So the MTC is an interesting place. All you really do is eat, learn, and sleep. It's a real change for me. I can't wait till i can get out to the feild and find real people that want/need to hear the gosbel. I cant wait to learn here and move on. So when they talk about the food being a killer the weren't kinding. I think that everyone here is going to need to replace there whole digestive system after this. It's crazy...
So I love the scriptures! They have everything that we need to find answer, peace, and comfort. I know that through prayer and Honest study that we can have answers and understand all things. That is such an amazing bless from are Lord. He loves us and wants all of his glory upon us. Lately one scripture has been standing out in my mind more then it ever has before. That scripture is James 1:5. It is the scripture that Jose Smith read and it has such great and amzing power. I know that god will answer all if we but ask with a true belief that we can get answers from him. If any of you feel lost or don't understand why something is happening in your life I challenge you to go to are Heavenly Father and ask him. For he unabraidth not. I promise that if you have a true heart and love for are Savior and his gospel WE WILL GET AN ANSWER. What an amazing blessing that is to us. I know that is true. I know that we may find peace in every trail and every hardship if we but turn are selfs to the lord, Help others in every chance we get and if we work hard to shine are light to glorify are heavenly father. It is so Amazing.
So if this emails are being sent out to other people I would like to thank you for all of the dear elders that i have gotten. They were amazing to get and they were such a great help to me and such a great thing to get right after the christmas season. I love you all and can't tell you how much i appreciate all of the support that i am getting. Well my time is up but i love and care for you all very much. May you find joy because that is why we are all her. I know that my father lives and that he cares for all of us.
Elder Allen
P.S. Always ask
K TOWN MISSIONARY MEMOS- A collection of letters from LDS missionaries from the Kaysville, Utah area.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sister Alex Hartvigsen--December 28, 2011
Message body
Dear Family, I hope that you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas and are all gearing up for a fantastic New Year. It is so wierd to think that it is almost 2012. This year has been full of craziness and many fun adventures and has really flown by. It is weird to think that I will be home in 2012 ( so I'm not going to think about it. Gotta love denial right? ;) ) This last week has been so good. On Monday we had a lesson with a women and her sister we watched the Restoration dvd and talked about how we can go through the same process that Joseph Smith went through to get our answers. On Tuesday we had a lesson with a less active women we talked about 3 Nefi 1 and how the Lord will always answer our prayers as we put our trust in Him. We then went over to a less active family we shared with them DyC 25 and talked about the power of good music. We then sang several hymns with them. It was really good because even their kids participated ( usually they hide in their rooms when we come by) On Thursday we met with a recent convert and read with her and her family Luke 2 and talked about the gifts that they can give the Savior this Christmas. This week as we were going through a list of former investigators and less actives/ recent converts, we decided to visit one of the people that Sister B baptized when she first was in our area over a year ago. We knocked on the door of the apartment and a man came to the door. It turns out that the man who we were looking for had moved back to Mexico but this man who answered the door was interested in learning about our message. We set up an appointment to visit with him the next day and we brought a women from our ward with us. It was a good lesson and he committed to come to church this next week when the schedule changes to 10:30 ( he works at 12-8pm) He doesn't have much of a religious background so we have been studying PMG how to teach those without a Christian background. We are really excited to continue to teach them. On Friday we met again with the women and her sister and their families and taught them about faith from Alma 32. Their father, who has not shown any interest in the lessons participated with us and it was really good. Christmas Eve was really good. We attended the baptism of a 14 year old girl On Thursday she decided that she wanted to be baptized on 24 Dec. The service had such a sweet Spirit there. We went to a meeting/ Christmas Celebration at a church next to the Visitors Center. Because of the baptism, we made it there just as the celebration ended. They had been doing a celebration of different cultures of the sisters through dance. Sister Mc turned on some celtic river dancing type music. I slipped off my shoes and the next thing I knew I was dancing. I definately suprised a lot of people with my dancing skills and many told me that they had no idea I was so light on my feet. It was a lot of fun. I haven't danced in a long time. After we finished we went caroling to different assisted living homes with a family. One of the homes that we visited has a sister living there who was baptized a few months ago when she was 101 years old. It was so much fun to celebrate Christmas with them. It was really cool and you could tell that it really touched the residents who lived there. Music can have such a stong impact on our spirits. Our dinner for Chirstmas Eve cancelled because Hispanics celebrate Christmas on 24 and no one was willing to feed us that day. We were invited to eat with Sister N in her English area. I was really excited to eat American food. When we got there, we found out the that husband has a Brazilian mother, and went to a mission to Brazil and they eat Brazilian food for Christmas. It was a little ironic. But the food was SO GOOD. I am going to have to learn how to cook Latin food or else I am going to go into withdrawls when I go home. ;)
This week I have come across several references to being bold as I have studied the scriptures. Every time I saw it I marked it. As I was at the visitors center on Christmas Eve, I decided that I was going to be more bold than I have ever been. I try to keep a prayer in my heart at all times but I put a special focus on it that night as I prayed to be let to people that were prepared. As a result, I was able to speak to many people who shared names of friend who they want us to call. I was talking to a lady in front of the replica of Jerusalem and we started talking about the temple. I talked about the temple and how we have temples on the earth again so that Heavenly Father can bless us. I was very bold and promised her that if she would learn more about the gospel that the temple could bless her and her family as well. SHe accepted my invitation and filled out her info for the missionaries. IT was such a great week.
It was such a wonderful Christmas.
I hope that you have a wonderful New Year. I love you all.
Love Alex
Dear Family, I hope that you all had a wonderful Merry Christmas and are all gearing up for a fantastic New Year. It is so wierd to think that it is almost 2012. This year has been full of craziness and many fun adventures and has really flown by. It is weird to think that I will be home in 2012 ( so I'm not going to think about it. Gotta love denial right? ;) ) This last week has been so good. On Monday we had a lesson with a women and her sister we watched the Restoration dvd and talked about how we can go through the same process that Joseph Smith went through to get our answers. On Tuesday we had a lesson with a less active women we talked about 3 Nefi 1 and how the Lord will always answer our prayers as we put our trust in Him. We then went over to a less active family we shared with them DyC 25 and talked about the power of good music. We then sang several hymns with them. It was really good because even their kids participated ( usually they hide in their rooms when we come by) On Thursday we met with a recent convert and read with her and her family Luke 2 and talked about the gifts that they can give the Savior this Christmas. This week as we were going through a list of former investigators and less actives/ recent converts, we decided to visit one of the people that Sister B baptized when she first was in our area over a year ago. We knocked on the door of the apartment and a man came to the door. It turns out that the man who we were looking for had moved back to Mexico but this man who answered the door was interested in learning about our message. We set up an appointment to visit with him the next day and we brought a women from our ward with us. It was a good lesson and he committed to come to church this next week when the schedule changes to 10:30 ( he works at 12-8pm) He doesn't have much of a religious background so we have been studying PMG how to teach those without a Christian background. We are really excited to continue to teach them. On Friday we met again with the women and her sister and their families and taught them about faith from Alma 32. Their father, who has not shown any interest in the lessons participated with us and it was really good. Christmas Eve was really good. We attended the baptism of a 14 year old girl On Thursday she decided that she wanted to be baptized on 24 Dec. The service had such a sweet Spirit there. We went to a meeting/ Christmas Celebration at a church next to the Visitors Center. Because of the baptism, we made it there just as the celebration ended. They had been doing a celebration of different cultures of the sisters through dance. Sister Mc turned on some celtic river dancing type music. I slipped off my shoes and the next thing I knew I was dancing. I definately suprised a lot of people with my dancing skills and many told me that they had no idea I was so light on my feet. It was a lot of fun. I haven't danced in a long time. After we finished we went caroling to different assisted living homes with a family. One of the homes that we visited has a sister living there who was baptized a few months ago when she was 101 years old. It was so much fun to celebrate Christmas with them. It was really cool and you could tell that it really touched the residents who lived there. Music can have such a stong impact on our spirits. Our dinner for Chirstmas Eve cancelled because Hispanics celebrate Christmas on 24 and no one was willing to feed us that day. We were invited to eat with Sister N in her English area. I was really excited to eat American food. When we got there, we found out the that husband has a Brazilian mother, and went to a mission to Brazil and they eat Brazilian food for Christmas. It was a little ironic. But the food was SO GOOD. I am going to have to learn how to cook Latin food or else I am going to go into withdrawls when I go home. ;)
This week I have come across several references to being bold as I have studied the scriptures. Every time I saw it I marked it. As I was at the visitors center on Christmas Eve, I decided that I was going to be more bold than I have ever been. I try to keep a prayer in my heart at all times but I put a special focus on it that night as I prayed to be let to people that were prepared. As a result, I was able to speak to many people who shared names of friend who they want us to call. I was talking to a lady in front of the replica of Jerusalem and we started talking about the temple. I talked about the temple and how we have temples on the earth again so that Heavenly Father can bless us. I was very bold and promised her that if she would learn more about the gospel that the temple could bless her and her family as well. SHe accepted my invitation and filled out her info for the missionaries. IT was such a great week.
It was such a wonderful Christmas.
I hope that you have a wonderful New Year. I love you all.
Love Alex
Elder Corbin Moore-- December 29, 2011
Well Christmas is now over and we only have one more week, then we will be in 2012. Its so crazy that it is already here, and when I say "it" I mean the End of The World. Where else would I have wanted to be when the world ended. Well I'm pretty sure that the world will not be ending, because I have to much missionary work to be done here in LA. There are so many people who need to hear the Gospel out here.
It seems like it has been a very long time since I last spoke with all of you guys. But it was only last night that you were able to hear my amazing voice. It was so crazy, being able to talk to eveyone, and especially to have Brayden there in the house, that was weird. Well I hope that everyone had a really great Christmas and was able to remember why we celebrate Christmas.
This past week has been pretty crazy for me here in Los Angeles. Trying to get Yecenia ready for her baptism, getting all the paperwork filled out. Its very stressful putting on a baptism. But it all went very well and now we are back to finding more people to teach, and continuing with the people that we have right now. We also had the opportunity to have Christmas here in the mission field. Elder Reichman and I woke up and opened up our presents and just had a blast doing so. But now that Christmas is over we are back to work.
It has been a real eye-opener for me being here on the mission. Every morning I walk out the door into Sodom. It is absolutely horrible to see the way the world is going these days. And because of this we have to be on our toes. We have to be strengthening ourselves, and our beliefs. Because there will come a day if it hasn't already, where you will have to stand for what you believe, and if you are not firmly planted you will be swept away, so fast. This isn't a time to have "residence in Zion, and then to also have second residence in Babylon", like Elder Neal A. Maxwell said. This is a time to have your life founded upon the the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not a time to say "all is well in Zion", because I can assure you that it is not, there are many things that need to be changed. The challenge is do we see those things and are we making an active effort to change them. The things that we are doing now are going to be very vital in the coming days. What preparations are we making today? Are we reading the scriptures everyday, especially the Book of Mormon? Are we saying our prayers? Are we going to church every week? Are we being faithful members? Are we having family home evenings every week? Are we going to seminary or institute? Are we just going to the motions or are we working to build up the kingdom of God? Are we spending the time to be with our families? Are we doing our home and visiting teaching? Are we studying the ensigns and other church magazines? Are we serving our fellow men? Take a moment to look at the things that are happening in your lives. Is there something that could be changed, or bettered. And then in this time, with a new year approaching, set a goal to change it. The time to begin the preparations, was yesterday.
Well it was nice to be able to write to you all this wonderful day, hope that all is well and Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother.
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
It seems like it has been a very long time since I last spoke with all of you guys. But it was only last night that you were able to hear my amazing voice. It was so crazy, being able to talk to eveyone, and especially to have Brayden there in the house, that was weird. Well I hope that everyone had a really great Christmas and was able to remember why we celebrate Christmas.
This past week has been pretty crazy for me here in Los Angeles. Trying to get Yecenia ready for her baptism, getting all the paperwork filled out. Its very stressful putting on a baptism. But it all went very well and now we are back to finding more people to teach, and continuing with the people that we have right now. We also had the opportunity to have Christmas here in the mission field. Elder Reichman and I woke up and opened up our presents and just had a blast doing so. But now that Christmas is over we are back to work.
It has been a real eye-opener for me being here on the mission. Every morning I walk out the door into Sodom. It is absolutely horrible to see the way the world is going these days. And because of this we have to be on our toes. We have to be strengthening ourselves, and our beliefs. Because there will come a day if it hasn't already, where you will have to stand for what you believe, and if you are not firmly planted you will be swept away, so fast. This isn't a time to have "residence in Zion, and then to also have second residence in Babylon", like Elder Neal A. Maxwell said. This is a time to have your life founded upon the the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not a time to say "all is well in Zion", because I can assure you that it is not, there are many things that need to be changed. The challenge is do we see those things and are we making an active effort to change them. The things that we are doing now are going to be very vital in the coming days. What preparations are we making today? Are we reading the scriptures everyday, especially the Book of Mormon? Are we saying our prayers? Are we going to church every week? Are we being faithful members? Are we having family home evenings every week? Are we going to seminary or institute? Are we just going to the motions or are we working to build up the kingdom of God? Are we spending the time to be with our families? Are we doing our home and visiting teaching? Are we studying the ensigns and other church magazines? Are we serving our fellow men? Take a moment to look at the things that are happening in your lives. Is there something that could be changed, or bettered. And then in this time, with a new year approaching, set a goal to change it. The time to begin the preparations, was yesterday.
Well it was nice to be able to write to you all this wonderful day, hope that all is well and Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother.
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Elder Matthew Whittle-- December 20, 2011
Que Honda!
Pues Primeramente! Happy Birthday to Everyone! haha Mom, Megs, Moma Terry, Moma Moore. I love you all! So for this Sunday, I guess I might call you guys....... I think my day is pretty full of appointments, and President told us it's not mandatory to call home. He said only if we want to.... So we'll see if one of my appointments falls through, but right now it's not looking like it...... Nah I'm just kiddin. I'll probably call around one or two in the afternoon on Sunday. I'm excited to talk to all of you, but at the same time, I feel really weird about it, But it will be good to talk to all of you:)
I'm excited to get the packages you sent. They've been holding them for the past 2 weeks so that we have something to open on Christmas. We're going to have a mission party on saturday, and that's when I'll probably get them. Then after the party We're going to go to Juana's house, and she's going to teach us how to make Tamales. I'm way excited. I love Tamales!
Elder Kidd left the other day and now the area is all mine. I'm scheduling all the appointments, and making all the calls. It's pretty hectic, but it's good. I'm super busy right now. Last night the other elders dropped me off in my area with a member and we went and taught some lessons. It was a super good night. I set another baptismal date for Eliana, and I think she's going to make it this time. I'm way excited for her. It was sad to leave Elder Kidd. We were way good friends. He said he might stop by sometime and say hi to you guys, but we'll see.
Hopefully the police can fix the problem across the street. Sounds like it's getting pretty crazy. Tell dad he needs to go baptize all of them. That would really solve it haha.
It's been so hard to write these past couple weeks. We're so busy that we barely have enough time to wash our clothes. It's really good to be busy though. It helps keep us focused on the work.
I love the people here. I feel like they're all part of my family. They're such great people. Very kind and giving. I've learned a lot from them, but don't worry I still love all of you too;) haha. I hope everything is going great, and I hope you have a great Christmas. I'll most likely talk to you;) Love you all! ok bye.
Con Amor,
Elder Whittle
Pues Primeramente! Happy Birthday to Everyone! haha Mom, Megs, Moma Terry, Moma Moore. I love you all! So for this Sunday, I guess I might call you guys....... I think my day is pretty full of appointments, and President told us it's not mandatory to call home. He said only if we want to.... So we'll see if one of my appointments falls through, but right now it's not looking like it...... Nah I'm just kiddin. I'll probably call around one or two in the afternoon on Sunday. I'm excited to talk to all of you, but at the same time, I feel really weird about it, But it will be good to talk to all of you:)
I'm excited to get the packages you sent. They've been holding them for the past 2 weeks so that we have something to open on Christmas. We're going to have a mission party on saturday, and that's when I'll probably get them. Then after the party We're going to go to Juana's house, and she's going to teach us how to make Tamales. I'm way excited. I love Tamales!
Elder Kidd left the other day and now the area is all mine. I'm scheduling all the appointments, and making all the calls. It's pretty hectic, but it's good. I'm super busy right now. Last night the other elders dropped me off in my area with a member and we went and taught some lessons. It was a super good night. I set another baptismal date for Eliana, and I think she's going to make it this time. I'm way excited for her. It was sad to leave Elder Kidd. We were way good friends. He said he might stop by sometime and say hi to you guys, but we'll see.
Hopefully the police can fix the problem across the street. Sounds like it's getting pretty crazy. Tell dad he needs to go baptize all of them. That would really solve it haha.
It's been so hard to write these past couple weeks. We're so busy that we barely have enough time to wash our clothes. It's really good to be busy though. It helps keep us focused on the work.
I love the people here. I feel like they're all part of my family. They're such great people. Very kind and giving. I've learned a lot from them, but don't worry I still love all of you too;) haha. I hope everything is going great, and I hope you have a great Christmas. I'll most likely talk to you;) Love you all! ok bye.
Con Amor,
Elder Whittle
Monday, December 19, 2011
Elder Corbin Moore-- December 19, 2011
Well another week has passed and gone, its so crazy the concept of mission time. The days seem so long, but then you wake up one day and the whole week is already gone. I can't believe that it is already Christmas. I can so clearly remember the day that I got my call, going to the Post Office to pick it up, and then going to the movies to get out of the house. That day seems like yesterday. And then the day that I entered the MTC that was almost 4 months ago. Time is something that you get a pretty solid grasp of in the mission field. Whether it is having enough time the day to do all the things that you need to do, or having a lot of time without any set appointments and just tracting. Knowing that you have more time that you can't see your family, and at the same time knowing that you only have a limited amount of time to bring people the gospel. To be able to give them the oppurtunity to change there lives for the better. It doesn't matter if you are a missionary, a member of the church, or not a member of the church. Time is one of the most precious things that we have. What would we give to have some more time? Where is it that our time is best spent? "The most important work that we will ever do, is within the walls of our own home"- President Ezra Taft Benson, i think. The most important place that we could focus our time is our Families. Building and strengthing relationships within the family, having priceless moments, and having the knowledge that our relationships can be perpetuated beyond this life. Wouldn't you think that something that will be forever, should be something worth spending time on. We don't have time in this life to harbor bad feelings toward one another especially within our families. We don't have time to put of family, for things that "seem" to be more important, because there isn't anything more important. This time of year we have the amazing oppurtunity to be together as families, and to spend time with one other. We should not be getting to caught up in gifts, shopping, and decorations, that we forget that most important things.
This week has been pretty good, this whole week we have been working with Yecenia to get here ready for her baptisms this Sunday, Christmas, and her birthday also. So it will be a very special day for her. We went to the Visitors Center with her and she really enjoyed it, and the spirit was really strong. So I'm really excited for this sunday. Also last night I recieved a call from Elder Conlin, telling me that he had a surprise for me. Griselda from my old area is getting baptized this Thursday. He then continued by saying that he had a bigger surprise for me. That once she had her interview, that the one thing that she wanted to know is if I was going to be coming, and that she wanted me to speak at her baptism. So this week is going to be so busy, with investigators, writing my talk, and planning the baptism for Yecenia.
Well this sunday is Christmas, and I will have the opportunity to call. I will be calling at 7 o'clock my time, which I believe is 8 o'clock your time. I only have 40 minutes to talk so make sure if you have any questions that you are ready with them. Make sure that you answer any calls that come on sunday. I will be calling the home phone, if I don't get through I will just call cell phones so be ready. Im glad to hear Garrett is up and ready to go, and that Josh is getting ready to return. Josh, make sure to let me know where you are going bro. California is wide open if you'd like. jaja. Well I will talk to you all soon enough.
WELCOME HOME BRAYDEN
Con Amor Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
This week has been pretty good, this whole week we have been working with Yecenia to get here ready for her baptisms this Sunday, Christmas, and her birthday also. So it will be a very special day for her. We went to the Visitors Center with her and she really enjoyed it, and the spirit was really strong. So I'm really excited for this sunday. Also last night I recieved a call from Elder Conlin, telling me that he had a surprise for me. Griselda from my old area is getting baptized this Thursday. He then continued by saying that he had a bigger surprise for me. That once she had her interview, that the one thing that she wanted to know is if I was going to be coming, and that she wanted me to speak at her baptism. So this week is going to be so busy, with investigators, writing my talk, and planning the baptism for Yecenia.
Well this sunday is Christmas, and I will have the opportunity to call. I will be calling at 7 o'clock my time, which I believe is 8 o'clock your time. I only have 40 minutes to talk so make sure if you have any questions that you are ready with them. Make sure that you answer any calls that come on sunday. I will be calling the home phone, if I don't get through I will just call cell phones so be ready. Im glad to hear Garrett is up and ready to go, and that Josh is getting ready to return. Josh, make sure to let me know where you are going bro. California is wide open if you'd like. jaja. Well I will talk to you all soon enough.
WELCOME HOME BRAYDEN
Con Amor Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sister Alex Hartvigsen-- December 13, 2011
Dear Family, I hope everything is going well for you all up there. Things here are going really well. Christmas lights have been going on for about 3 weeks and we are having the opportunity to talk to many people as they come in. It is crazy as between 1000-4000 come in most nights but it is a lot of fun. Last week I was introducing a movie for a group of people in a theater here. My companion did an introduction in English and then I did my part in spanish. When I got finished, a cute little blonde girl on the front row stood up and said loudly enough that everyone could hear it " Well, I don't know what that was!"( refering to my Spanish skills) All the theater burst out laughing and she fled into her mom's arms. it was really cute. This last week has also been a little bit crazy because my companion was just completing her mission and we were busy getting her packed up and prepared to leave. I got transfer news on Saturday night. I will be staying in my Spanish Branch and I am getting Sister Solorzano from Nicaragua. This will be a lot of fun. This week has been good in our area. We met with a recent convert Thursday. We read 3 Nephi 1 with her and talked about how we can trust in the Lord even when things are really hard and he will guide us. We are never left alone. We met with the really big extended family on Monday. They had some doubts about prayer that we addressed . They are Catholic and have been praying to the Virgin Maria. We challenged them to continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it (not through Maria) to get their answer. We talked more about prophets and read with them in the Book of Mormon. We also met with a less active women who is coming back to church. We talked to her about prayer and read part of a conference talk by Elder Bednar about prayer with her.
I really don't know where the time is going. It moves so fast. I hit my year mark on Thursday! It doesn't seem real. I am excited for another great transfer. I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Love Alex
I really don't know where the time is going. It moves so fast. I hit my year mark on Thursday! It doesn't seem real. I am excited for another great transfer. I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Love Alex
Elder Matthew Whittle-- December 13, 2011
Que Honda!
Pues primero para papa, la palabra cholos significa gangsters, y trabajo significa como un job. Como estan todos? Que hay de nuevo? We had two crazy intercambios en la semana pasada. Elder Kidd went clear to Escondido for 24 hours, and two elders came to our area. It was a mission wide spanish exchange. It was pretty intense, and fun. Then we just had another intercambio yesterday. Elder Finan, our district leader, came to our area and Elder Kidd went to the other. It was a good exchange too. It was cool to take the lead in everthing. Mi espanol esta mejorando finalmente.
I honestly have no idea about the call on christmas. I totally forgot about that actually. I guess I'll ask Elder Finan today. Ya Grandma could just put it in the bank. Tell her thanks and that I love her and Grandpa. Also tell them sorry I haven't been able to really write back. Casi nunca tenemos tiempo a escribir. Estamos ocupados. I'll try to write when I get a chance. That's so cool that Trude is going. I'm so excited for him. He's going to bless so many lives. I can't wait for him to get out here. Ojala elder terry comes to California. That would be so sweet. I wonder if they would reassign him to learn spanish. I know that there's a reason for this.
Elder Kidd is going to leave next Monday, so we'll see what happens. Most likely I'll be in a trio for three weeks, but still in charge of pozole y central. He really doesn't want to leave. He's a good missionary. Very focused. I've learned a ton from him. He might stop by and visit you guys on the way home from the airport. We'll see how that goes.
I honestly have no idea about the package stuff. Sorry. I'm as clueless as you are, probably more actually haha. Thanks for sending it though. It's always nice to get packages, and ya some dipping chocolate for the cockroaches suena bien rica! ;)
The other night we talked to a testigo de jehova that I had helped lift a transmission into the back of a car the other day. We got talking about the fall of Adam and we explained to him that it was part of the plan because God had given them two comandments, and he knew what was going to happen. We explained that if it weren't for the fall we wouldn't be here. After that it was like the spirit just smacked him in the face. He thought it was very interesting, and was really nice. It wasn't a bash at all. He said were welcome to come over sometime and talk when were around, but didn't want to set an appointment. He's a really cool guy.
Well I guess I will talk to you all soon. I'm excited for Cho's family, and hope they will be able to feel the spirit to know it's true. It really will change there lives for forever. Well I guess I will talk to you all soon....weird. haha Umm ya keep being the awesome family you are. I love you all. La Iglesia es verdadera, y Jesucristo Vive!
Con Amor,
Elder Whittle
Pues primero para papa, la palabra cholos significa gangsters, y trabajo significa como un job. Como estan todos? Que hay de nuevo? We had two crazy intercambios en la semana pasada. Elder Kidd went clear to Escondido for 24 hours, and two elders came to our area. It was a mission wide spanish exchange. It was pretty intense, and fun. Then we just had another intercambio yesterday. Elder Finan, our district leader, came to our area and Elder Kidd went to the other. It was a good exchange too. It was cool to take the lead in everthing. Mi espanol esta mejorando finalmente.
I honestly have no idea about the call on christmas. I totally forgot about that actually. I guess I'll ask Elder Finan today. Ya Grandma could just put it in the bank. Tell her thanks and that I love her and Grandpa. Also tell them sorry I haven't been able to really write back. Casi nunca tenemos tiempo a escribir. Estamos ocupados. I'll try to write when I get a chance. That's so cool that Trude is going. I'm so excited for him. He's going to bless so many lives. I can't wait for him to get out here. Ojala elder terry comes to California. That would be so sweet. I wonder if they would reassign him to learn spanish. I know that there's a reason for this.
Elder Kidd is going to leave next Monday, so we'll see what happens. Most likely I'll be in a trio for three weeks, but still in charge of pozole y central. He really doesn't want to leave. He's a good missionary. Very focused. I've learned a ton from him. He might stop by and visit you guys on the way home from the airport. We'll see how that goes.
I honestly have no idea about the package stuff. Sorry. I'm as clueless as you are, probably more actually haha. Thanks for sending it though. It's always nice to get packages, and ya some dipping chocolate for the cockroaches suena bien rica! ;)
The other night we talked to a testigo de jehova that I had helped lift a transmission into the back of a car the other day. We got talking about the fall of Adam and we explained to him that it was part of the plan because God had given them two comandments, and he knew what was going to happen. We explained that if it weren't for the fall we wouldn't be here. After that it was like the spirit just smacked him in the face. He thought it was very interesting, and was really nice. It wasn't a bash at all. He said were welcome to come over sometime and talk when were around, but didn't want to set an appointment. He's a really cool guy.
Well I guess I will talk to you all soon. I'm excited for Cho's family, and hope they will be able to feel the spirit to know it's true. It really will change there lives for forever. Well I guess I will talk to you all soon....weird. haha Umm ya keep being the awesome family you are. I love you all. La Iglesia es verdadera, y Jesucristo Vive!
Con Amor,
Elder Whittle
Monday, December 12, 2011
Elder Corbin Moore-- December 12, 2011
Well its another new week here in Los Angeles and I am in a different part of it. I have been transferred from my old area. I am no in an area called LA 6th. Its a pretty interesting area, I have USC in my area but I also have a lot of ghetto, which just gives me a new view. Its so weird not being able to be in my area anymore working with the same people. I hope that they are all doing well without me. My new area is a bike area, and so my legs are really sore, jaja. Sometimes it can getting a little interesting, riding you bike around at night time down here in LA. I have already had some really crazy experiences with the people, and what not. My companions name is Elder Reichman, and its weird because we were pretty good friends in the MTC. He has only been out one more transfer than me. We are doing pretty good here in our area. We have set two baptismal dates for Christmas day. So hopefully those will go through just fine. We are working on finding more investigators so that after our baptisms we will still have more people to be teaching. I got a call from Elder Conlin y Elder Boyd last night. They were just calling to let me know that Griselda Silva should be having her baptism here shortly, and so hopefully I will be able to find a ride to that. It would be nice to see someone that I taught get baptized. And for you dad, I don't really know what is happening with Veronica. It was really weird though because her ex-husband lives in my stake and so they were have a stake christmas thing. Elder Reichman and I were only there because we were going to be picked up by some members to go to the Visitors Center with an investigator, and so I walked in and here comes Veronica with her Ex-husband and her daughter. She was so surprised to see me all the way up here in this area. I was so nice to be able to see her, I hope that everything goes great with her. Im sure Elder Conlin will let me know if they have a baptism with her.These last couple days I have spent a lot of time just trying to adapt to my surroundings and a different lifestyle with the bike. I don't think I've every felt more out of place in my life. I fill as though you could spot me from a million miles away. There are so many Hispanics, African Americans,and some Asians. Just a mix of everyone, expect for Caucasians. It really is great to get to see everyones different cultures. Especially this time of year when people ether have their house just decked out with everything or nothing at all. I miss not being able to have a white Christmas but we are having plenty of rain. I feel as though I am getting the full missionary experience. Just picture me wearing all my church clothes, with my backpack on, riding on my bike in the pouring rain, and then on top of that I am balancing my huge laundry bag on my handlebars as I drive and try not to get hit by the speeding cars down here in LA. Doesn't that just sound really funny. I can't even imagine what people are thinking when they pass me. Jajaja. So it has been really different here, but im just loving every minute of it. The most amazing part about it all, is that I know that there is some one who knows exactly how it is. In Alma 7:11-12, we read about how our savior and the things that he suffered for us. Not once does it mention anything about sin, even though we all know that that was a very big part of it. But these two verses focus specifically on all the other things. For anybody who is reading this e-mail who may be having some struggles right now, I would like you to take a minute, and think about our Savior. Remember that whatever you may be going through now, that there is someone who suffered all. He knows exactly how you are feeling, your struggles, your hardships. As one of my favorite scriptures says, eveything will be for our good. The son of man has descended below them all, art thou greater than he.(D&C 122:7-9) Well hopefully you have a wonderful week. Keep in mind why we celebrate Christmas
Con Amor Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
Con Amor Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Elder Matthew Whittle--December 6, 2011
Que honda!
Wow that storm sounds like it was pretty crazy! I'm glad everyone is ok. So for dad que honda significa "What's up" en la langua de los cholos, y la palabra obra significa "work" como la obra misional (missionary work). El dia de accion de gracias es thanksgiving. un poquito raro no?
So we had a crazy miracle last night. We have an investigador, Eliana, She has been having a problem con fumar (smoking) We talked about fasting before this sunday, and invited her to fast with us for her to be able to stop smoking, and understand what she was learning better. Well we fasted and she got a little sick from it, and didn't come to church, but she still fasted even though she had a bad headache. Well we taught her again last night and she said she had just recieved a letter from her friend that she knows was an answer to her prayer. Then she told us that she's done smoking. She said she had four left in her pack, and she told her cousin anna that she's just going to smoke the last four, but guess what? She just decided to throw the last four away. She's almost ready to be baptized. She also said she wants to give the lesson next week in FHE. It's amazing how fasting works. Some blessings we cannot recieve without fasting.
My hips are doing fine. No problems. I'm glad to hear Cho's doing well. I miss him too. There's a member down here that reminds me a lot of Cho. Cho's such a stud. I'll try to get a letter to him today. We're really busy all the time so it's hard sometimes. So my trainer leaves in 14 days and then I'm in charge of my area. It's going to be pretty intense but I'm excited. I'll probably go over to the elders in the area next to ours, but I'll have the phone, and be setting up all the appointments for our area. I'll probably have to go with a member to visit our investigadors a lot while the other elders visit their investigadors. It's pretty intense, but really exciting.
So you thought some of the houses were a mess? You should totally come down here and see some of the places. I think you would pass out. Some of the houses we go into are really tiny and have tons of cocroaches and spiders on the food, floor, and everywhere else. It's crazy. One lady opened her door once and the part of the door that touches the door frame was just covered in smashed cocroaches. It's pretty nasty. Our problem with the cocroaches is still going on haha. We caught a big spider and cocroach last night and froze them in the freezer. Just for fun haha.
So the other night we were walkin down the street in Pozole, and a kid who always says this to us said, Hey you guys wanna see the devil? So I turned to him and said nope, but If you go look in the mirror you'll see a child of God. Then he just got quiet and kept talking to his friends. It was pretty funny. He's just saying stuff like that to hide his sadness. I wish he would let us help him, but so far no luck. He's just not ready yet.
Well hope you're all doing well back home. I'm doing great here in Oceanside. It's pretty cold right now. Like 50 degrees;) haha I don't know why but it just seems a lot colder than Utah. Probably because of the humidity.Pues, Les amo! hasta luego
Con amor,
Elder Whittle
Wow that storm sounds like it was pretty crazy! I'm glad everyone is ok. So for dad que honda significa "What's up" en la langua de los cholos, y la palabra obra significa "work" como la obra misional (missionary work). El dia de accion de gracias es thanksgiving. un poquito raro no?
So we had a crazy miracle last night. We have an investigador, Eliana, She has been having a problem con fumar (smoking) We talked about fasting before this sunday, and invited her to fast with us for her to be able to stop smoking, and understand what she was learning better. Well we fasted and she got a little sick from it, and didn't come to church, but she still fasted even though she had a bad headache. Well we taught her again last night and she said she had just recieved a letter from her friend that she knows was an answer to her prayer. Then she told us that she's done smoking. She said she had four left in her pack, and she told her cousin anna that she's just going to smoke the last four, but guess what? She just decided to throw the last four away. She's almost ready to be baptized. She also said she wants to give the lesson next week in FHE. It's amazing how fasting works. Some blessings we cannot recieve without fasting.
My hips are doing fine. No problems. I'm glad to hear Cho's doing well. I miss him too. There's a member down here that reminds me a lot of Cho. Cho's such a stud. I'll try to get a letter to him today. We're really busy all the time so it's hard sometimes. So my trainer leaves in 14 days and then I'm in charge of my area. It's going to be pretty intense but I'm excited. I'll probably go over to the elders in the area next to ours, but I'll have the phone, and be setting up all the appointments for our area. I'll probably have to go with a member to visit our investigadors a lot while the other elders visit their investigadors. It's pretty intense, but really exciting.
So you thought some of the houses were a mess? You should totally come down here and see some of the places. I think you would pass out. Some of the houses we go into are really tiny and have tons of cocroaches and spiders on the food, floor, and everywhere else. It's crazy. One lady opened her door once and the part of the door that touches the door frame was just covered in smashed cocroaches. It's pretty nasty. Our problem with the cocroaches is still going on haha. We caught a big spider and cocroach last night and froze them in the freezer. Just for fun haha.
So the other night we were walkin down the street in Pozole, and a kid who always says this to us said, Hey you guys wanna see the devil? So I turned to him and said nope, but If you go look in the mirror you'll see a child of God. Then he just got quiet and kept talking to his friends. It was pretty funny. He's just saying stuff like that to hide his sadness. I wish he would let us help him, but so far no luck. He's just not ready yet.
Well hope you're all doing well back home. I'm doing great here in Oceanside. It's pretty cold right now. Like 50 degrees;) haha I don't know why but it just seems a lot colder than Utah. Probably because of the humidity.Pues, Les amo! hasta luego
Con amor,
Elder Whittle
Sister Alex Hartvigsen-- December 6, 2011
Dear Familia, I hope that everyone is doing well and that no one got blown away in the last batch of crazy weather. Things here are really good. I love my branch (congregation that I'm working with) and all the people are so loving. I hope to be able to stay here for a while. We find out transfer news this Saturday and the chances of a new comp are pretty high especially because Sis N is going home. It will be interesting.
This week has been really good. A few weeks ago we were driving in an part of our area that we normally are not in because it is far away and we have a very small miles limit on our car. We were inspired to turn on this little street and we spotted a family outside their house. We jumped out and started talking to them This family is actually about 4 families living in 2 apartments right next to each other. This sounds kinda familiar huh? We invited them to come to meet with the ward employment specialist on Tuesday night and they all ended up coming (about 12 people) We met with them several times this week and taught the restoration and also the plan of salvation. We had a noche de hogar with them last night with our former branch president in the his home. We invited them to come to church on Sunday and 12 of them came and seemed to really enjoy it. We invited them to be baptized but they feel like they still need to learn more first and we challenged them to continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray to receive an answer. We are really excited to continue to meet with this family.
This last week I studied the doctrines in the Plan of Salvation especially the Atonement. As I studied it hit me once again that even though the Savior did pay the price for our sins it did not eliminate our personal responsibility. We have to accept the Atonement into our own life by doing the things that he is asked us to do in the Doctrine of Christ 2 Nephi 31. If we don't do this we don't have claim to the Atonement. God will not force us to be happy or to accept Him. My job is to help people understand the Atonement and then its is up to those that I teach to apply it and make it a part of their lives.
I love you both so much. Have a great week.
Love Alex
This week has been really good. A few weeks ago we were driving in an part of our area that we normally are not in because it is far away and we have a very small miles limit on our car. We were inspired to turn on this little street and we spotted a family outside their house. We jumped out and started talking to them This family is actually about 4 families living in 2 apartments right next to each other. This sounds kinda familiar huh? We invited them to come to meet with the ward employment specialist on Tuesday night and they all ended up coming (about 12 people) We met with them several times this week and taught the restoration and also the plan of salvation. We had a noche de hogar with them last night with our former branch president in the his home. We invited them to come to church on Sunday and 12 of them came and seemed to really enjoy it. We invited them to be baptized but they feel like they still need to learn more first and we challenged them to continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray to receive an answer. We are really excited to continue to meet with this family.
This last week I studied the doctrines in the Plan of Salvation especially the Atonement. As I studied it hit me once again that even though the Savior did pay the price for our sins it did not eliminate our personal responsibility. We have to accept the Atonement into our own life by doing the things that he is asked us to do in the Doctrine of Christ 2 Nephi 31. If we don't do this we don't have claim to the Atonement. God will not force us to be happy or to accept Him. My job is to help people understand the Atonement and then its is up to those that I teach to apply it and make it a part of their lives.
I love you both so much. Have a great week.
Love Alex
Elder Corbin Moore-- December 6, 2011
Subject: Transfers
Well its been six weeks and is now time for transfers. They will be this wednesday, so yeah just getting everything ready for those. Who knows if I will be staying or going. Well this past week has been pretty good, we have been working a lot with the Silva Family, and they all came to church expect for two of the daughters, because one of them is pregnant and sick, and so obviously someone had to stay behind and help her. But they are progressing great. They are all working towards baptismal dates and are getting really excited for those. One of the daugthers is friends with a member, you just turn 8 and got baptized this saturday. So she attended the baptism and now really wants to get baptized pretty soon. It's so great to be able to begin to teach someone and as you continue coming back, you start to notice a change in them. They just start to seem happier and such. Well it was a good week for them. We are shooting for the 18th of December with them. This week we also had the opportunity to talk with Veronica. She just returned from vacation. So we sat down with her and had a conversation about the gospel. And wow was our minds opened. We had so much light shed on her situation. So we will continue to work with her. She even invited us over on tuesday to have dinner, and to talk. This week I have also had a pretty cool experience. I was able to finish the Book of Mormon. So overall it took me three weeks to read it, and now I have started it in Spanish, maybe i'll be able to finish it in spanish, by the end of the year. I also finished Our Search for Happiness, written by Elder M Russell Ballard. And started the Doctrine and Covenants again. I have had a lot of study things going on this week. Its so nice just to be able to sit down and read more and more stuff about the gospel. (Oh and speaking about, gospel. I also finished Gospel Principle this week too.) jajaja. I many of you know I hate reading, but I have been doing so much here in the Mission field. Yes hear in California we did have some crazy wind storms also. But it was only one night that was really bad. Oh and I was in my first earthquake. It was very small, but still cool to experience. With all of these crazy "Mother Nature" things going on. It makes you think really how close the second coming really is. I have been reading a lot about that lately, and when I start to think about we need to get prepared, because the hour is soon at hand. Getting food storage is an important thing, because there will come a time when we are going to have to have something to live off. The world is slowly starting to spiral into a wicked place. So we just have to be on our toes. "Wo be unto those which shall say all is well in Zion." Satan is working his hardest, because he knows that soon enough he will be bound for 1000 years. Be alert, be ready, and be active in the gospel. If we are continually putting our trust in the Lord and following the counsel of the Prophets we will have nothing to worry about. Keyton thanks for the e-mail, it was funny because I got the one that you sent this week, and then also randomly I finally got the one that you sent on the 30th of October. jajajja. Sounds like you all have been having some crazy times with the wind there in Utah. How about the snow? Mom thanks for the package I finally got that. And thank you to all for the e-mails. Sorry I don't have enough time to write everyone individually, but I really do appreciate all of the emails. Bryson hope that you had a good birthday, and Brayden stay strong to the end. What a blessing it will be when you can say that you gave it your all, every single day of your mission. Make sure you don't forget after you come home that you will always be a missionary. You may not have the badge, but when we were baptized with took his name upon his. Hope that all is well, and that everyone is doing great. I'll let you know about transfers. Mom, not really sure what I'm going to need in the Christmas package. I let you know as soon as I think of anything. Well my time is running thin. As this Christmas season approachs I hope that everyone won't get to caught up in the commercial side of Christmas, but to be able to really think about why we celebrate this time of year. CHRISTmas.
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
Well its been six weeks and is now time for transfers. They will be this wednesday, so yeah just getting everything ready for those. Who knows if I will be staying or going. Well this past week has been pretty good, we have been working a lot with the Silva Family, and they all came to church expect for two of the daughters, because one of them is pregnant and sick, and so obviously someone had to stay behind and help her. But they are progressing great. They are all working towards baptismal dates and are getting really excited for those. One of the daugthers is friends with a member, you just turn 8 and got baptized this saturday. So she attended the baptism and now really wants to get baptized pretty soon. It's so great to be able to begin to teach someone and as you continue coming back, you start to notice a change in them. They just start to seem happier and such. Well it was a good week for them. We are shooting for the 18th of December with them. This week we also had the opportunity to talk with Veronica. She just returned from vacation. So we sat down with her and had a conversation about the gospel. And wow was our minds opened. We had so much light shed on her situation. So we will continue to work with her. She even invited us over on tuesday to have dinner, and to talk. This week I have also had a pretty cool experience. I was able to finish the Book of Mormon. So overall it took me three weeks to read it, and now I have started it in Spanish, maybe i'll be able to finish it in spanish, by the end of the year. I also finished Our Search for Happiness, written by Elder M Russell Ballard. And started the Doctrine and Covenants again. I have had a lot of study things going on this week. Its so nice just to be able to sit down and read more and more stuff about the gospel. (Oh and speaking about, gospel. I also finished Gospel Principle this week too.) jajaja. I many of you know I hate reading, but I have been doing so much here in the Mission field. Yes hear in California we did have some crazy wind storms also. But it was only one night that was really bad. Oh and I was in my first earthquake. It was very small, but still cool to experience. With all of these crazy "Mother Nature" things going on. It makes you think really how close the second coming really is. I have been reading a lot about that lately, and when I start to think about we need to get prepared, because the hour is soon at hand. Getting food storage is an important thing, because there will come a time when we are going to have to have something to live off. The world is slowly starting to spiral into a wicked place. So we just have to be on our toes. "Wo be unto those which shall say all is well in Zion." Satan is working his hardest, because he knows that soon enough he will be bound for 1000 years. Be alert, be ready, and be active in the gospel. If we are continually putting our trust in the Lord and following the counsel of the Prophets we will have nothing to worry about. Keyton thanks for the e-mail, it was funny because I got the one that you sent this week, and then also randomly I finally got the one that you sent on the 30th of October. jajajja. Sounds like you all have been having some crazy times with the wind there in Utah. How about the snow? Mom thanks for the package I finally got that. And thank you to all for the e-mails. Sorry I don't have enough time to write everyone individually, but I really do appreciate all of the emails. Bryson hope that you had a good birthday, and Brayden stay strong to the end. What a blessing it will be when you can say that you gave it your all, every single day of your mission. Make sure you don't forget after you come home that you will always be a missionary. You may not have the badge, but when we were baptized with took his name upon his. Hope that all is well, and that everyone is doing great. I'll let you know about transfers. Mom, not really sure what I'm going to need in the Christmas package. I let you know as soon as I think of anything. Well my time is running thin. As this Christmas season approachs I hope that everyone won't get to caught up in the commercial side of Christmas, but to be able to really think about why we celebrate this time of year. CHRISTmas.
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence
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