Elder Jonah Judd recently got transferred from Baker after being here for six months. He and several sets of the previous elders have used me extensively as a fellowshipper and missionary aid as they've taught investigators. Elder Jonah sent me an email after he left. Following is my reply.

I'm missing you, Elder Judd. My daughter does, too. She has a friend, Laura, ready to be taught the gospel. Laura and her two boys have agreed to come here to dinner with the missionaries. Laura is eager to meet with them. We just wish it was you who would be here to do the teaching.

The elders have twice invited me to help them in the past week or 10 days. I waited for 15 minutes in front of the first house where we were supposed to meet, and finally left. I'd gone early to town, so I missed their phone call saying that the meeting was canceled. They don't realize how far out of town I live.

A few days ago I took my wife to the next meeting. We arrived at the house at the same time as the elders. We all marched up to the door, and the elders knocked. A pack of dogs hit the inside of the door, all barking hysterically. The house seemed otherwise deserted, and I hoped that was so. But after a delay, the door opened a crack. A big lady squeezed herself through the crack while kicking at the dogs to keep them inside. She apologized for not inviting us in, "But it's bedlam in there." I was grateful. The house, yard, and porch were very cluttered and disorganized. I'm sure the inside was the same. Because of the clutter, there wasn't room on the porch for all of us, so Marjorie and I stood out in the rain.

The elders tried to give the lady a message there on the porch, but every half sentence was interrupted by the lady shouting at the dogs to "Quit it! Be quiet!"

The elders asked her, "How many dogs do you have?"

"Three!" she answered cheerfully. I thought, Oh, wow, I'm so glad she didn't invite us in.

The lady continued, "My kids have two more, and I'm babysitting two others. There's another one in the back yard. One of them is half Australian Shepherd, and half German Shepherd. It was an outside dog, but I've got it trained now to be inside."

At that point I invited her to come to church.

"Well, I've got two kids, and I can't bring them. They're pretty wild."

"Oh, they're welcome, too. Our church is really good at taming kids."

"Not mine! They're feral."

I excused us so that we could go get in the car and get out of the rain. That was the end of the appointment. The lady didn't strike me as being a golden contact.

But Laura is. I wish you were here.

Thanks for putting me on your email list. I thought you might enjoy my report.

Love, Brother Kerns