Still in Fort Payne

Hello Family!

The photos were on my other SD card, which I actually sent out just this morning. It should get to you in a few days. I'm probably going to just start doing that now; it's so much easier. As far as news on the transfer, I am staying in Fort Payne for at least another transfer (October 10th). They're still working on my visa. Elder Whipple and I will be staying here, but Elder Anderson's getting moved. We are both getting new companions, so now there will be four of us in Fort Payne. When the Assistants called last night and told us all that, I was pretty disappointed that my visa still hasn't gone through. I spent a lot of time last night praying for peace and strength. I woke up this morning feeling much better about it; I felt at peace and comforted. Heavenly Father still has things he needs me to do here. My work here is not quite finished. It did make me feel a little better to know that none of the other visa waiters that came out with me got their visas either. I guess we'll all just keep moving forward here for at least another six weeks. At least I get to see the leaves change. I'm actually really excited about that. There will be plenty of pictures. (: Yes, we have been receiving multiple texts from President Holzapfel regarding the storm, telling us to make sure we have our 72 hour kits, gas in the car, and extra water. We have all those things. We also have a mission-wide conference call tomorrow night about the storm. With me being so far north, I won't have to deal with the brunt of the storm, but there is always a danger for this part of the country when hurricanes come through: the leftover energy and moisture from the storm will often spin off tornadoes (aren't you glad I used to be such a weather nerd? ;), and they're saying this fall will be particularly bad for tornadoes because they virtually didn't have any this spring. The weather's been strange here: unseasonably cool, and the leaves are changing way early. Is the weather acting up back home? I've also heard of a lot of earthquakes in random places. Last day prophecies are being fulfilled all around us it seems... I haven't had very much opportunity to use my Spanish here; I feel like my ability is slipping. I still do my studies every day, but it's not the same as being able to actually talk to people. I'm really really hoping that my new companion will be a full-time Spanish speaker. There are a lot of Hispanics here, but I'm just not good enough at Spanish on my own to be able to do much with them. Yes, I've been keeping up with my exercise, practically every morning except Sundays. At first it was REALLY hard for me to exercise in the morning, but I've gotten more used to it. I'm also trying to expand my diet. I'm going to try my hand at a few different pasta dishes this week. We'll see how it goes! We did learn a lot of good things from Elder Koelliker. The biggest thing we learned was the importance of getting your investigators to pray. I applied that to myself, and the importance of ME praying. Recently, I've been learning what it means to "pour out your soul unto God." I find my nightly personal prayers getting longer and more sincere. It's becoming more like a conversation than a "prayer." I truly believe that this is the ONLY, and I mean only, reason I am able to have such a good attitude about being here. I've had to ask for it. Always remember how important prayer is. I've adapted a motto for getting through the hard times on my mission: I take it day by day. When I can't handle days, I take it hour by hour. When I can't handle hours, I take it minute by minute. When I can't handle minutes, I leave it up to Heavenly Father. Living by this has helped me so much. I know it can help all of you as well.

Well, I think that's about it for now. Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers. Please continue to send me letters. They mean more to me than you realize. I love you all!

Love always,

Elder Jacob Bentz

Zone Conference