Hello everybody!
Well time is running out fast today. But this week has been really great. We had a snow storm a few days ago after a decent rain storm (so weird that it warms up enough to rain and then cools off enough again to snow, I don't get that). We have been walking/riding bikes for the past week because we are now back to sharing the car and the person that we share the car with now we don't see very often. Only on Thursdays, so that has been good for us. My legs are really burning from biking up the hills and around town, but it has been fun. So much faster and better than walking everywhere, that is for sure. We are finally getting around to taking down the Valentine's decorations and it is kind of sad to see them go. We have a few Saint Patrick's Day ones though so that will be good and we are excited about that. Also for Easter, there are lots of decorations for that. I have come to enjoy sweet potatoes a lot these past few transfers becuase that is what Elder Noll can eat, that plus every other kind of vegetable and fruit. It has been quite interesting to eat the way a vegan would eat and I have to say it isn't too bad. But I do miss meat and bread and something that isn't sherbert or oreos for dessert. I have been making eggs at home though for lunch or breakfast and lots of sandwiches for meals too so I am trying to get the protien that I need. We have also been doing a lot better at working out in the morning. I get in about 100 sit ups, 500 crunchies, 10 minutes of jumping rope (that is hard), some jogging and maybe some basketball shooting. I cannot make a basketball go in the hoop to save my life so I don't play with anyone but sometimes it is fun just to shoot around for a few minutes.

We found a new person to start teaching this week. His name is Thomas John and he comes from Sudan. His wife is not a big fan of us because she doesn't like the church but this guy has been very prepared. We shared the message of the Restoration with him a few days ago and he ate it all up. He said that it "resonated" with him and that he felt everything was true. He was so excited to read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and go to church. Also, when we asked him about baptism, he said "of course!". Now we just have to set a date. We are excited about him and to start working with him fairly frequently. Also, he can only meet with us in the mornings which is just perfect because that is the hardest time to fill and to stay busy. Now we won't have to worry about that for a few weeks at least.

Steve is progressing towards baptism for this Sunday at 7 PM. He is so excited and we are so excited for him. He calls us his family and I think if we didn't teach him every day we would miss him just as much as he would miss us. We went out today and bought him a Dallas Cowboy tie to give him at the baptism. He only has one tie to wear and wanted to get him something special, his whole life revolves around the Dallas Cowboys so we thought that would be perfect. Now that his whole life revolves around the Cowboys and the church, might as well bring the two together. He takes everything that we teach and immediately applies it to his own life and gives up his bad habits without any backward glances at all. It is amazing to watch and a miracle. We have been calling everyone in the ward and trying to get them to come out to his baptism. They really kind of fail at fellowshipping and I don't even think they notice that they don't talk to Steve at church or smile or wave at him. We are working on changing that but it is so hard! How do you change an entire ward's mentality and course of action? There are so many potentials that we have in that ward but without and fellowship they are getting nowhere and it is frustrating! We are hoping and praying that the baptism will soften their hearts a little bit and help them to catch the missionary spirit.

Other than that, I don't think I have much to report. Life is going great and fantastic and all that jazz. We go out and teach and tract and work and we have been blessed with a baptism every week this month as a result. Plus friendships that will last a lifetime. Missionary work is amazing and I truly love and enjoy doing it. I am going to miss doing this everyday and seeing people's lives change so much for the better and their faces lighting up, etc. Good that I still have quite a while left is all I got to say.
I love and pray for you all! Hope everything is going well!
Elder Hughes