Turning 21 on the Mission

Dear Mom,

thanks for the great email mom. made me feel pretty good! thanks for
getting me to the point of where i am today mom. its crazy to think that
im 21 yrs old now. pretty cool but at the same time it seems like im still
at high school age. i think that getting home and stepping into real life
after the mish is gonna get things going for me.
we had a crazy rainy week this last week but for the conditions we
were stilll able to get some good stuff done. every week seems like it
passes by faster than the last and it also seems like things get better
and better each week. like i said before, now that im reaching the end it
seems like i somewhat know how to do the work effectively.
so for my birthday me and my comp had a nice little fire in a big bean
pot in our back yard, ate sunflower seeds and pizza and just chilled until
we had to hit the sack. ill try to send some pictures.
we also ate the cake that you sent. that cake is really GOOD for being just a
microwaveable cake!!
i laughed so hard when i read that part about grandma picking out the
new frames!! i cant wait to see her again!!
the talk on sunday went really well. i was able to use some pieces of the
talks that you sent me to help me out. thanks mom.
im glad that everything is going smoothly for the wedding. i bet that arien is
so excited now that her dress is all ready and everything. you might have to
hide it from her so she doesnt wear it to work or something. haha!
i could hardly believe that deal that you got on that computer mom!! that
was a screamin deal!! we have an investigator that has an apple mac book
pro that is really sweet. send a picture over the email of the new laptop for
me to see. my companion is really into computers and he also wants to see
it because he cant figure out why the price was so low.
at tys graduation, you guys might hear crickets chirping in that huge
new auditorium.... 32 graduates, that is really small. he said that he has
really liked it there though cause when ya need help the teachers have lots of time
to help ya out. im not sure when the mission is gonna send all the stuff about the flight
but im pretty sure that it will be soon.
have a great week!! i love you guys!!!

Elder Coats

Just 7 More Wednesdays

Dear Mom,

sounds like you guys had a great week!! whenever the barbeque grill is
involved i know that every one is happy.
so i have now begun my last transfer! we got the transfer calls monday
and im here to stay until the 2nd of june.
im happy to stay here in this area. we have lots of good stuff going on
and new families that have come into our ward.
were praying for lots of new families to be put in our path. diligently
working hard always has a good reward so were
gonna focus on just keeping on the hard work. the last few weeks we
have been working hard with a family that just
the mom has not decided to be baptized yet. but, we found out that she
is hiding from us that she has already stopped
drinking coffee. her kids were too excited about it and they had to tell us.
she loves going to church and she knows that the teachings are true she just
needed to quit drinking the café. were gonna get a date marked with her this week.
i got to meet up with my good buddy elder spencer today at the transfers. he is
really excited to get to see his fam again.
it seems like it was yesterday that we were together in guarapuava. it really
wasnt to long ago but man times flies!!!

i cant believe that ty is already back in the game after that crazy accident.
im excited to get to see him and jud race this summer.
i would like to get me a bike to get going also but it might take me a little
while before that happens. i got hope though.
so the grill is officially out and in action. im getting a good craving
for a nice fat juicy burger and a nice steak and chicken.
hows jud doing? is he still driving the loader at that scrap metal place?
him and chelsea gonna get married soon?
i sent arien a letter the other day. i dont know if she has got it yet. i glad
that gram and loyal are doing good. and aunt syble?
hows she doing? tell gram that i had a baked potato the other day, but
i didnt even come close to her twice baked potato..
they just dont have any thing that comes close to an Idaho spud, let alone
grams cooking.
im excited that mike and kolb found a good place down in logan.
thats gonna be fun to go to school and be close to campus
and all. remember to use the money that is in my account for these
kinda things mom. thanks for getting it all set up for me.
i love you guys, have a great week!!

Um Abraço

Elder Coats

At 22 Months

hey mom

hope you guys had a great week and that everyone is
still trucking along happily.
today we had interviews with president and then went to the
temple and then we topped that off with a subway sandwich!!!
ya that's right, a subway sandwich in Brazil! pretty expensive but
totally worth it. so today was a great day and the week went
really well. as a zone we worked really hard this last week and
we were blessed big time!! i'm doing my best to keep everyone
really excited about the work and it seems like now that i'm coming
to an end, i'm really learning how to do missionary work.
funny how that works out...
we had a fun week and we're teaching some part member families
that are really great. tomorrow were gonna paint a fence and do our
best to get in good with the mom so we can teach her what she needs.
were gonna have to do a really good job on that fence...
sounds like you guys are gonna be enjoying spring here in a little bit.
we have been getting rained on quite a bit here but its all good cause
my shoes are pretty much sandals anyways.
all the people here say that Rio is getting all the rain to wash all the
iniquity out of that place. i guess there are a lot of drugs and what not there.
the world is getting pretty ugly.
tell Robbie that i told him to get his leg better fast cause were gonna ball it
up when i get home.
hows Jud and Cheltsea doing? i haven't heard from that brute in a while.
i sure miss my bros!
i might just have to get a pass to the gym with ya when i get home mom.
we can do some sweet aerobics classes or something....
dont worry about sending another package to me but if you do just send
some spicy cheetos and those great soups that ya just add hot water and
stir and it gives ya a good gallon of soup. that chicken noodle tasted really
close to home made chicken noodle. good stuff.
when is school graduation? i know that im gonna miss it but if im thinking
right its like may 27 or something... just tell Ty to finish out strong and
quit messing around with this getting up late crap. when i get there im gonna
get him up early with me everyday.
i love you mom! hope that everything continues well at the store and
that your happy as ever!!!
have a great week!!

Elder Coats

hey fam

hope you guys had a great easter week!! i love that easter ham
that mom always makes and the 7up salad. this year i was able
to understand the true meaning of easter a little better and the
love that the savior has for us. it was a great week!! the general
conference was fantastic! imagine if all the inhabitants of the earth
would watch the general conference what a difference it would make.
the talks were all really good and of course Jefferey R. Holland laid
down a powerful talk as always. the baptismal meeting went great
and the people that were baptized will for sure remember their baptisms
forever. i got the easter package this week and we have been
enjoying it. especially the seeds. the sweets have been set aside
cause i just cant eat chocolate anymore... the ward here has been
really good to us and just about everyday there was someone offering
us more goodies to take home with us. there is also a good cheap pizza
place in our area that we have been enjoying. im hoping to put on a little
weight again before i get sent home.... speaking of that, the office called
me yesterday asking where i would like to land. we call this telephone
call the `ligação do mau` "call of the bad"... i told them that the salt lake
airport would be the best so its all set up. i think that it is the best place
to come home from a mission. its gonna be great seeing you guys
at the bottom of the escalator...
tell uncle brent and aunt steph that i send them the best. its good to
know that at least she didnt suffer.i think i remember talking with her a
few times when we would go up there for thanksgiving some years. she
was a really nice lady. i still remember grandpa bill and what a good guy
he was also. it has been a good while since he passed away. it is gonna
be really great to get to talk to him again some day and get to know him
even better. im really excited to see arien and justins new house. i might
just have to live with them for a while to help them break it in a little.... im
gonna leave a lot of my stuff here for the trip home. i dont plan on carrying
home a bunch of dirty mission shirts and sun-faded mission pants. my time
is getting pretty short here and i know that it is gonna just keep on flying by
like it has. i got to throw it in to overdrive and finish out strong.
i love you guys and i hope that you all have a great week!!

até mais

Elder Coats

This probably one of my favorite pictures of Nick as he has been serving in Brasil.
The pure JoY on his face reaffirms to me that he is happy and is serving with his heart.