Monday, December 28th

Hello everyone!

Well, the biggest news from this last week, and the thing I'll
probably spend a bit of time talking about is my brown
recluse spider bite.

So, on Monday, I noticed a little blister on my hand and
opened it up to drain it. Well, I thought that would be it.

On Tuesday it had grown a little bit and my hand had
swollen up quite a bit. Well, we cleaned it out and
re-bandaged it up, and we were on our way.

Well, on Wednesday, it had grown quite a bit, and we tried
to get puss out. We didn't have too much luck.

Christmas came, and it had continued to grow. Late
Christmas night, puss started coming out. We cleaned out
all the puss, and then there was a good-sized hole in my
hand. We cleaned it up, took a picture, and then bandaged
it up.

On Saturday, things weren't getting much better. We were
out tracting, and a couple of people we contacted said that
it was a brown recluse spider bite, and that I need to take
care of it right away. So, I called Sister Miller (the mission
president's wife). She agreed that she thought that's what it
probably was, and called a doctor in the mission presidency,
and he called in a prescription for me.

Supposedly the brown recluse is something like the fourth
most venomous spider known of.

Today, my hand is looking a lot better. The swelling has
receded quite a bit, and it looks as though the bite is
starting to heal over. I'm hopeful that it won't get much
worse. Please keep me in your prayers. Thanks!

In other news, I loved talking to y'all on Christmas. It was
good to hear from each one of you.

I can't believe this week will be 2010. I wish y'all the very
best New Years.

As for me here in Zapata, it will probably be like every
other week...maybe get some sparkling cider for New
Years, or something like that. Please pray for the work here
in Zapata. I love you all.

Love,
Elder John

Monday, December 21st

Hello family!

Well, this email will probably be pretty short, considering I
get to talk to you all on Christmas! I can't believe it's this
week! Things are going really well for me. I am loving the
work here in Zapata. The members here are great.

I want to share a quick story that happened to us yesterday.
We were out contacting/tracting, and we knocked a door. A
15 year old kid answered, and we asked if we could meet with
him and the family. Well, they let us in, and we found out
that their dad had passed away 5 years ago, and that they
were looking for peace and happiness in their family. Well,
we taught about the plan of salvation. The spirit there was
very powerful, and I'm excited to have the opportunity to
work with that family.

I sent out a tape sometime last week. I hope you all get that
soon. It's nothing too special, but you can hear me even
before Friday that way. :)

Well, again, this is going to be short, but I do love you all.
I'm doing well, and working hard.

Love,
Elder John

Monday, December 14th

Hello all!

Well, a lot has happened this week. Elder Velez got ET'd
(Emergency Transfer), so I have a new companion. His name
is Elder Peterson. He's from Pleasant Grove, Utah. We were in
the same district when I was back in Weslaco. He's been out
one more transfer than me. We're excited to be working
together.

Yesterday was District Conference for Laredo and Zapata.
Before the conference started, President Miller asked to
speak with Elder Peterson and myself. He addressed the
importance of Zapata, how he needs it to succeed, and that
he trusts us to make it grow.

Elder Peterson and I have been working extremely hard. We
are finding some wonderful people. It's amazing what the
Lord does for us when we are willing to put ourselves out
there and work as hard as we can. He will always make up the
difference, no matter how big it may be.

So, this last week we had Zone Conference up in Corpus
Christi. It was a three and a half hour drive each direction.
We had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to get there on
time. It was a great experience. It was our Christmas
program after as well. I played and sang my own
arrangement of the First Noel, and then I sang with another
group We Three Kings. It was a great experience.

Well, this is a random tidbit. Elder Peterson and I have been
lifting weights in the morning. I'm incredibly sore, but I'm
excited to see results. I'm still on my health spree, which I
guess is a good thing.

I'm attaching several pictures: A couple are next to the Rio
Grande (our area), a huge cactus we found while tracting,
A Christmas Tree in Zapata, and a funny sign we saw on our
way back from Corpus Christi. Enjoy!

I love you all!

Elder John

Monday, December 7th

Hello once again from Zapata. We had a pretty good week. We're
starting to see a little bit of a change in our branch. I'll start
with last Monday evening. We had family home evening. Well,
only one person showed up. He's a less-active, so that was
awesome. He's in his 50's. We talked with him for a good hour,
and he's really excited about things. He wanted a blessing for
health before he left, so we did that. Several times throughout
the week, he texted us and let us know that it's working, and left
us scriptures about leaving the ninety and nine and going after
that which is lost. He missed church again yesterday, but
needless to say, we're excited about him.

Yesterday at church we had two less-active ladies come. They
were immediately fellowshipped. One of them was even
planning on leaving right after sacrament, but the Relief
Society president started talking with her, and got her to stay
for that as well (they only have Sacrament and
Priesthood/Relief Society here.) So, we're on track, it was great
to see a little bit of the fruits this week.

In other news, we've had some good times tracting this week.
There's been some funny signs we've seen. I'm attaching
those pictures. One is a snowmobile crossing sign....who
knows why in the world that's needed....the next is a tex-mex
sign that doesn't make a whole lot of sense....only in Texas I
guess. The third is from the ice-cream we got at McDonalds....
Hot and fresh ice cream; nothing like it.

We're working hard, and having a great time. I really think the
people here just need to feel that we care about them. I
appreciate all your prayers in their and my behalf. Thanks :)
Well, I love you all. If you have questions...you know where
to find me.

-Elder John

Monday, November 30th

Due to issues with Myldsmail.net which erased my email...again.
Ugh! I'm sending a picture. A picture is worth a thousand words
after all, isn't it? I'm sorry that the letter didn't work out. Things
are great here in Zapata. I love it, and I'm excited to keep
working here. There's a bright future here.



I love you all!

The picture is the Rio Grande... I'm looking into Mexico. That's a
little place in my area...it would be so easy to cross there...
Anyway, enjoy!

Love,
Elder Meservy

Pictures!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the best surprise--a member where John is serving contacted us. It was so neat to hear how he was doing from someone who had recently seen him.

In fact, they had had John and his companion over multiple times for dinner--as well as bumped into them when they were out sightseeing. We loved getting to see all the great pictures she sent--and hope you enjoy them too!