good working hard with my old comp. It's nice cause we both know spanish so we can just switch off whenever and pick up where ever we are. He just came off of Training a new missionary and he didn't know anything so it's a nice break for him haha. Ya i won't lie to you guys. I think my kidney infection came back. Last night i woke up with tons of pain. But with prayer the Lord helped me out...and a pill too. I'm super jealous that you guys got to go to California. But my time will come haha. Things are going good here. We are still trying to find more people to teach. We have a good line up but we need more. We trying very hard to listen to the prompting of the spirit while we're contacting so he can lead us to the "Chosen Ones" haha. But it's good to hear Rachel and Brady are coping well with this loss. It must be hard. Wow grandma scored big didn't she? I can't wait to visit her. But things are great with me. I love you guys. Stay safe and i'll do the same here :)

Family!!! I just want to write you to tell you that i'm safe and healthy! We didn't have internet last monday and my comp was saying goodbye to everyone. He left for the capital. And guess who i got? Elder Hampton....again haha. My 2nd comp back in Yamasa! We go campo to campo together. Haha it's pretty awesome. We don't have to get used to each other we just picked up where we left off back in Yamasa. So we're working SOOO hard now! Doing tons of contacts sharing the gospel with everyone that will let us. It feels so good to be working really hard. We have like 6 people who are lined up for baptism this transfer. We are going to set a baptism date with a family tonight. Things are going way good here. I'm loving the mission. The other day we were walking home and i was going to take a step in the dark but i looked down and saw something brown so i stepped of to the side and realized that it was a snake. The Spirit told me to watch out and thank goodness that i did. It could've bit me and we're out here in the middle of no where. But that just shows you that the Lord is taking care of me cause i'm doinghis work. I love you guys so much. Rachel...i'm so sorry to hear about this loss in your life. But i have a scripture for you...Ether 12:6. I think this will go good with the help you need to keep going. Take care...and no i need to apologize for the way i treated you. It wasn't Christ like and i regret it deeply. So i'm sorry. But i love you guys so much. I hope everyone is staying safe and reading your scriptures daily. It's going to help with all of your problems.

Hello Family. We had Temple today so we got another chance to write to our families. I'm sending some pictures of me playing soccer with haitian friends. A lot of fun! Sorry for the Baby porn but that's just a natural thing here in the WILD!!!! I love you guys!!!!!

Hey sorry Dad for not answering all your questions. Just tons of things start rushing through my head when i get to writing and i don't always write everything that was in my mind. What do you wanna know? We don't have fresh milk here....it tastes fake. Here where i live we have 24 7 electricity. Not in the capitol though. Things are just normal here. Ya i won't be released from being a missionary if you guys come pick me up so we'll just meet in the airport esta bien? So last time i kept a medical secret from you guys mom called me a brat hahaha so i'll fill you guys in. I've been sick for the past week. 2 days ago i peed blood. So i took a urine test and found out that i have a kidney infection. But i got antibiotics today and started taking them. So everythings ok with me. I feel a lot better. So don't be worried for me cause i'm up and working like normal now a days. The Lord takes care of his children very well. Especially his servants. But things are going good. Oh dad when you're in Jamaica you have to go a whole day in black long pants and a shirt and tie. Then you'll know exactly how we feel here. The weather is the same! You'll be just like me! haha. But i don't know if i have told you guys.....we have a bomb family we're teaching. They are progressing so much. The branch is doing a good job making them feel at home. So we're excited for that. But not much has happened since last time cause i've been sick and we haven't done very much. But i'm sending you a picture of me and my comp with a horse backbone. And another one....you thought i was a big pig.....lol But i love you guys tons. Stay safe in Utah and in Jamaica too. Come enjoy the caribbean sun with me:) Love you guys!!!!!

Hello family!!! How are you guys doing? I'm doing good. I'll tell you about the work going on here in Hato Mayor. We got a referral (Sorry i don't know how to spell it. In spanish it's referencia) Of this way bomb family. They are so ready to hear our message. They told us that they LOVED our message and would love to continue with the lessons. It was pretty awesome. We've been contacting a lot cause we're temperally out of investigators. But we're trying. We have found a good amount of new people. We'll see if they progress any. But ya that's the work here. But oh i forgot to answer your question....i have't had REAL milk in 15 months. That'll be one of the first things i do when i get hom. Cold glass of milk. About the temple it was about 5 months ago. But we get to go next week on the 23. We are very excited for that. I always feel the spirit so strong when i go. About you guys coming or waiting at the airport. I think it'd be better for you guys to just wait in the airport. I love this place....but there's nothing like home. But tell me....if you guys want to come here that'd be way cool. So you tell me what you guys want to do. I'm cool with either. Don't be afraid to tell me what you guys want to do. I got your package!! Thank you so much!!! The shirts are perfect fit on me. How did you know? lol. Oh about the surfing magazine.....i have a cedar chest full of surfing magazines. But it's ok.....it's a sign that i probably shouldn't have one here. So it's way cool. But i'm doing great. I'm healthy and happy. I love you guys so much!!!! Keep reading the scriptures and saying your prayers. Especially in the family ok? Love you!!!

We had an activity with the members. We made spaghetti. It was super fun. I love you guys!

Hello Family. Things are going great over here in the DR. Right now we're looking for people to teach. Our investigators got baptized. We're having a hard time finding new people. They just don't seem interested. But we just have to keep searching with faith and the Lord will put people in our path. This one guy had a baptism date but it fell cause he isn't going to church. But the branch here is making a turn around which is AWESOME!!! We have the help of the Stake of La Romana. They come here every sunday. Everyone is trying to fulfill their callings. The Stake of La Romana has this awesome plan about one family bringing a non~member family to church and also how to work with the inactives. We (the missionaries) gave a orientation on how to share with inactives and what to say and to figure out what's the problem...why they aren't going to church. It was way good. But that's way awesome that Gordon is going to church and that he got to stand in the circle. That makes me happy. Sad that nick and cam are being turds. I can't wait to come home and hang with them. That will be way fun. Dand Matt and Trev have like no time left, One transfer to be precise. CRAZY!!!! I was chilling with my friend today and we were mind boggled at the fact that we have 9 months left. It's really coming up on us. But i don't wanna focus on that cause it'll make me all trunky and homesick. No bueno! But ya things are going good here. I love you guys so much. I miss you tons. I'm sending Rachel and you (Mom and Dad) a letter. So prepare yourselves. I know Rachel doesn't live at home but keep it for her for whenever she comes over esta bien? Quidense mucho
Con mucho Amor!

Papa como se siente? Ojala bien. Pero si todo esta tranquilo conmigo. Estamos trabajando en la obra misional como dos locos jaja. Hey guys things are going good with me. Dad i have 17 baptisms. I owe 9 of them to one of my comps named Elder Mercado. He's a baptizer. But ya i don't just baptize anyone who will say yes. They have to be ready. Dang it's going to be a jungle when i get back huh? With all the dogs and everything. But it's cool. Yes i'm staying healthy. I take my vitamins every single day and i eat cucumbers every day also. So things are going good. Nothing really happening here now a days. Just looking for more people to baptize. That's the hard part. That's where the members come in. But wow it sounds like the twins are monsters. They'll grow out of it i'm sure of it. But ya nothing here. I'm healthy and happy. Just working everyday. Time sure is flying by. I could've swore that i just barely started the mission just a month ago. But i love you guys so much! Take care and stay safe ok? I love you guys. But hey guys!!! Ya the system that we use to email went down so it never sent this email. I'm ok and healthy. But here it is. I love you guys!!!!!!!!

Oh sad day. Send dad my love and i hope he feels better. Lol you guys have 4 dogs now? That's crazy. I'm going to come home to a zoo! But that's ok cause i'll be used to it living here in the DR haha. Everything is going great with me. I'm healthy and happy. I like my comp. We seem to get things done. He's helping me with my spanish so much. I like living with natives for that reason. Since i've been here we've had 2 baptisms. We baptized a girl that is 21 years old and her brother that is 18. We finished off that family. The whole family is now baptized and very strong members. Very good people. I'm sending pics. the two baptisms here and my new "Look" hahaha. But things are going really good here. Nothing very special has happened since the last email. But can you get me Brother Labarons address or email. I want to swap mission stories with him and see how's he doing. Today we headed out to the mountains with the ward and cooked food and went exploring and played this games where you had to look for signs and on the signs was a scripture which led to another sign it was very awesome. We had a lot of fun. But i love you guys so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay safe and get better Dad! Love you all with all my heart!

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 4:54 PM, Jacob Thomas Plymale wrote:

Hola papi! Que tal. Todo esta bien conmigo. Nos quedamos aqui en hato mayor....yo y mi comp por otro mes y medio. Haha things are going good here. We got the call and ya we stayed. Things are great with me. I have my friend in El Seibo right next to us so we chill every monday. We eat yuka and chicken. And sometimes spaghetti shakes. You should try them. So good. The cool thing about being here in Hato Mayor is that our President trusts us. We are so far away from everyone. Every area is in a zone surrounded by other areas and missionaries. Out here....we pretty much are on our own. We don't have any supervision out here. We are an hour away from our leaders(zone leaders) El seibo does baptism interviews over the phone with President. The district or zone leaders are supposed to do them. So i love it out here. It leaves us to be mature and not do anything stupid. What happened to Jack? Did rachel take him with her?
Kenna- here's a spiritual story.......You can share the story of when we had to take the guy to the hospital for having a seizure. But at the biggining make sure to emphasize that we were supposed to pass by her earlier but decided to hit up an inactive named freddy first.
If you have already used this story in sacrament here's another one- so it was my first transfer and i was feeling super depressed. Satan was putting bad thoughts into my head of Dad dying while i am here in the DR. So i turned to prayer. I prayed over and over in my room crying. The next day i was still feeling super depressed. So i turned to my comp for a priesthood blessing. He placed his hands upon my head and immediately i felt peace. In the blessing i was told that everyone will be there when i get back. I never felt so happy in my life. That is the power of the priesthood. I know this church is true with all my heart. It's so clear to me now. I love you guys so much. Stay safe and be good. Or i'll woop your skinny little hides...ya hear? Hey dad......tu quieres mas leche :)

Hello family!!! Things are going great here. Dad reyendome comes from
the word reir which means to laugh. And it was an action so i had to
put me. Haha you know a lot of spanish. I didnt even know. I should
have givin you more credit you little mexican you. Que pasa ese? Its
way more laid back out here in the campo. They are nicer out here.
Lazier.....but nicer. If you could combine the fast pace life of the
city with the niceness of the campo you would have the perfect
investigator. Right now we are working with the branch. Cause of the
drama happening we want them to fix themselves before we find more
people. We have 5 new members that are already inactive. And nobody
has taken the time to pass by and make them known that they are loved.
Dios bendiga los estados unidos!!!!!!!! Haha where´s our relief
society in the DR! But things are going good here. Just chilled in a
little pueblo called El Seibo with one of my best friends in the
mission. Elder Ellsworth. He live in my room in the MTC. So we love
hanging out together. But ya i was going to send pictures but my
computer doesn´t function like i would like it haha. That´s what you
get for using a computer in a 3rd world country. But hey i love you
guys so much. Stay safe!

Papa! Yo no sabia que usted sabia espanol! Jajaja yo estaba reyendome. Era algo raro a leer un email de mis padres en espanol. Ya this computer is american so i can't find the enie. But Happy New Year! You sent the text to the wrong phone haha. My old comp called me up and told me you had send me a Happy New Text lol But it's the thought that counts right? I love you guys so much. Things are going way good here. Today we hiked up a mountain. I'm sending pics. It was way cool. It was me and five dominicans. Way cool. You had to use trees to get up cause there wasn't any footing. Haha we were all slipping and what not. I've seen skype before. But i don't have access to it. But that'd be way cool. Lol Dad don't tell the whole world that we talked that long. Technically we're only supposed to talk for an hour. But i figured that family is first. But things are normal around here. The branch here is terrible at gossip and drama so we're trying to help fix that so we can bring more people into the church. We can't bring people into a disfunctional family haha ya know? But ya that's about total. I love you guys so much. Stay safe and have family prayer and scripture study! It's the coolest! Paz y Amor viene de este hombre! Yo mismo jajaja