Two Letters from the Mission Field! Nov 16 & 22!!

Hola Padres!!!!!!!    16 Nov 2010
Well it is my first P-day here in the good ole mission of St. George. As you probably figured out by this email, my P-Days are on Mondays now. It was good to get here and actually be a real missionary, instead of one who just sits and learns in a class room all day. I have had a pretty eventful week. I am sure that my mission will continue to become that way. Well you are probably wondering where my area is and about my companion and all that stuff huh? Well my first area is in Hurricane!!!

Yes, Bro. DeMille called it before I left, he said my first area would be in Hurricane, and sure enough here I am. My area only has one little Spanish branch in it. But we cover 3 different stakes. We cover about a 30 mile area from one side to the other just because we are Spanish. The zone I am in was that most successful zone last transfer. I find myself lucky to be in this zone. The other good part is that we have a ton of investigators to teach and a bunch of inactive/part member families as well. The only bad thing is that a lot of the time we have to end up sharing baptisms with the English Elders. That is because the parents of a family may only speak Spanish, but most of the kids are able to speak English. So they will go to the English wards instead of the Branch. That only sucks because we end up finding about 3/4 of the baptisms for the English Elders, their only job is to teach a few lessons and then commit them to a date. (If only all missionaries could have it so rough!! – the mom)

Well my trainer is Elder Perez. He is a tall blonde kid from Miami. He is pretty cool. Once again not someone I would particularly choose to hang out with but he is a good Elder nonetheless. But wait there is more, for the second time I am in a Trio. The other companion is Elder Carter. He is technically not part of this mission; he just was reassigned here while he is waiting for a visa to go to Mexico City. He is from Bakersfield, California. The language is definitely a lot different out here then in the MTC. Everyone speaks so fast, but I am beginning to adjust to the speed of it all. But I still kind of just sit there during lessons just soaking it all in. I have been opening my mouth a little more and talking in our last couple of lessons. But I know that it is not my words being spoken, but they are the Lord's words. I am just trying to embrace the language and study as hard as I can to learn it quickly so I can communicate with the people I have to teach.

The weather here is basically a lot like home. It may be a little bit warmer here then at home but still a lot of the same.   The scenery is definitely different tho. The rocks and dirt is definitely something you have to see to believe. I am glad that I was able to serve in an area where it isn't to the point where I am freezing the whole time I am outside. I still am able to go out in just a short sleeve shirt in the mornings, it does get a little cold once the sun sets behind the mountains here. One of the really cool things that happened yesterday, was one of the recent converts that was only baptized 3 weeks ago, was called as the executive secretary of the Branch. So that meant that he had to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was pretty awesome to stand in on that, but also to hear it done in Spanish. That was definitely an experience. Church was also another one, instead of just half of a meeting being in Spanish, I had 3 whole hours to try and understand what people were saying. It will definitely be nice when I understand what people are saying to me all the time.

 At the end of the week, we have a BAPTISM!!!! There is a family that has been taking the lessons and is supposed to be baptized at the end of the week. The father was inactive for a long time but now they are back in the swing of things. That should be a really exciting experience to go through.

 It was nice to hear about Dyllon's mom and that she got baptized. That is an awesome thing. I love seeing how the happiness of the gospel truly changes the lives of people who apply the principles. Well things are going good here, and I hope that everything is going good back up in Washington. Well I love you so so very much!!
Live it, Love it, Preach it!     Elder D

22 Nov 2010 from Hurricane, Utah

Hola!!!                                                             22 Nov 2010

     Well it once again is time for me to write my email home. It is nice being able to actually feel I have time to write what I feel I need to, and not be rushed. There has been a ton that has happened since I last wrote. The joys of being a missionary huh?

     Last Monday was probably one of my favorite days in the mission field. We just seemed to have an extremely good night. We were able to just go and teach and I felt super good about it all. It felt like I really connected with the people that we taught and affected them for the better. But all good things come to an end; the last few days have been pretty tough. A lot of people have just been canceling our appointments and going out of town. Not very many people are progressing.

     We see some pretty funny stuff on the mission. One guy we are teaching named Cesar is probably one of the funniest of all. We invited him to be baptized and he said he wanted to, but he had to ask his mom first. Well most of you think well that is reasonable and that he is probably about 17 or 18. Well he is about 35 and has 6 kids of his own, but still has to ask his mom permission to do something that he wants to do.

     Well the one bright spot this week, was that we picked up a few new investigators. There is one that is practically golden! His name is Ricardo. He has definitely had a rough past and he is a UFC fighter. He has been threw a lot, but recognizes the happiness that comes from the Gospel. It's definitely weird to be around him. He gets really emotional and he doesn't like it because his whole life he has been told to not cry, but when he is with us he always cries. He is really awesome and enjoys having us over to help him and teach him. He is probably one of my favorite investigators. That is probably because he is the only one that we teach in English and I actually understand what is going on!! Like I said this week has been pretty tough. I know it is not about numbers, but our numbers this week, definitely don't reflect our efforts! Hopefully these improve.

      On Saturday, I had my first real day of walking. We walked about 6-7 miles. Which is really unusual for us, since we have a car. But we are trying to save our miles so that we don’t go over at the end of the month. But it was pretty tough, my legs were definitely sore! I even have a blister on the bottom of my foot. I didn't even get blisters from all the practices for basketball.

    Another funny thing, is here it seems that everyday more and more family of Bro. DeMille comes out of the woodwork!!! Like yesterday, we were just going to a correlation and a family that we ate with about a week ago, comes up and asks if I am from Washington, so I say yes??? Then she says did you have quite a character as a Sunday School teacher, and then says that they are related. It is ridiculous how small of a world it really is. So you can let him know, that his family has committed to taking care of me while I am here.

     Well it is weird that I have almost been out for three months. The language is still extremely humbling!! I am almost able to make out what most people are saying and can say little phrases. But being able to talk and respond is extremely hard. It’s hard just because most of my vocabulary is about the Gospel, not really outside of that. So I am really striving to work on, is being about to understand things outside of a Gospel context in SPANISH.

     Well I hope everything is going good back at home!! I hope that you have a good Thanksgiving and truly be grateful for everything that the Lord has blessed us with!!!
I love you all a ton!!     Live it, Love it, Preach it!!    Elder D

ELDER DAVIS ARRIVED IN ST. GEORGE!!

Elder Davis with President and Sister Leonard  And a MAP of his mission area -- He is in the bottom LEFT corner!!  Hurricane, UT

ELDER DAVIS HAS ARRIVED IN ST. GEORGE!!!

From Chad:      11-12-2010    

Well, I made it!  Who would have ever thought that I would actually be a missionary in the field!  I thought my 9 weeks in the MTC was never going to end!  Well, I am here in St. George eating breakfast at the President’s home. It is nice to have some REAL food! J

St. George is amazing; I have never seen anything like this place before!  The plane was just a little propeller plan that only had 33 people on it!  I got sick right after we landed.  (Chad has always been sensitive to motion sickness while traveling and especially if he gets overly warm.) 

Well, I am here and ready to WORK!!

I LOVE YOU!    Elder Davis

FROM Keith G. Leonard, Mission President; Utah St. George Mission: 11-12-10

We are delighted to report that your son arrived safely at the mission home with an impressive group of missionaries. After a full morning of orientation, I have personally interviewed each missionary.  I was most impressed with the high level of enthusiasm they have for the work and their desire to teach the gospel.  

Elder Davis is well and in high spirits as he contemplates his new opportunities.  We will be watching over him in all his labors while he is here. To help you support his work here as a full-time missionary, we have enclosed some suggestions about how you can best assist with the success of your missionary. (Basically, family and friends remember that he is not to have any in-person visitors, letters are encouraged, no telephone calls, and if you send any care packages, small items are best.  He is limited to the amount of luggage he can haul around for two years!)  You will find a map showing the location of his first assignment. HURRICANE, Utah – Spanish Speaking Area.

We know that you will experience marvelous blessings as you support your son while he serves the Lord honorably and obediently on his mission. We pray for the Lord’s blessings upon you, your missionary and his other loved ones. 

            Sincerely,             Keith Leonard.   

ARRIVED IN ST. GEORGE....we think!!

Hello to those who are keeping up with Elder Davis in the mission field.  We received a phone call on Wednesday morning saying Chad was at the airport and headed to St. George with 11 other missionaries, 3 others were Spanish speaking as is Chad. 

We had hoped to receive an email or letter stating WHERE he is assigned, but have yet to receive that information!!  He was anxious on Wednesday morning and expressed his joy of serving the Lord and arriving in the mission field.  We will keep you updated once we actually hear from him or his mission president!     Love to you all!   (the mom and dad!)

November 3rd letter - ONE WEEK TO ST. GEORGE!

Hola Padres!                                      November 11, 2010 

Well to start off, all the snow has melted. We are completely snowless and it is about in the 50s here.

      Here is something to think about, the next email you will get will be from St. Geezy!!!! At this time next Wednesday I will be in the air flying there!!!! That is so awesome to think about. My excitement is indescribable. The time here has flown by! My teaching skills have increased ten fold since the first week. I would have never thought that my Spanish would be at the point it is right now. If I would have been told that this is how my Spanish would be, I wouldn’t have believed it at all. I can basically talk about the Gospel fluently. But it’s just the common sense stuff for the other part.

     I got to dress up for Halloween.... any guesses??? That’s right, a missionary!

       All the rest of my district leaves on Sunday to go to Chile and then my companions leave on Tuesday, so I am the last person to leave. So since we are all leaving, our district sang Amazing Grace in Sacrament Meeting. It was awesome. It was Spiritual, yet soulful! It was all influenced by Elder Vance. Elder Vance is a musical genius!!! He can play any song on the piano and has a voice like an angel. He actually got to sing at one of the Firesides for the whole MTC! He has some songs on Itunes and loves music but doesn’t know if he wants to make it a career. Look him up Jonny Vance and the SGC.   (Marilyn, this is YOUR area, what do you think???) 

      I got to talk to Elder Scrimsher a lot on Sunday too. My companion, Elder Wood, took some pictures with all the missionaries from his home ward, and Elder Scrimsher was there because one of the Elders in his room was from that ward. It was nice to just catch up and talk with a familiar person. It’s weird to think that in a week I won’t see him or anyone I know for 22 months.

      Last night we were blessed to listen to another Apostle. That’s right, we had an Apostle speak at the Devotional for 3 straight weeks!!! This week it was M. Russell Ballard. He spoke on being a master communicator. It was an excellent talk, I wouldn’t expect any less from an Apostle.

        Well this week will fly by and the next letter will be from St. George. So people need to send all the letters to the other address. I love you all so much!!

              Live it, Love it, Preach it!!

                         Elder D!