October 17, 2011

Hello Family, The past week flew right on by i can't believe how fast time is going in just 2 weeks it has been 3 months since I left home and started this new chapter in my life. Lewiston was good Elder Brown is a way cool guy and is a very good missionary and a very good Zone Leader. I've practicing on the piano when i get the chanceand its starting to slowly come back. I can also play Book of Mormon Stories on the Guitar that we only use on P-Days. The weather has progressively gotten cooler and the trees have really started to change colors which is awesome it took them a long time but they finally have started. It Rained all day Thursday and all day Friday my coats got put to the test and they both worked great istayed dry until the very end of the day. I have had fish Kaitlyn from a member in Agusta 3 weeks ago it wasn't to bad actually. I'm glad to here that Keltzie got my letter as well as Colton and Easton. The Skeltons wrote me so i need to write them back soon. And yes I got Shaynes E-mail i'll write him back today last week was just a crazy busy p-day. Everything is going great for me the more i am out here the easier things get. Elder Packer is great and we both get along very well he is an amazing missionary and trainer. Elder Stanley who served in San Deigo California came homeearly yesterday he only had to months left and did something that got him sent home not sure what but he's home. I sure hope he is doing ok he came and shook our hands and I could see the hurt in his eyes. That's sad to here about bud I hope everything works out. I would have loved to be there for the special needs activity and sacrament meeting my favorite year of seminary was when I peer Tutored for seminary it was awesome and they are so amazing and so special the veil is so thin for them it's amazing. Investigator Report- Kyle is doing great he didn't make it to church yesterday because he didn't have gas moneyto get there and because of his disability he can't ride in other cars because he can't get out. He has started reading the Book Of Mormon which has been awesome he has really enjoyed it so far he said he started to read and couldn't stop when he first started which is awesome. If he could get out of the living situation he is in things for him would be so much better he would be a lot more open to baptism if he got out of the situation he is in. He has been progressing every time we go over which is all we can as for. He has great things instore I can Feel it Tony & Lindsay are doing awesome they are both very interested. Lindsay is worried about somethings and is nervous about it all she said she thinks it is ment to be that we are visiting them because she kept a Book Of Mormon for 4 moves and she said she never does that. They were really excited to come to church yesterday but ended up not coming and we are not sure why. We have and appointment with them on Tuesday so i'm sure we will find out what kept them from coming and be able to answer and questions or concerns they may have Duncan is doing awesome he gets closer and closer every week to baptism this week he is going to fast and pray to gain a faith in Christ and for a baptismal date witch is awesome i know that if he does it wanting and answer and does so with faith he will receive and answer he came to church yesterday and really enjoyed the talks given. He has many great things waiting for himLove you! Hope everything is going Great.

Elder Colton Ferre

Here are a few pictures colton Sent with his e-mail this week

October 10,2011

Hello Family,
The week went by really fast and everything went great. The weather the past week was good it rained some but it was sunny and in the 80's most of the time. It is crazy to think that you have already had snow and it has been such good weather out here. The trees are finally starting to change so i should have some pictures to send pretty soon. We taught 17 lessons this week but they were all quality lessons which is a good thing so not getting the twenty doesnt bother me at all. I got your package with the jam and cookies on monday and the halloween package on friday. Elder Packer really appriacted it thank you for doing all you do for me and for my companion. The Jam and Cookies tasted amazing the cookies are gone already thank you for sending those. Alisha sent a package with a Picture of me and colton and some skittles with letters from easton and colton. jade also wrote me a letter this week. I have wrote them all back and they should get something sometime this week. I am going on exchange with the zone leaders today so i will be in Lewiston Maine till wednesday it should be a blast. and yes i have had see food. I got fed salmon 2 weeks ago when i was in agusta it wasn't to bad. but that is all i have gotten so far thankfully...
Investigator run down-
Kyle is doing great he came to church yesterday and had a really uplifting experience and should be coming agian next week he loved how everyone in the ward was so welcoming. I was really worried about how the meeting would go so i had been praying all week for the meeting to go smoothly and that everything would make it so he had a good experience and well my prayers were sure answered! He is progressing very well.
Lindsay is the one who is behind the apartment who is one of the people we found behind the appartment answered her door the other night and we have an appointment with her tomorrow that was a mircle we had this week.
Steve Francis should be coming to church this week and is coming closer to christ everytime we teach him which is awesome he will get there eventually.

Love, Elder Colton Todd Ferre

Love you all and have a good week!

October 3, 2011

Hey Hey Fat Elder Ferre Here! I'm almost 200 pounds!!
The Last week of transfers flew by i'm staying in Winthrop and Elder Packer is as well. The Next transfer will be 6 Weeks from tomorrow. Everything is going great. Conference was amazing. I got more out of it then i ever have before. Elder Hollands talk in Preisthood was amazing! He talked about being worthy and how important it is. I thought to my self man if i would have heard that if I wasn't worthy i would have been terified but I had the peace knowing i am worthy so that was awesome! Elder Scotts talk i also liked he talked about memorizing scriptures which is something i have started doing i have got close to 20 memorized so far and can see it blessing me in my work elder packer has close to 100 and elder cash my disrict leader i think has close to 300 its crazy! A new temple in Provo What?! thats so awesome but crazy at the same time!
Augusta was awesome we taught a woman named Merideth she is awesome her big hold up is she doesn't want to be baptized by a hypocrite so she just needs to gain trust in the missionaries and in the men of the ward. We Were able to reach 20 lessons again which was awesome we were blessed to still teach that many lessons with conference taking a good chunk of saturday and sunday.
Kyle is really close to getting a baptismal date he said he needs to pray about it and think about it some more and that he would let us know what he thought. He said he had an answer during confrence tell him that we are a just and real church of God so that is a step closer for him to joining the one and only true church of Jesus Christ. It amazes me at his ability to recognize the spirit i feel as if he has been prepared by God for us to teach. Sarah who is a college student who we taught a couple of times moved out of the area for college we went to her moms house last night and she said that sarah wanted to be baptized into a church but wasn't sure what church to choose and she is going to be in town next sunday so we have a lesson planned with her sunday night it should be awesome. Jermey is out of town for 2 weeks because he is going to meet his real father that he has never knew it is crazy that he has gone 27 and hasn't ever met him. Nothing has happened with Susan so she is now a former investigator. Steve Francis watched most of conference and said he enjoyed it he also said that he would come to church and bring another one of our investigators who doesn't have a car which was a miracle we have been trying to find a ride for him the whole time i have been here and Steve said he would take him awesome! We had 5-6 investigators if not more watch conference which is awesome! The Elder Karl had over was either Elder Richards Or Shumway. Elder Shumway is short and stalky and Elder Richards is taller and skinny with blonde hair. That is so awesome that he saw them! (Our uncle lives in Pensilvania where a few of the missionaries in colton's district while he was in the MTC went on their missions. He had them over for dinner and realized that they were in the MTC with Colton. It was a pretty fun experience)
Love you all and you are always in my prayers! God Be with all of you!

September 26, 2011

Hello Everyone!
It doesn't seem like it has been a week since my last e-mail everything is just blending together it is crazy that by next week on monday my first transfer is over and that by the end of the week it has been two months since i have been gone. It sure hasn't seemed like it has been that long for me anyway. Everything is going great out here we taught 20 lessons last week! There were only five areas in the whole mission who hit 20 lessons and three of them were in my district it's crazy to see how successful our district has been. Everything is going great I am still shy when it comes to street contacting but the more I do it the comfortable I become with it. I have had my glasses for about a week and a half sorry i forgot to put that in the e-mail last week. They have helped the headaches go away which was awesome it has been easier to focus with out them being there. I am going on exchange with Elder Kinyon from the Augusta area Elder Cash is going to Winthrop with Elder Packer till Wednesday.
We were able to teach Jermey this week and he is becoming really interested and he has already opened up with us and seems like he really trusts us. He said he would come to church on Sunday but he didn't come I think he went to Conneticutt a day early so he could go and meet his real dad he is 27 and is meeting him for the first time it's crazy and awesome at the same time. We met with Steve Mitchell who has been an investigator for a long time because he just can';t decide what to do he is a very spiritual man and really has a personal relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I think he will come around with time. We also met with Steve Francis who is one of the coolest Indians I know! He seems to be more and more interested every time we go over. When we teach him the time just dissapears a hour feels like 5 minutes! He said if he could get a ride he would come to Church so that is something Elder Packer and I are going to work on. Kyle is awesome he lives in a house where the people he lives with don't like us so he has been hesitant. But the more we meet with him the more he begins to open up and really listen to what we have to say. Susan hasn't gotten back to us yet so we are going to stop by her house sometime this week hopefully. We found some really good potentials this week to and hopefully the follow through like we think they will.
I got letters from the Bishop and from Blake this week I wrote them back today so they should be getting a letter sometime this week I also wrote a letter to Colton Gray. Did you get the letter I sent for Dylan?
In the next package you guys send me could you go and get me some more Jetstream pens the ones Sue gave me that she said Tyler Likes? Black in perferably thanks you guys are amazing for all that you do.

Hey All!

The last week has been really good i can't believe i have already been out in the field for a week it's crazy! Im in Winthrop, Maine. My appartment is okay it was a mess when I first got there and I have been cleaning everyday when i have had the chance and it's finally getting to the point i can stand it. It smells like smoke when you first walk in I think so many people have smoked it is in beaded in the walls. Thank you for sending the beading it is nice to have my own sheets and blankets it helps me sleep better. Elder packer is a great guy he played basketball for his Highschool in Blackfoot Idaho and has been out for six months. He has been in Winthrop his whole mission which is nice because he knows his way around and know the people here pretty well which is a plus. We were in Manchester all day Tuesday and basically all day Wednesday on Tuesday Elder Packer and I went tracking all day for like five hours, It wasn't as bad as i thought it would be we were able to find eight potential investigators four of which seemed like they were going to be solid investigators for the Elders that serve in the Manchester area. It was lame doing all the work and then not being able to teach them ya know? Thursday was a ruff day we rode our bikes ten miles in the rain because the mileage on the car was low and we needed to save some miles. We had an appointment with a man named Duncan Bond so we went up early and tracked around his house we found people to talk to but no one was interested in what we had to say. We taught Duncan about baptism because he has been an investigator for a long time and for some reason hasn't been able to commit to being baptized quite yet. He told us he wasn't ready and i'm not sure why I think we are going to ask him what he has questions about. His wife is a less active member they fed us spaghetti it was decent but nothing compared to Dads but nothing compares to it. The food is better out here than the MTC for sure! Friday was a ruff day as well we had been tracking for about a hour and a half with people just saying no thank you i'm all set and didn't care about what we had to say. I was getting really discouraged and then we knocked on a door and the guy actually listened to us. We gave him a mormon.org pass a long card and set up a return appointment for this Thursday, The next door we knocked on it was an old lady that listened to us and is a member of a babtist church and loves it because of the program it has for the youth. So we have a good shot cuz our youth program is amazing! She seemed really interested and we are also going back to talk to her on Thursday we gave her a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and she said she would so i'm excited to go back and she what she learned. On Saturday we went tracking at some appartments right by ours and we were able to find 5 new people to teach! One of the doors we knocked on was a family and the mom said that they have been looking for a church to go to! Perfect! We have the one for them! That was my best door approach so far.

We had a baptism on Saturday for a lady named Loorie Crosby she is a mid aged woman and is awesome she gave up smoking because she knew it was what she needed to do at that point in her life. She had been an investigator for a long time and then one day decided she needed to be baptized sweet right! It was a really nice service I had to talk while they were getting changed after she had been baptized. I talked on the restoration I had planned on some investigators coming but we didn't have any come so i was telling people stuff the already knew it's all good though they all seemed to get something out of it. I was able to confirm her a member and give her the holy ghost yesterday! That was amazing i was worried as to what to say during the blessing but i just opened my mouth and it was filled with things. It was sweet! When i said i say unto you receive the holy ghost i could feel it go through me into her that sounds weird but that's the way i can best explain it. That was by far the coolest experience of my mission up to this point i'm way excited to see what other amazing experiences i'm going to have.

Love you all so much and miss you all!
Love, Elder Colton Todd Ferre

New Hampshire here he comes!

Colton Finally arrived in New Hampshire at the Mission Home on Monday August 22nd.

Elder Ferre', President David Wilkey, and his wife.

Elder Ferre' and his trainer Elder Zachary Packer

Colton's Apartment Address is:

Elder Colton Ferre

325 Main St. Apt. 2

Winthrop, ME 0464

Colton's frist area is in Maine--He will be excited.

When we spoke with him on Monday he said

he hoped he would get to serve there!

P-Day #2

Hey Family,

This week has been good, there hasn't been a whole lot going on here at the MTC my district is doing well and we are seeming to really grasp everything quite well. I hope you got my letter about Anothony and the experience me and elder walker had together it was amazing! We taught luke yesterday he has been ripping us apart he knows the bible so well it's almost impossible to tell him anything because he always has a scripture to contridict everything. but the lesson we taught him today went really well we explained the restoration in more detail and answered some questions he had. At the end of the lesson we were able to have to spirit manefest of the truthfulness of the gosple enough that he committed to be baptized! The investigators at the MTC aren't real but boy do they feel like it sometimes! One of our teachers brother Coffman left us on monday! Stupid i loved that man! And we got Brother Wanket he was texting during our lesson! It was really anoying and hard to focus! Me and Elder Walker are still getting along really well we are still finding things we have in common and we are really starting to flow as a companionship. Like i said in the letter my plane left SLC Air Port at 7:30 am i will probably be through security and at my terminal around 6 so that's when i will probably call you guys then agian when i get to detroit mighigan thats around noon we have a two hour layover so i should be able call you then. We should get to New Hampshire around 4:00 pm there time so six for you guys. I'm sure ill call you then to so you know i have gotten there safely. It's crazy to think i have already been gone for two weeks! Time Flys when you are focus on what you are doing and when your having a good time! Elder Shumway had a friend of his leave on monday, it was really hard for him to see such a close friend so homesick and making such a stupid decision as he put it. He is doing good now which is good, he has already been through struggles so he knew what he needed to do to deal with them. I'm sorry to hear that Kaitlyns soccer games didn't go so well, just keep your head up and everything will be ok never get down on yourself because when you do your performance and game suffer trust me i know. Have you guys been down to the lake at all? Aubrey were did your friend from work get her call to? I have seen so many people i know it's crazy! Kyle left yesterday i believe and his companion messed up something in his knee so i think he couldn't go. The food seems to get worse everyday i'm just glad i only have 5 more days of it then i can have somewhat normal food once i get out to the feild. I was talking to Elder Walker about getting to New Hampshire and he said that President Wilkey takes us prosiliting as soon as we get off the plane!! I guess i better get used to it right? I can't beilive i am almost done here at the MTC 3 weeks isn't that long to prepare for what we need to know! Thank you for all of the packages while i have been here it has ment a lot. If people write me i probably won't write them back till i'm out there so they have the address. I sent trevor and keltzie letters and Cami and Kim i sent last week i hope they got them. I forget how to adress the envelop somethims! I'm glad to here everything is going well at home. Chele told me about the girls they have staying with them and that one is a non member DO WORK! as Elder Walker and I put it. We are going to buy some book of mormons and hand them out on the plane if we are sitting by someone who is a non member way out of my comfort zone!! But i need to do it or nothing will ever get done i also wrote tyler back last week! I'm so grateful for all of the support i have gotten while i have been out here. Our branch presidencey is amazing they always know what to say and when to say it. I have found out that if you can get an investigator to pray with an open heart and really wanting to know for themsleves then it's game, set, and match! it's awesome to see the power in prayer! We get to go to the temple today at 2:20 and we get our haircuts at 10:15 i met with dr. jarmillo and he said he would have to give you my orthodics to send to me. Thank you for sending my beading out to the mission home!

Aubrey thank you for always being such a good example to me and those around you. You are an amazing woman and i hope you see that! Have fun on that date on friday! 35 is a big difference in age but just go and have fun! I'm glad your going on that campout it will be good for you:)

Kaitlyn just keep working hard in soccer and everything will fall into place

Mom and Dad- Thank you for always being such a good example to me and always teaching me what is right!

i love you guys with all my heart!

I haven't gotten that package you talked about with the plastic baggy yet just so you know im sure ill get it today though!

Love you

elder Ferre!

P-Day #1

Hey guys! So my first week in the MTC is over and it flew! It doesn't really feel like i have been hear as long as i have! It's amazing how much they teach you in such a short amount of time! Throughout the week me and my companion taught three investigators Luke, Anthony, and Alexandre. Luke was our first lesson we had taught and we had to teach him our first full day here! I had no clue what to say or what to do. As time has gone on i have become much more comfortable with teaching people the lessons! The main thing i learned was to teach people and not lessons. I learned that you need to get to know them and gain there trust before they will even really listen to what you have to say. When we were teaching Luke on monday he was talking about how he didn't have a job and had been looking for one for a while and as the lesson went on i had the impression that i needed to tell him that im he read the book of mormon and prayed with a sincer heart and had faith in the lord that he would know for him self the truthfulness of the gospel. I then went on to tell him that if he had trust in the lord and prayed with real intent and had faith in the lord that he would get a job if he had faith in the lord. I don't know why i needed to say that nor do i care. All i know is that it was the spirit telling me what to say so i just opened my mouth and it just came out! Me and elder walker are still getting along really well. We have a lot in commen and understand eachothers needs and wants. The MTC is amazing! I have read scriptures i didn't even know existed until i came here and started doing my scriptures more and pondering them more and looking for scriptures that people i am teaching need. Elder Harrision is in my district and is one of the funniest kids i have met in my life! We were sitting in class and he was playing with a pen and put it between is watch and pointed the pen at Elder Cowdin and said psssh spider man! You would have had to be there to realize how funny it was! He just says the most random things and it makes me laugh. I Have seen Jackson Tate, Jace Jones, Matt Gowens, Kyle Turner and many more people i know. We have been playing ball during our gym time we have some really good players in our district. Two of them are going to play for some Junior college. When i play with them i feel like i am learning how to play all over agian! Thank you for all of the pakages! Everyone freaks out when they see i have gotten another package. I got mindys package with some chocolate covered coconut thinks and a tie tack and i think i got that picture i can't remember though. Cathy sent me a package and i got it yesterday it had a bunch of good stuff in it. Thank you for always being such a good example to me. I might have to cut my letter short because i only have four more mintues before the system kicks me out. Thank You all for everything Love you.

Elder Colton Todd Ferre'

Our First Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

First day is down! It wasn't as bad as people said it was going to be. It was hard saying good bye but today has been a good day. Everyone said it was going to stink but honestly, i don't see how. My companion is Elder Russell D. Walker. One of my bigger worries was if i was going to like my companion or not. I couldn't have asked for a better one! He loves sports and we have a ton in common. He played football for Lone Peak High School. Just like me he can't sleep with out the noise of a fan! If possible could you send me the sleep mate? Today we just went to orientation meetings and got a glimpse of what we will be doing while here at the MTC.

I've already seen a bunch of people I know. I saw Jace Jones, Kimball from Byron's (our uncle) ward and a kid named Caleb. I haven't seen Kyle (our neighbor growing up) yet but hopefully i will soon.

We were in a class tonight were they brought in 3 investigators one at a time and they had a companionship that was almost ready to leave come in and start the lesson. Then they would turn the discussion over to us to see how we stood on it. There were multiple times I felt I needed to stay something I felt I needed to say but never did. Every time someone else would get up and say the same thing I had felt like i needed to say. I know I need to learn how to not be afraid and say what I think should be said.

How did Kaitlyn's tryouts go? ( Kaitlyn tried out for the Orem High Soccer team and didn't find out if she made it until a few hours after colton went into the MTC. For all of you who are wondering she did make the team!) I'm so mad I have to wait to find out! I hope all of you are doing good. Dinner was steak and potatoes. It was pretty bad compared to what I would get at home. I'll survive though! Thank you for all each one of you have done for me throughout my life. My district has 3 (maybe 4) missionaries going to my mission, 6 going to Ludwig Texas and 2 going to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Everything is going great so didn't worry! I love you guys so much!

Love, Elder Colton Todd Ferre'

TIll We Meet Again

The time for Colton to leave on his mission crept up on us SO fast! We dropped him off today and oh man was it difficult. There was a little humor in our trip however, as we pulled onto the road to the MTC Colton said, " It looks like a prison." My mom simply replied, "Well at least there are no security guards."as we pulled into the MTC we were met by MANY Security Guards! The sight of those Security Guards gave us all some much needed comic relief. We shared a few laughs and many tears but, we are so proud of Colton's decision to serve an LDS mission. We will be posting his letters and pictures on the blog so if you would like to get updates you will be able to find them here.