July 4th 2007

HAPPY 4th of JULY everyone!!!

Especially to MOM, DAD, and ANDY who are now back in the country!!! I really can't believe that 3 years has come and gone and now the next chapter in Mom and Dad's lives start. I hope you are all having a grand time welcoming them back to America. I WISH I could be there for all the parties. I have to admit I looked quickly at Ell's blog and saw some pictures of the gang at the airport. FUN! Was that Tom in the picture with crazy long hair! If it was I don't believe it and someone will have to send me a picture of a close-up! Anyways, everyone looks so good and happy now that grammy and grandpa and andy are back! Don't have too much fun without me! Send pics!!!

As for me, I'm just having the time of my life being a missionary here in Livorno. I'm still getting used to the city and haven't met all of our contacts and people we are working with but all in due time! We've been doing our 10 bonus Dad! We took on the challenge after you left and have been going crazy just talking to people on the street. It's hard but we've found some cool people. Keep the good advice coming.

We have an investigator from Holland named Jantina. She's probably 55 and has been meeting with the missionaries for about 3 years now. She comes to church regularly, keeps all the commandments, but just cant receive permission from her husband to be baptized. We've been praying a lot for her and had a really good lesson yesterday where we invited her to try again to ask her husband for permission to be baptized. Her husband is somewhat abusive and they just don't have a regular relationship. She's AMAZING with AMAZING faith. Hopefully she can receive permission and she can then be baptized and get the Holy Ghost. Other than that we've been doing lots of finding work. At times it's tedious of course but then someone listens and lets you in their house and it makes it all worth it. I'm loving Livorno. The members here are awesome and I'm just plain enjoying myself.

Today we are having a big bbq at the church here. The missionaries in our zone are coming and we'll celebrate the 4th together. We bought a huge watermelon! Should be fun!

I love you all and miss you, especially when I know you're all together! NO FAIR! But oh well, if there wasn't some member of the Boynton family in Italy something just wouldn't be right, right?

Love ya,

care