Missionary Sleep Over

                       All of us in the van on Thanksgiving day. Headed out for a game of Football.

                                                                After the football game.

                Thanksgiving dinner at Mamma and Papa Shep's House.  Mmmm  Mmmmm Good!!!

       Alex still has the crazy in him. Elder Buys does not look to happy about dressing up like a turtle
                                                                 for Halloween.

        Elder Campbell and Elder Buys help serve at the soup kitchen every Friday morning.
                                       They love the ladies that they work with.

                                     Building on the Campus of University of Illinois at night!

Hanging out on campus at night!

Hey mom! Sure love ya! Alright so this Monday we had zone p-day. It was o.k. the elders enjoyed it. Then we went down to Paris for an exchange. The exchange went fine but it was nice to be back with Elder Buys at the end of it. Wednesday we taught a student from Egypt. He is a new investigator. Emily came to the appointment, she is doing great! Thursday was Thanksgiving!!!!! It was so great!!!! We played football in the morning Mama Shepp made so much food!!! Her stuffing was so good and her yams were great. (Some how I don't remember Alex eating either of those items at home.) She made this cranberry sauce that was way good too! We were there for 5 hours! I talked to papa for a long time he gave me advice on life. Friday we had service at the soup kitchen. Saturday the main thing we did was weekly planning. It was kind of a lame day. Sunday we had church at the family ward because the was only 5 people at the YSA branch because all of the students went home for Thanksgiving. All of the student housing on campus is closed all week so my area became a ghost town. Not a lot of missionary work got done. Yes, I got Dad's letter! Thanks so much. It was just what I needed at the right time!  Wow , I am so happy for Coleen!!! She is so great. I am down almost 20 pounds since I came to the campus. The thermals fit great. Thanks for sending them. Wow It is so WEIRD that Brayden is home. The Hartmans too!  I Love them so much!!!!
Well I will make up for the short letter with some pictures.

Tuesday is the day I emailed you sorry I was late emailing we had a big meeting on Monday. Tuesday Brother Bode took us out to dinner at a place called Flat Top, it is so good! Then we visited some people and invited them to the YSA branch. Wednesday we taught a lesson with Jerry who is getting ready to go on a mission. Then we had dinner with Kalan at 5 Guys burgers and fries. Then we had an appointment Wednesday night that Ethan and Emily came with us but no one answered the door. Thursday we taught Julie in the morning! Julie is sooooo great ! She has been praying and now believes in God!!! That is so great! So cool! I know she is going to join the church any day now. Then we had a district meeting in Rontoul, Elder Gorman gave a great training! Elder Orme also did great. We came back and had a lesson with Dion. Half of the YSA branch is out of town because they go home for Thanksgiving. .... So it is going to be a ghost town around here. Friday we had service at the soup kitchen. It is always so much fun there! I did another baptism interview. Then we had dinner at this place called Moon glow they have a huge hamburger for like 6 dollars. Saturday we were with the assistants ! I love being with them they are so much fun. I was with Elder Marshall! My old buddy! We found 2 new investigators together and tracted our little hearts out. I felt so proud! Elder Marshall and I are a great team! If he was my companion it would be the best and we would get the most stuff done! But I am happy withe Elder Buys! Yeah he goes home in like 26 days. So Sister Shep also made dinner for us on Saturday! I love her! Papa's blood sugar got really low. But he is all good now! I love them both. They are feeding us for Thanksgiveing. The Assistants and Office elders are coming up to have Thanksgiving with us. That will be so much fun! Sunday we had normal church, weekly planning and dinner at the Allans. Then getting ready for the Zone p-day. Well that was the week. I got really excited about the email from the Hartmans. There is another Elder Campbell in our mission but he is out in Decatur which is way far away from St. Louis. Rainbolt does not ring a bell. I will have to figure out who it could be...

Thanks mom for all of the mail and packages! You are the Best! I need a new pair of pants but I can buy those. umm... I can't think of any thing I need! You are the best mom , Thanks so much. I am sorry I didn't get a Thanksgiving card sent out to the family.... Just running out of time. Oh yeah, I am feeling better. But my Headaches came back today... but I know why... well I think I know why... I didn't have much time to email Max but I sure love him. I have like 13 more pages in the D & C before I'm done with ti too! I have just started the book of Mormon for the 5th or 6th time on my mission.

Hello There Mom!

Well I can already smell alcohol on the guy sitting next to me! So Monday was P-day with dinner at the Payne's! After dinner we contacted on campus! Tuesday we had Leadership in St. Louis! It was Great! Elder Crowley gave a training he did an excellent job! The only other person in the parking lot when we got there was Elder Bullock! It was so great to see him! The only bad thing that happened at leadership was that I started the day as healthy as an ox but at the end of the day I was so SICK! Wednesday we had district meeting in Mattoon, everything is going well down there. We went to Burger King for lunch not the fast food restaurant but an old, old burger place called burger king. It was kind of a fun little neat place. We tracted a little that day. We had dinner and started our exchange with the Rantoul Elders. I went with Elder Christensen, he has only been out for about 2 weeks. So it was fun working with a greeny. Thursday we had District meeting in Danville it is always great to have district meeting there. Those Elders are just outstanding. We had lunch at another old hamburger place. Elder Christensen and I had a great time tracting! We found a family of 9!!!!!!! I miss working with families, but working with The Students is way fun and inspiring. We had Dinner at a really nice families home. They have a devil Cat it looked so Evil... I have even heard about the Cat from other Missionaries! Friday we had service at the soup kitchen it was great! I got a picture of the soup ladies and us. They are so nice. I will send it to you next week because I don't have the camera with me today. We had a Recent convert lesson with Emily. Andrew and Amy are great members the were sharing the lesson! Emily is also a great member!!!! Ever since she joined the church! Alex was busy this week but he is also a great member. This whole time I was so sick! but I am getting better now but Friday and Saturday was the worst. But I finally rested and that helped a lot. We had dinner with Alexis. She is so great! Super member of the church. That night the assistants came up and stayed the night with us! I Lone Elder Marshall and Elder Christensen! The always seem to take all the worries away and we have a lot of fun! Sunday we had Stake Conference! It was so good the Stake Presidency was getting reorganized wihch is a big deal of course but it is an extra big deal because we work with the stake Presidency a lot. President Lunt and President Allan were release. They did such a great job!!!! I am going to miss them. the new stake president is President Stole! His Councilors are Prsident Mcnab ( He is a co founder of FAIR) He is so great I can't wait to work with him and Presiden Bendnar. Elder Bendnar's son. Elder Choi was the seventy that was there, usually Elder Bendnar is here since his son lives here.  Elder Choi is so great! After Stake conference we tracted with the assistants and the Paris Elders. It was great to tract with them all! Monday we had a mission conference with Elder Choi! It was SO GOOD MOM! SO GOOD! Like life changing good. It was a great day with the mission and President and Sister Clark! Then we taught Family Home Evening for the YSA branch. I am really starting to love the YSA branch. Ethan is such a great member and friend here in the YSA!

I am so glad that you got to go to Elder Hinton's homecoming! He was such a wonderful companion and example to me. Wow 24 inches of snow that is a lot of snow. I am down another 2 pounds!!!!! Great things are happening mom! I LOVE MY MISSION! I want to work my butt off for the next 5 months and prove to dad that I can work hard and also to my heavenly father but the funny thing is that I'll only be able to work hard and change my lazy nature though Christ so I don't have any Credit for myself.... So I think a better way to say it is watch myself and let heavenly father change me. I have change a lot but I need to try even harder now..... I hope my actions can match my words! The only thin I need is a little cash because getting sick is expensive. I can't believe how much medicine costs. Sure love ya mom.   -Elder Campbell

Elder Buys, Emily and Alex
Emily and her friend Amy have become some of Alex's best friends.

Hello Mom! Alright here goes nothing. Monday was p day and we had dinner at Mama Sheps! It was really good like always. Tuesday we started with some contacting on campus and we also tracted. Brother Bode took us out to dinner to a place called "Golden Harbor" It is really good. Brother Bode takes us out to lunch almost every week and he makes sure we are taken car of He is a very, very nice man. Wednesday we started with some more contacting and then we had a lesson with Emily! She is so Great! She is such a great member of the church! We had lunch then we tracted or something came up I can not remeber. Then it was Halloween so our cars were parked at 5 p.m.. Thursday we had a district meeting in Rantoul. Thous Elders are doing great! We came back and our lesson canceled... the day was kinda lame so we went out and did some tracting and then we had dinner and got ready for our meeting on Saturday. Friday we had a lesson with Julie in the morning. It went really well. Julie is doing great! She understands the gospel so well. Then we had our meeting with all the district leaders. Sister Shepperd called us at 5 and invited us to dinner! It was great! Sunday we had church. It was a really good fast Sunday. We had weekly planning after church and then we had break the fast withe the YSA branch it is were everyone brings some food and we have a big dinner. We took some caramel dip and apples. Then there was a CES fireside that was really good It talked about some of the steps to happiness. 1. realize your potential 2. become who you are. I also read all of dad's letters to me on Sunday they were very up lifting and inspiring and made me recommit to working harder. Dad is very uplifting, loving, kind and thoughtful. Something that is sometimes hard to see when you are face to face with him. But I am a better son now and I see his love and kindness easier now. Also Thanks mom for all you do as well!!! hmmm.... I just really wanted to thank you and Dad for all you have done for me. I can't think of anything that I need other than some thermals and thick socks... It is getting cold. Mom my headaches have been really good this week!!! Isn't that great. I think I had 1 day when it was bad and it soon left! We have been working out harder every morning and that is helping me slim down. I am so sick of being fat. My body is a gift and I should take better care of it. I've been reading"True to the Faith" It has been great. I love reading simple true doctrine. Also I have been reading the Book of Mormon and studying humility as I read it. I am almost done with the D&C. How is Hawaii? I sure wish I could be there! but not really because that world mean I would have to leave here.

Thanks for your email mom! I don't have my planner and I don't remember anything.... I'll do my best to note the highlights. Elder Buys and I are staying together for his last transfer which is nice that means I will be a zone leader here for the next three months because I will need to train the new zone leader. That will put me at being a zone leader for over a year..... much, much too long. But I would not trade it for anything I have learned so much from serving others. Zone Leader Council was great!!! Elder Buys and I gave a training on how to have effective councils. President Clark loved it! It was a way fun training to give. I am the oldest zone leader in there. Elder Marshall is the only one that has been to more than me but that is because he is an assistant. President Clark took us all out to lunch to a place called Cheeseburger Cheeseburger. It was really good they have a pound burger but I am trying to loose weight so I didn't order that. The mission is looking at getting 30-60 new missionaries at the beginning of the year. Almost all of them will be sisters. If I catch one Elder flirting with a sister I am going to brake his legs... Elder Hinton is going home in 4 days!!!! He said you are welcome to come to his home coming! I saw Bishop Blair at ZLC Conference, Chesterfield is where we hold ZLC.  I told him to say hi for me. I asked him to say hi to the Mahuffys for me. So I know how the rest of my mission will go. I will be in Urbana for 3 more moths and then I am going to train a new missionary (training takes three months). I hope I keep making you proud! Sister Shep is feeding us today, she always makes sure we are taken care of and Brother Shep always make me laugh! Emily's baptism was so great! So, So So, great! Both of her parents came!!! I am really starting to love the branch I just need to be a better worker on campus it is so hard to for me to work at the university.. but I am working at it! If you would pray that I will use my agency well and be strengthened that would help me. Oh and pray that I keep loosing weight! I will pray that you start loosing weight. I voted this week I knew that would make Dad happy. Sure love ya mom! Hope I make you proud.  

Elder Campbell in his turtle bib. Now I just have to learn how to flip pictures.

              Love,  Elder Campbell
                             

I just had to add that I got a wonderful phone call from Mama Shep tonight. Alex had just left their home. She is the one who made him his turtle bib. She told me when he comes to eat he has his bib on when she opens the front door. It was so fun to visit with her. I also got to meet one of the members who knew Alex in Chesterfield today. My heart is so full of Gratitude for all of the people who watch over and love Alex while he is serving.

Hey mom! Monday we had a normal p-day well kinda a slow p-day. Tuesday we had a district meeting over in Paris it was great! It was good to see Elder Jager, he is doing a great job training and working in the area. Wednesday we had Champaign's district meeting. The assistants were there with us. Wednesday we had exchanges with the assistants. I was with Elder Christensen. It was so much fun to work with him. I know Elder Marshal and Elder Christensen really well, it is like working with good friends when they come. Emily is ready for baptism so that is great we just need to find a time that works for everyone. Wednesday night we had dinner at mama Shep's she made a huge dinner because she knew the assistants were coming! It was so good and then papa Shep played some music for us! Mama Shep is so nice! I am sure you will get to meet her. I miss the Mahuffeys so much. Thursday we had Danvill's district meeting. It was great. Then we had a lesson with a member who is getting ready to on on his mission. We also had a dinner with Kalan, he took us to Meatheads, It is a great hamburger place. Then we exchanged with Rantoul. Well me and Elder Orme came back to work the university but it turns out that our phone was left up in Rantoul. ... so I was phoneless! Well everything tuned out really nice. It was a very quiet day with out a phone. Poor Elder Buys had to deal with a Car Crash that happened in the zone. Friday I worked the day with Elder Orme We had service at the soup kitchen. Then a lesson with Emily that went well. Then we tracted some apartments. Then we had our district leader zone leader meeting then we had dinner at mamas again! Then we went back to Rantoul to switch companions back. Saturday we did our weekly planning and Elder Buys made pumpkin cheese Soup. Sunday we had church. Emily's mom came but I don't think she was very happy. I hope the spirit softens her heart a little. Another thing that happened on Monday is we got a fake referral from Mormon.org. An ex girlfriend was trying to make life miserable for this guy and new girlfriend so she put the new girlfriends name on mormon.org and all sorts of information about how she wants to learn about the church. The cool thing is that we got an appointment with this couple. So when I came to Urbana I was 254 pouns and now I am 239 pounds. I just need to get down to 215 and I witll look and feel a lot better then. Sure love ya mom!  Oh and transfers are on Halloween so next Monday I will know if I am getting transferred. Sure love ya mom and sure miss ya! GO TO THE TEMPLE IT IS LIKE DOING MISSIONARY WORK JUST LIKE ME.  IT WOULD BE A GREAT MOTHER SON BONDING SURE LOVE YA!

                                                                          ELDER CAMPBELL

HEY MOM!!! That is so cool about Max's eagle project! Over 2000 pounds of food wow! Thank you for the package, it was nice.. Monday we had a normal  p-day with a ride down to Paris! We got there at night and planned for our next day and went to bed. Tuesday we went on exchanges with the Paris Elders.Elder Hunter was sick so after 2 hours of tracting he was not feeling well at all and couldn't go out he looked very sick so he went to bed and I cleaned the apartment. Then that night we traveled back to Urbana. Wednesday in the morning we had Champaign's district meeting. The Barbers were at the district meeting, they are a senior couple that just started their 3rd mission. They are so great! They made cookies and brother Barber bore his testimony. He has such a strong spirit about him. We had a lesson with Emily she is doing really well! Her baptism wil be on the 24th. We hope everything is good to go for baptism. Thursday we had Danville's district meeting. They are still doing really well. We came back and prepped for the stake coordination meeting we had later that day. The stake meeting went well ant it will be the last stake meeting we have with president Lunt. Friday we had service at the Soup Kitchen! Then just normal missionary work. Saturday we had a normal day of working but it rained all day! Sunday we had church and Elder Buys confirmed Jess a member of the church. Then we did some tracting and then we had dinner with the whole YSA branch. It was a lot of fun. After we get done emailing we have a lesson with Emily! So things have been going well I can't wait for the day I can soak all the stress away in the new hot tub.... That sounds so nice... my body is always so tight and I can never stretch it all out. University work has been hard for me... but I just need to keep working so this is something dad would like to hear, I looked back at the day I came into the mission and President Clark's message to to the mission was "Never give up" I thought dad would like that. So I have been doing really well a writing in my journal. I have been doing a page a day and the journal pages are big!!! I am also working on a smaller book of funny stories or other things that happened in the mission. Ya I know I only have 6 months left so I will probably only have one more area after this one. I don't know if I am going to stay here again in the university but I think I will be released as zone leader soon and just be a regular missionary again. I hope I get the opportunity to train again. Sure do love ya mom Thanks for the great email! You are the best! Love,
                                                                                     Elder Campbell