Happy Halloween
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Hide Details FROM:Alexandra Hartvigsen TO:Carol Ferguson carol@clubferguson.com Dave, Lisa and Family 11 More...Message flagged Monday, October 31, 2011 11:41 AMMessage body
Dear family, I hope you have a very happy Halloween. I was in the VC his last week giving a tour to a family that just recently moved into our ward. The 7 year old son asked me what I was going to be for Halloween because He was going to be Wolverine. I told him that I was going to be something so scary that even grown men run and hide. I am going to me a Missionary. Later the kid walked up to his mom and said that he had changed his mind. He was going to be a missionary instead of wolverine. He wanted to have his Book of Mormon and his little missionary in training tag. I gave him some VC pass along cards that he can go trade for candy. It was really cute and funny. Later his mom asked him what they did in the temple a few months before when they were all dressed in white. He promptly responded, " you left me" She wanted something more along the lines of they got sealed rather than they left him. It was funny. I got my transfer news on Saturday. I am finally leaving my first Spanish ward. I am going to a Spanish branch that is also in Mesa named Valencia. I think the biggest shocker was that I am going back to Sister Nishiguchi. By the end of this transfer I will have been out a year and be on my 2nd companion in AZ. It will just be for this transfer because she is going home at the end of it. It will be an adventure. Thhis week has been really good in our area. On Monday we were able to have 4 member present lessons. We met with a women and talked about the importance of diligence and obedience. We ate dinner with a less active and her children and talked a about the Atonement with them. Later this week we met with her again and talked about prayer. We read a scripture in 1 Nephi 14 about how we need to pray first and inquire of the Lord before he will give us an answer. She shared an experience about having prayers answered. It was really cool because she admitted that she hadn't thought about prayer for a while but she recognized that she has had prayers answered. We also invited them to come to the trunk or treat that the ward was having so that they were able to meet more people in the ward. We had a family night with a women and her daughters as well as a member family who did a cookie run with her. It was a really good lesson and they ended up sitting all together during Sacrament meeting. We were given a referral for a less active women and her granddaughters by a women in our ward. Those three girls were very excited to see us. We taught them how to pray and each one of them wanted to say a prayer with us right then. Later this week we went to the VC and had a lesson with them about the Plan of Salvation. We had a lesson with a couple together again this week. We invited them to pray together and attend church. They are not really progressing right now so i think we will be dropping them for a while. On Thursday Sister McKee was with us for the day and we had a new investigator. We explained our purpose as missionaries and talked about the firt have of the Restoration. He is searching for something doesn't know what. We set up a time so that we can meet with him and his wife together this next week. We met with a family and taught about how our families can be together forever as well as why we are given commandments.
I have been studying 1 Nephi this last week. What really stood out to me is the contrast between how different people react to the same situation. Nephi hears Lehi teach about the his vision and goes and asks the Lord to help him understand. His brothers do not understand because they do not make the effort to inquire of the Lord and find out for themselves. Heavenly Father expects work to fix a problem. We have to ask and make an effort before the Lord will answer. Otherwise we wouldn't appreciate it and wouldn't learn anything.
I love you all. I hope you have a great week.
Love Alex
K TOWN MISSIONARY MEMOS- A collection of letters from LDS missionaries from the Kaysville, Utah area.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Elder Corbin Morre-- Oct 31, 2011
Hola mi familia y amigos,
Where to begin, I dont really know, jajaja. Well I flew in to Los Angeles on wednesday, we had a good flight here. When we arrived the mission president and his wife were there to pick us up. So I met them and then we loaded up all our bags and headed to the mission home. We got to the mission home and they started making lunch for us, while we did some orientation things. We ate dinner and then were assigned to a temporary companion for the first day. My first day trainer was Elder Conlin, his is a good mission and has been in the mission for like almost 2 years. I was also with another missionary from the MTC because we were "white-washing", where all the missionaries put there are new to the area. So us three went out and began to tract, because we hadn't recieved an area book because it was a new area. So we went make the appartment and dropped off our stuff and then looked at a map. My trainer had us, each pick one street and then we drove to those streets. We arrived on the street that choose, and my trainer turned to me and said okay, this whole street is yours. Wow I was taken my surprise. So I proceeded to start knocking all the doors that were on the street. I went to the first door and knocked. No came to the door so we just moved to the next door. The next house was looking like we might find someone who would listen. So I approached the door feeling like this one was going to be good. Well I knocked on the door and then we heard a bunch of dogs start barking. There was two doors a metal gate type door and the wood door behind it. The door opened and the three dogs pushed open the metal door. The man started screaming way loud and kicked the dogs back inside the house. He slammed to metal door and then turned back to me, and said I DONT WANT YOU GUYS AROUND HERE, I DONT WANT TO SEE YOU AROUND HERE, and then slammed the other door. Who would have thought that my first door would have been the worst and the funniest at the same time. jajaja. So I continued to knock the rest of the doors, and we went to some of the other streets the other Elders had chosen. Then night ended quite fast and we returned to the apartment for the night. We woke up the next morning and traveled back up to the mission home, for more and lunch and more training. We had lunch which was way nice to have and then we had Pres Baker talk to us, and filled out some worksheets, had interviews, and talked with the APs about the zones that they have here. They have 9 zones, 2 of which are brand new zones from like 2 months ago. After we had talked with them for awhile, Brother Olsen, the vehicle coordinator, came and pulled me out to go on a driving test. He gave me the keys to the car and we went driving in the city of LA. I was absolutely
absurd. There are so many people in LA, and so many cars. People drive so differently than what I am used to back home. But no accidents happens so that was good. He had me do some parking test and what not, and that was it. We went back to the mission home where they assigned us our permanent companions for the next 12 weeks. Turned out that I was going to be staying with Elder Conlin to white wash the area. We also receieved another companion because there isn't enough spanish speaking trainers so they had to double up some companionships, and since my area was being white washed they gave us one more missionary. The missionary that we recieved was my companion from the MTC, Elder Boyd. So those are my companions, Elder Conlin, Elder Boyd, and Elder Moore. Elder Conlin is from New Orleans, and is a very hard working missionary he is pretty awesome. So we got our companions and out we went again. And since we didn't have an area book, we just went and did some more tracting. Knocked on a bunch of doors, and then we had correlation meeting. Which is with the ward mission leader, the bishop, and the elders quarom president. I was difficult to report on anything because all three of us were new to the area, and 2 of us were right out of the MTC. Not to mention that the meeting was only spanish, and I couldn't really understand what was going on. Jajaja. We returned to our appartment and the APs dropped my bike off at our appartment, which (was and is) still in the box. I haven't really had need for the bike yet, because Elder Conlin the is the district leader and so we have one of the brand new cars in the mission. So not really sure about the bike yet. Our main goal right now is to find some people to teach. When have a bunch of return appointments hopefully they won't fall through. I went to church yesterday, and man was it so crazy. We arrived and there were so many people that came up to us and started rattling out thier spanish, I could basically understand what they were saying and even responded with some of them. The bishop came up to us when we arrived and told us that we would be singing in sacrament meeting wow that took us by surprise. So we hurried and went into another room and practice. The whole day was pretty crazy in Spanish but Im learning more ever day. Well thats about it for this week, hope everyone is having a good time back home. Talk to you all soon
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Where to begin, I dont really know, jajaja. Well I flew in to Los Angeles on wednesday, we had a good flight here. When we arrived the mission president and his wife were there to pick us up. So I met them and then we loaded up all our bags and headed to the mission home. We got to the mission home and they started making lunch for us, while we did some orientation things. We ate dinner and then were assigned to a temporary companion for the first day. My first day trainer was Elder Conlin, his is a good mission and has been in the mission for like almost 2 years. I was also with another missionary from the MTC because we were "white-washing", where all the missionaries put there are new to the area. So us three went out and began to tract, because we hadn't recieved an area book because it was a new area. So we went make the appartment and dropped off our stuff and then looked at a map. My trainer had us, each pick one street and then we drove to those streets. We arrived on the street that choose, and my trainer turned to me and said okay, this whole street is yours. Wow I was taken my surprise. So I proceeded to start knocking all the doors that were on the street. I went to the first door and knocked. No came to the door so we just moved to the next door. The next house was looking like we might find someone who would listen. So I approached the door feeling like this one was going to be good. Well I knocked on the door and then we heard a bunch of dogs start barking. There was two doors a metal gate type door and the wood door behind it. The door opened and the three dogs pushed open the metal door. The man started screaming way loud and kicked the dogs back inside the house. He slammed to metal door and then turned back to me, and said I DONT WANT YOU GUYS AROUND HERE, I DONT WANT TO SEE YOU AROUND HERE, and then slammed the other door. Who would have thought that my first door would have been the worst and the funniest at the same time. jajaja. So I continued to knock the rest of the doors, and we went to some of the other streets the other Elders had chosen. Then night ended quite fast and we returned to the apartment for the night. We woke up the next morning and traveled back up to the mission home, for more and lunch and more training. We had lunch which was way nice to have and then we had Pres Baker talk to us, and filled out some worksheets, had interviews, and talked with the APs about the zones that they have here. They have 9 zones, 2 of which are brand new zones from like 2 months ago. After we had talked with them for awhile, Brother Olsen, the vehicle coordinator, came and pulled me out to go on a driving test. He gave me the keys to the car and we went driving in the city of LA. I was absolutely
absurd. There are so many people in LA, and so many cars. People drive so differently than what I am used to back home. But no accidents happens so that was good. He had me do some parking test and what not, and that was it. We went back to the mission home where they assigned us our permanent companions for the next 12 weeks. Turned out that I was going to be staying with Elder Conlin to white wash the area. We also receieved another companion because there isn't enough spanish speaking trainers so they had to double up some companionships, and since my area was being white washed they gave us one more missionary. The missionary that we recieved was my companion from the MTC, Elder Boyd. So those are my companions, Elder Conlin, Elder Boyd, and Elder Moore. Elder Conlin is from New Orleans, and is a very hard working missionary he is pretty awesome. So we got our companions and out we went again. And since we didn't have an area book, we just went and did some more tracting. Knocked on a bunch of doors, and then we had correlation meeting. Which is with the ward mission leader, the bishop, and the elders quarom president. I was difficult to report on anything because all three of us were new to the area, and 2 of us were right out of the MTC. Not to mention that the meeting was only spanish, and I couldn't really understand what was going on. Jajaja. We returned to our appartment and the APs dropped my bike off at our appartment, which (was and is) still in the box. I haven't really had need for the bike yet, because Elder Conlin the is the district leader and so we have one of the brand new cars in the mission. So not really sure about the bike yet. Our main goal right now is to find some people to teach. When have a bunch of return appointments hopefully they won't fall through. I went to church yesterday, and man was it so crazy. We arrived and there were so many people that came up to us and started rattling out thier spanish, I could basically understand what they were saying and even responded with some of them. The bishop came up to us when we arrived and told us that we would be singing in sacrament meeting wow that took us by surprise. So we hurried and went into another room and practice. The whole day was pretty crazy in Spanish but Im learning more ever day. Well thats about it for this week, hope everyone is having a good time back home. Talk to you all soon
Con Amor
Elder Moore
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Elder Matthew Whittle-- October 25, 2011
Matthew's new address is:
Elder Matthew Whittle
451 West Bobier Drive
Vista, CA 92083
O and by the way. Yes I did get the bike, and the package. Thank you so much. We bike half the week and have a car for the other half. Love you!
On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 11:34 AM, Matthew Whittle wrote:
Hola mi madre bonita!
It's amazing being in the field I love it. We have so many miracles everyday. I'm in Oceanside and it's great. We're definitely in the Ghetto haha. It's a really good thing because there are so many people who are having hard times, and are humble. Most of them listen to us, and we're just focusing on finding investigadors because we're white washing the area right now. Our first night we had an amazing miracle with a man named David. Dad has the details in my letter to him. Whenever we don't know where to go next, we both say a prayer, and then wait for impressions. We always know where to go after that, and it seems like Heavenly Father is putting people in our path that are ready to hear about the restored church of Jesucristo. We contacted all day yesterday, from 2 until 9. It was a long day, but we had a lot of miracles. We were walking down the street and we saw two mexicanos unloading a truck with a couch in the back, so I ran and said peudo aydarle. They said no, but I just walked up and said pero quiero ayudarle. so they said ok and I grabbed the other end of the couch, and now we have an appointment with the family to come teach them. They said that they are looking for a new religion, kind of a fresh start in their lives. So that was just one of the many miracles we have been having. I love this work it's so amazing. I hope everything is ok at home. I love you all, and pray for you everyday. Keep doing what's right, and remember to always reach out to others. God puts people in our paths for a reason, don't ever be afraid to share the gospel with them. Adios!
Love Elder Whittle
The mission is amazing. I love it here. My first night out, my companion and I prayed before getting out of the car to know where to go. We looked around a while, and then we both had an impression to go to a certain house. We went there and there was a sign that said beware of dogs and a chain link fence. The yard is all dirt with holes everywhere from the dog. So we went in and knocked on the door. Nobody answered, but the owner came around from the backyard. His name is David and he only speaks espanol. We talked for a long time, and he said that he has been making a lot of changes in his life with drugs, and drinking. Then you wont believe what he said to us, but he said you know what, you guys wanna make me mormon, then come on over. So we set up an appointment and we've taught him once, and hopefully we'll teach him today. I challenged him to baptism the first lesson, and the spirit totally hit him. It was amazing. He is going to try and find out if it's what he really wants. He's an awesome guy.
My companion is Elder Kidd from Idaho. He's a great trainer. We are being exactly obedient in everything, and the Lord is guiding people to us. I'm in Oceanside right now in an area called pazole, and central. It's a sweet place. It's the ghetto of ghettos in pazole. Its a lot of fun. Don't tell mom this but it has the highest murder rate in Orange County. Someone was killed last week on the basketball court so it's pretty intense, but they respect us because they see that we're missionaries. We're white washing so we're just trying to get investigadors mostly right now. It's hard work but really fun and rewarding. Our goal was to contact 30 people on the street yesterday, but we ended up contacting 65! it was crazy. A lot of people here have been prepared to receive the gospel for sure. Well I hope all is well. Te amo tambien.
Elder Matthew Whittle
451 West Bobier Drive
Vista, CA 92083
O and by the way. Yes I did get the bike, and the package. Thank you so much. We bike half the week and have a car for the other half. Love you!
On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 11:34 AM, Matthew Whittle
Hola mi madre bonita!
It's amazing being in the field I love it. We have so many miracles everyday. I'm in Oceanside and it's great. We're definitely in the Ghetto haha. It's a really good thing because there are so many people who are having hard times, and are humble. Most of them listen to us, and we're just focusing on finding investigadors because we're white washing the area right now. Our first night we had an amazing miracle with a man named David. Dad has the details in my letter to him. Whenever we don't know where to go next, we both say a prayer, and then wait for impressions. We always know where to go after that, and it seems like Heavenly Father is putting people in our path that are ready to hear about the restored church of Jesucristo. We contacted all day yesterday, from 2 until 9. It was a long day, but we had a lot of miracles. We were walking down the street and we saw two mexicanos unloading a truck with a couch in the back, so I ran and said peudo aydarle. They said no, but I just walked up and said pero quiero ayudarle. so they said ok and I grabbed the other end of the couch, and now we have an appointment with the family to come teach them. They said that they are looking for a new religion, kind of a fresh start in their lives. So that was just one of the many miracles we have been having. I love this work it's so amazing. I hope everything is ok at home. I love you all, and pray for you everyday. Keep doing what's right, and remember to always reach out to others. God puts people in our paths for a reason, don't ever be afraid to share the gospel with them. Adios!
Love Elder Whittle
The mission is amazing. I love it here. My first night out, my companion and I prayed before getting out of the car to know where to go. We looked around a while, and then we both had an impression to go to a certain house. We went there and there was a sign that said beware of dogs and a chain link fence. The yard is all dirt with holes everywhere from the dog. So we went in and knocked on the door. Nobody answered, but the owner came around from the backyard. His name is David and he only speaks espanol. We talked for a long time, and he said that he has been making a lot of changes in his life with drugs, and drinking. Then you wont believe what he said to us, but he said you know what, you guys wanna make me mormon, then come on over. So we set up an appointment and we've taught him once, and hopefully we'll teach him today. I challenged him to baptism the first lesson, and the spirit totally hit him. It was amazing. He is going to try and find out if it's what he really wants. He's an awesome guy.
My companion is Elder Kidd from Idaho. He's a great trainer. We are being exactly obedient in everything, and the Lord is guiding people to us. I'm in Oceanside right now in an area called pazole, and central. It's a sweet place. It's the ghetto of ghettos in pazole. Its a lot of fun. Don't tell mom this but it has the highest murder rate in Orange County. Someone was killed last week on the basketball court so it's pretty intense, but they respect us because they see that we're missionaries. We're white washing so we're just trying to get investigadors mostly right now. It's hard work but really fun and rewarding. Our goal was to contact 30 people on the street yesterday, but we ended up contacting 65! it was crazy. A lot of people here have been prepared to receive the gospel for sure. Well I hope all is well. Te amo tambien.
Sister Alex Hartvigsen--October 25, 2011
Dear family,
This week has been really good. I can not believe that it is already the end of the transfer cycle. We find out transfer news on Saturday night. I have been in this ward for
over 8 months and I'm not sure if I will be staying much longer, but who knows, my trainer was in this ward for over a year. This week we were able to meet with several
of our investigators. We met with a women several times this week and read in the Book of Mormon with her. She has a testimony and wants to be baptized but she
wants to include her daughters more in this. Yesterday we had a family night activity with her and the a family from our ward. We invited them to do bring some treats to
this women's family to kind of break the ice. It went really well and people seemed to bond over the cupcakes and cheesecake that they brought. She has been
fellowshipped into this ward really well and we are working on fellowshipping her daughters. It was a really good night.. We met with a women this week and talked about
paciencia, diligencia y obedencia.(patience, diligence and obedience) We talked about the importance of following the commandments and how we will always be blessed
as we do that. Something that our mission president has really been stressing the last little while is to have the peopel we work with do whats called a cookie run. When
someone does a cookie run they bring a treat ( or in the hispanic community sometimes tortillas) to the house of someone else so that they can get to know more people
and establish friendships. We are planning on having this women do a cookie run this next week to a less active family that lives in her trailor park. We had a lesson with a
couple. They are having some pretty serious struggles and we challenged them to pray together as they strive to find the answers to the problems that they have. We met
with a women. We read with her a little in the Book of Mormon and talked about her relationship with Heavenly Father. She has a really hard time reading but we were
able to locate the recordings of the Book of Mormon so that she can listen to it. On Sunday we had a really cool meeting with a couple They have been meeting with
Jehovah's witnesses for a while. We watched Finding Faith in Christ with them. We talked about how we can come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior. We talked
about the Holy Ghost and explained to them that the feelings of peace that they felt during the movie were from the Holy Ghost.
This week in my personal study I started the Book of Mormon again. I have read it several times in my life but the Spirit is strong every time that I read it I am excited to
learn new things this time around. As I read it I find myself applying the story of Lehi to that of our investigators. Many of them have left their homes, traveled in the desert
and are looking for the truth. Like Nephi they have the opportunity to search the scriptures and then to ask Heavenly Father if it is true and he will always answer them.
(and us). Its weird to think that I have been in AZ for more than 8 months. The time is really flying. I can't believe it.
I love you all. Have a great week
Hermana Hartvigsen
This week has been really good. I can not believe that it is already the end of the transfer cycle. We find out transfer news on Saturday night. I have been in this ward for
over 8 months and I'm not sure if I will be staying much longer, but who knows, my trainer was in this ward for over a year. This week we were able to meet with several
of our investigators. We met with a women several times this week and read in the Book of Mormon with her. She has a testimony and wants to be baptized but she
wants to include her daughters more in this. Yesterday we had a family night activity with her and the a family from our ward. We invited them to do bring some treats to
this women's family to kind of break the ice. It went really well and people seemed to bond over the cupcakes and cheesecake that they brought. She has been
fellowshipped into this ward really well and we are working on fellowshipping her daughters. It was a really good night.. We met with a women this week and talked about
paciencia, diligencia y obedencia.(patience, diligence and obedience) We talked about the importance of following the commandments and how we will always be blessed
as we do that. Something that our mission president has really been stressing the last little while is to have the peopel we work with do whats called a cookie run. When
someone does a cookie run they bring a treat ( or in the hispanic community sometimes tortillas) to the house of someone else so that they can get to know more people
and establish friendships. We are planning on having this women do a cookie run this next week to a less active family that lives in her trailor park. We had a lesson with a
couple. They are having some pretty serious struggles and we challenged them to pray together as they strive to find the answers to the problems that they have. We met
with a women. We read with her a little in the Book of Mormon and talked about her relationship with Heavenly Father. She has a really hard time reading but we were
able to locate the recordings of the Book of Mormon so that she can listen to it. On Sunday we had a really cool meeting with a couple They have been meeting with
Jehovah's witnesses for a while. We watched Finding Faith in Christ with them. We talked about how we can come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior. We talked
about the Holy Ghost and explained to them that the feelings of peace that they felt during the movie were from the Holy Ghost.
This week in my personal study I started the Book of Mormon again. I have read it several times in my life but the Spirit is strong every time that I read it I am excited to
learn new things this time around. As I read it I find myself applying the story of Lehi to that of our investigators. Many of them have left their homes, traveled in the desert
and are looking for the truth. Like Nephi they have the opportunity to search the scriptures and then to ask Heavenly Father if it is true and he will always answer them.
(and us). Its weird to think that I have been in AZ for more than 8 months. The time is really flying. I can't believe it.
I love you all. Have a great week
Hermana Hartvigsen
Monday, October 24, 2011
Elder Josh Terry--October 24, 2011
I would like to thank all of you who have had Josh in your prayers as he has valiantly struggled with this illness. This has been a challenging time for our family as we wrestled with the best way to handle Josh's situation. I can only say that a sense of peace came for me last week as I recognized and admitted my own limited ability to "solve" this problem and finally just put it in the hands of the Lord.
Josh was given permission to call us yesterday to discuss his options. Clark and I both feel strongly that it is time to bring him home for needed medical attention and, of course, some rest and TLC. As you can imagine, it was difficult for Josh to "give up". He has tried so hard to hang in there and work through the pain. However, once the decision was made I think we all felt better.
We look forward to seeing him again and to finding the source of and solution to his illness. We pray that it is something that can be taken care of quickly so that he can return to the missionary service in Minnesota that he has come to love. I know that is what Josh desires and we pray that the Lord wants that for him as well.
Thank you again for your love and support. I know that Josh appreciates it so very much..,as do I! Following is his email from today.
Love,
Stephanie
Hey!
So it looks like I will be coming home tomorrow or Wednesday. It really is so hard to think that I have to be home for a little bit. I wouldn't change this experience for anything though, I know it has really helped me grow. Besides that, I just checked my sent messages from the first day I got here within the first hour and I said I had headaches and dizziness. Hmm. so I don't know that it is MN related after all.
It will be nice just to come and get everything figured out so I can serve with full strength in 6 weeks or so. I just hope it only will take 1 transfer until I'm back out. Well, I am so grateful for you all. Thank you all for the letters and the support that you have given me. I know that we didn't plan on me having to come home and I've used just about every excuse to not get sent home, but the lord may indeed have bigger plans.
As I was pondering this morning I had the impression come to me that I should try and see Alex Tamayo, the one that Tanner Williams said he had that experience about in the temple - that he was ready for the gospel. Well, Matt and I were supposed to do that and we never really got around to it. I am going to go talk with him when I get home. I'm not saying that's the reason for me having to come home but it definitely helps and will keep me productive. I look forward to going on splits and studying with everyone back home. Tell Tyler we are going to have to go out to do missionary work a lot. That would be a lot of fun.
So we went and visited the Will's family last night. That great family who helped us with everything. I am so grateful for them. I got their info and we will keep in touch. Also, there is a less active lady in our ward who started crying when I told her I was leaving. I felt bad but I think I'm going to go have one more lesson with her early tomorrow and also a lesson with Lynch and the Kolbes tonight. It will be my opportunity to leave my final testimony with them until I come back! Hopefully when I come back it will be to Andover sometime.
It's comforting to know that I will be back. It's weird how you get attached to places that you serve like this. I can't even imagine how much more I would love my mission if I was in full health!!! I really love just talking to people now. I love that we have the knowledge that can bring so much happiness. However, it has made it that much harder when people push you away.
I love you all so much and look forward to our time together to grow closer as a family, especially on our spiritual side! It truly is amazing what the gospel can do for us in our lives. Have a great day and it looks like I will be seeing you soon.
Josh
Josh was given permission to call us yesterday to discuss his options. Clark and I both feel strongly that it is time to bring him home for needed medical attention and, of course, some rest and TLC. As you can imagine, it was difficult for Josh to "give up". He has tried so hard to hang in there and work through the pain. However, once the decision was made I think we all felt better.
We look forward to seeing him again and to finding the source of and solution to his illness. We pray that it is something that can be taken care of quickly so that he can return to the missionary service in Minnesota that he has come to love. I know that is what Josh desires and we pray that the Lord wants that for him as well.
Thank you again for your love and support. I know that Josh appreciates it so very much..,as do I! Following is his email from today.
Love,
Stephanie
Hey!
So it looks like I will be coming home tomorrow or Wednesday. It really is so hard to think that I have to be home for a little bit. I wouldn't change this experience for anything though, I know it has really helped me grow. Besides that, I just checked my sent messages from the first day I got here within the first hour and I said I had headaches and dizziness. Hmm. so I don't know that it is MN related after all.
It will be nice just to come and get everything figured out so I can serve with full strength in 6 weeks or so. I just hope it only will take 1 transfer until I'm back out. Well, I am so grateful for you all. Thank you all for the letters and the support that you have given me. I know that we didn't plan on me having to come home and I've used just about every excuse to not get sent home, but the lord may indeed have bigger plans.
As I was pondering this morning I had the impression come to me that I should try and see Alex Tamayo, the one that Tanner Williams said he had that experience about in the temple - that he was ready for the gospel. Well, Matt and I were supposed to do that and we never really got around to it. I am going to go talk with him when I get home. I'm not saying that's the reason for me having to come home but it definitely helps and will keep me productive. I look forward to going on splits and studying with everyone back home. Tell Tyler we are going to have to go out to do missionary work a lot. That would be a lot of fun.
So we went and visited the Will's family last night. That great family who helped us with everything. I am so grateful for them. I got their info and we will keep in touch. Also, there is a less active lady in our ward who started crying when I told her I was leaving. I felt bad but I think I'm going to go have one more lesson with her early tomorrow and also a lesson with Lynch and the Kolbes tonight. It will be my opportunity to leave my final testimony with them until I come back! Hopefully when I come back it will be to Andover sometime.
It's comforting to know that I will be back. It's weird how you get attached to places that you serve like this. I can't even imagine how much more I would love my mission if I was in full health!!! I really love just talking to people now. I love that we have the knowledge that can bring so much happiness. However, it has made it that much harder when people push you away.
I love you all so much and look forward to our time together to grow closer as a family, especially on our spiritual side! It truly is amazing what the gospel can do for us in our lives. Have a great day and it looks like I will be seeing you soon.
Josh
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Elder Matthew Whittle-- October 17, 2011
Hola mi madre bonita!
Yo he tenido muchas experiencias bueno en la CCM pero estoy listo por el campo. Estoy muy animado. I did get the package from the Andersons. Tell them thank you for me and that I love them all. Tell Danny and Mary thanks so much and I love them. They're great. Thanks for setting up the whole thing with the bike. I already have a referal for my mission. A father who has a daughter in the MTC right now who is inactive who lives in Escondido! I can't wait to get down there and knock my first door! It's going to be such a great experience. My companion left this morning at 4 and that was sad. Elder Prince is one of the greatest Elders I have ever met. He's very obedient, fun, and humble. We have had some very good lessons filled with the spirit. I feel like I have worked my hardest in the MTC and feel like I'm as ready as I can be. I'm not too nervous, more so just excited.
I'm glad Elder Terry wasn't sent home yet. I pray for him everyday. He's a great Elder and I think the Lord will get him through this according to his faith. I took some pictures yesterday at the Temple. I'll try and send you some when I get a chance. I leave the MTC tomorrow at 5 in the morning and hopefully will have time to call at the airport. I'm pretty sure I will. I bought a time card here in the MTC bookstore so I should be good to go. Thanks for everything madre. I love you. Keep smiling. Everyone in my district said you have the nicest smile, and as a missionary I understand why that is so important. Keep making peoples days around you with that smile. Elder Wirthlin once said, "The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try and laugh instead. Come what may and love it." I love all of you. Tell everone hi for me. I will talk to you tomorrow!
Love Elder Whittle
Hope you and mom have a good UEA weekend. I'm not in the field yet, but I will be tomorrow around 12 in the afternoon. I'm really excited. I can't wait to knock on my first door. I have a referal for a family in Escondido already so that will be great. I'm glad you had a good time camping. Thanks for helping Trude. He's going to be a great missionary. Estoy listo por el campo. yo he trabajando duro en la CCM y siento que estoy listo. Ofcourse I will work my guts out because I know who I'm serving and why. no tengo muchas tiempo pero te amo, y yo oro para usted cada noche tambien. hablare con usted en la maniana. Vaya con Dios! Nos vemos.
Elder Whittle
Yo he tenido muchas experiencias bueno en la CCM pero estoy listo por el campo. Estoy muy animado. I did get the package from the Andersons. Tell them thank you for me and that I love them all. Tell Danny and Mary thanks so much and I love them. They're great. Thanks for setting up the whole thing with the bike. I already have a referal for my mission. A father who has a daughter in the MTC right now who is inactive who lives in Escondido! I can't wait to get down there and knock my first door! It's going to be such a great experience. My companion left this morning at 4 and that was sad. Elder Prince is one of the greatest Elders I have ever met. He's very obedient, fun, and humble. We have had some very good lessons filled with the spirit. I feel like I have worked my hardest in the MTC and feel like I'm as ready as I can be. I'm not too nervous, more so just excited.
I'm glad Elder Terry wasn't sent home yet. I pray for him everyday. He's a great Elder and I think the Lord will get him through this according to his faith. I took some pictures yesterday at the Temple. I'll try and send you some when I get a chance. I leave the MTC tomorrow at 5 in the morning and hopefully will have time to call at the airport. I'm pretty sure I will. I bought a time card here in the MTC bookstore so I should be good to go. Thanks for everything madre. I love you. Keep smiling. Everyone in my district said you have the nicest smile, and as a missionary I understand why that is so important. Keep making peoples days around you with that smile. Elder Wirthlin once said, "The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try and laugh instead. Come what may and love it." I love all of you. Tell everone hi for me. I will talk to you tomorrow!
Love Elder Whittle
Hope you and mom have a good UEA weekend. I'm not in the field yet, but I will be tomorrow around 12 in the afternoon. I'm really excited. I can't wait to knock on my first door. I have a referal for a family in Escondido already so that will be great. I'm glad you had a good time camping. Thanks for helping Trude. He's going to be a great missionary. Estoy listo por el campo. yo he trabajando duro en la CCM y siento que estoy listo. Ofcourse I will work my guts out because I know who I'm serving and why. no tengo muchas tiempo pero te amo, y yo oro para usted cada noche tambien. hablare con usted en la maniana. Vaya con Dios! Nos vemos.
Elder Whittle
Elder Josh Terry--October 17, 2011
Message body
Thank you to all who have been praying for Josh. The latest word from the Mission President is that after the apartment cleanup was complete he would give Josh a few days to show signs of improvement (It has been a day and a half - nothing yet. Clark's employee has a son who suffered from a mold allergy who exhibited the exact same symptoms as Josh...it took a week before he showed signs of improvement after being completely removed from the source of the mold). If he does not improve quickly he will be transferred to a new area and given a few more days to improve. At that point, if he is not on the road to recovery, President Clements plans to send him home for testing and treatment.
Please pray for a miracle. This week will be critical in determining the course that is taken. As you know, Josh has such a desire to stay and serve. We want to see him restored to health - no matter what it takes!
Thanks again,
Stephanie
Family
How are we all doing this week?? I love to read all of your letters and emails. it is what gets me through the hard times and the trials.. So, about the mold... they mainly found the black mold on the shower curtain which was nasty. So i chucked that as soon as i could. I was shocked that people had let it get that bad in there. You would be so shocked at all of the stuff we did to that apartment..
Before i get carried away i should probably tell you that I am not feeling much better. But I am not coming home either. I am determined that I will work through this, no matter the trial. . I've heard more times this week through sacrament and other meetings as well as letters that our god is a fourth watch God. There is someone that the adversary doesn't want me to find. I know that eventually everything will be ok, so try not to worry too much on my behalf. And if they end up making me go home i will try to make it a quick recovery. This has all been a huge learning experience and though it really has been probably the biggest challenge, I wouldn't change a thing. I've grown so much from this. I've learned that you have to bear all you can and give the rest to the lord. So even if they force me to come home for a while I will never forget that.
So there is this family (the Wills) that has us over for dinner about once a week. they are such a nice family. Anyway, i told him that i may have to go home and he didn't like that at all. He gave me a lot of compliments on the work getting done here. He is so nice. Anyway he came over and inspected the apartment. I was shocked at how much he did for us. He said his main focus right now is keeping me on my mission and in Andover. So he came and had the carpet professionally cleaned, threw away all the cloth furniture, donated us his couch, bought us new mattresses, painted the entire apartment, bought us new lamps, bought us a new shower curtain and had like 10 people come over and lysol the whole place. Also, he put a dehumidifier and an air purifier in our apartment for the next little while. Now all we have to do is get that tilex stuff and finish the bathroom. but he is such an amazing person for doing that. I am so grateful. We should be good in that apartment.
So, one thing Elder Watkins said the week before last, when I was trying to get more rest, was that as long as the Lord sees that we are doing our best he will still provide us with investigators. I found that hard to believe seeing as we wouldn't be out hardly at all. But, one day as we were taking out our garbage this lady stopped us and asked what we were all about. We got talking and she told us (without us asking) to stop by sometime and talk to her about religion because she needed all the help that she could get. It really goes to show that the Lord works in mysterious ways and he is always aware of the situation of everyone. That was a real testimony builder for me that the Lord is preparing people for us as well as preparing us to find them.
It's really cool to see all the little miracles that happen each day as a missionary. I keep running into surprises as I'm reading, that talk about being patient with faith and the Lord will lighten your burden and give you success. I feel like he is talking directly to me sometimes. It really is crazy how the scriptures can talk to you when you go in with the intent to learn.
Well, thank you for all you guys do for me. I love you all so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be out here spreading the word of God. Thank you for everything. I always look forward to Mondays when I can hear from you. Love you! Talk to you next week.
Thank you to all who have been praying for Josh. The latest word from the Mission President is that after the apartment cleanup was complete he would give Josh a few days to show signs of improvement (It has been a day and a half - nothing yet. Clark's employee has a son who suffered from a mold allergy who exhibited the exact same symptoms as Josh...it took a week before he showed signs of improvement after being completely removed from the source of the mold). If he does not improve quickly he will be transferred to a new area and given a few more days to improve. At that point, if he is not on the road to recovery, President Clements plans to send him home for testing and treatment.
Please pray for a miracle. This week will be critical in determining the course that is taken. As you know, Josh has such a desire to stay and serve. We want to see him restored to health - no matter what it takes!
Thanks again,
Stephanie
Family
How are we all doing this week?? I love to read all of your letters and emails. it is what gets me through the hard times and the trials.. So, about the mold... they mainly found the black mold on the shower curtain which was nasty. So i chucked that as soon as i could. I was shocked that people had let it get that bad in there. You would be so shocked at all of the stuff we did to that apartment..
Before i get carried away i should probably tell you that I am not feeling much better. But I am not coming home either. I am determined that I will work through this, no matter the trial. . I've heard more times this week through sacrament and other meetings as well as letters that our god is a fourth watch God. There is someone that the adversary doesn't want me to find. I know that eventually everything will be ok, so try not to worry too much on my behalf. And if they end up making me go home i will try to make it a quick recovery. This has all been a huge learning experience and though it really has been probably the biggest challenge, I wouldn't change a thing. I've grown so much from this. I've learned that you have to bear all you can and give the rest to the lord. So even if they force me to come home for a while I will never forget that.
So there is this family (the Wills) that has us over for dinner about once a week. they are such a nice family. Anyway, i told him that i may have to go home and he didn't like that at all. He gave me a lot of compliments on the work getting done here. He is so nice. Anyway he came over and inspected the apartment. I was shocked at how much he did for us. He said his main focus right now is keeping me on my mission and in Andover. So he came and had the carpet professionally cleaned, threw away all the cloth furniture, donated us his couch, bought us new mattresses, painted the entire apartment, bought us new lamps, bought us a new shower curtain and had like 10 people come over and lysol the whole place. Also, he put a dehumidifier and an air purifier in our apartment for the next little while. Now all we have to do is get that tilex stuff and finish the bathroom. but he is such an amazing person for doing that. I am so grateful. We should be good in that apartment.
So, one thing Elder Watkins said the week before last, when I was trying to get more rest, was that as long as the Lord sees that we are doing our best he will still provide us with investigators. I found that hard to believe seeing as we wouldn't be out hardly at all. But, one day as we were taking out our garbage this lady stopped us and asked what we were all about. We got talking and she told us (without us asking) to stop by sometime and talk to her about religion because she needed all the help that she could get. It really goes to show that the Lord works in mysterious ways and he is always aware of the situation of everyone. That was a real testimony builder for me that the Lord is preparing people for us as well as preparing us to find them.
It's really cool to see all the little miracles that happen each day as a missionary. I keep running into surprises as I'm reading, that talk about being patient with faith and the Lord will lighten your burden and give you success. I feel like he is talking directly to me sometimes. It really is crazy how the scriptures can talk to you when you go in with the intent to learn.
Well, thank you for all you guys do for me. I love you all so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be out here spreading the word of God. Thank you for everything. I always look forward to Mondays when I can hear from you. Love you! Talk to you next week.
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