HAPPY FATHER'S DAY POPS! 

**In Honor of Fathers Day this Sunday, I am including Chad's note home to his father -- I usually keep these tender thoughts private.  Considering all that is going on with our family, I asked Darin for permission to share.  Enjoy! **

Thanks pops! I really appreciate the letter that you sent me. I know that you have never been too much of a writer, but I do appreciate anything I can get from you. It is good to hear that you spoke in church on the Book of Mormon. I really love that subject. That is the one major thing that helped me decide to come on my mission and it has been a source of light for me since I have been here. I have been reading the Ensign from last October that is all about the Book of Mormon. I really enjoyed the old talk by President Benson, about it being the Keystone of our religion and how we should make the Book of Mormon the "keystone" of our lives as well.

   I am glad you have been working a lot lately. It will keep you out of trouble! haha   All is well here and everything continues to be. I am grateful to have you as my earthly father and to call you my hero. Just remember that I do love you with all my heart (I guess it is split between you and mom and the Lord), but I do you love you very much and I know that you will always be my father. Here on Earth and in the eternities if we will just do our part and live up to the covenants that we have made at baptism and in the temple. This is the Lord's true church here upon the earth, never forget that. The gospel will always bring us happiness and eventually it will bring us "never ending joy". (Mosiah 2:41) I love you pops! Remember who you are! (my father, my hero, and a son of God!)    ELDER DAVIS

 June 11, 2012

Well it is that time again here in the wonderful land of Utah, that I have been calling home for the last 21 months. Every week is an adventure and a learning experience. This week was quite interesting. It wasn't the greatest week, nor was it the worst week. It was just one of those average weeks that makes you keep on going forward. We were able to have some good experiences and some funny ones, but that is always to be expected.
Last Monday, we did have the chance to meet with Priscilla. She is the lady that was baptized about 2 months ago, and then we baptized her daughter. As you know, she has breast cancer, and she actually started her Chemo treatments. So we took the opportunity to stop by and visit her with the Ward Mission Leader. She has been feeling pretty crummy lately from all of the Chemo running through her body. But her faith is so amazing. She asked us if we would be able to give her a blessing to help her through this time and throughout the whole time that she is receiving treatments. I was lucky enough to be able to give her the blessing. I really don't remember what I said, but I just know that I blessed her with the power to bear her afflictions and to look unto the Savior, for he knows her pains. It was a very powerful moment. She has always been so in tune with the Spirit the whole time that we have taught her. After the blessing she just sat in the chair and soaked it all in. Through tears in her eyes, she looked up at me and said, "Thank you for everything that you have done for me and for Andrea." I know that I was truly sent here to this area to teach her.
On a lighter note, we went to talk to an older lady that we got referred to by some members. It was pretty funny, because she was nice like almost all old ladies are. She grew up in a less active LDS home, but never got baptized. Now she is in her 80s and saw her great grandson get baptized a month ago. She said that she felt a "good feeling" while she was there. So we talked about what that "good feeling" is and what that meant. We talked about how there is no age limit on baptism and she just said that she knows she should have done it, but now she is just too old to do that. We will follow up with her in a few weeks and see if there is any change.
       We were able to start teaching this kid named Bret. His family is less active, but his dad was pretty supportive to everything that we were teaching him. We bore testimony of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We have an appointment with him this evening, so hopefully we can get that moving in the right direction.
       This week we spent a little time tracting (knocking doors). It is something that I haven't really done too much in this area, but we having been needing to try something different. We spent most of Saturday tracting in 30 MPH winds. It was funny to see how tired Elder Linville was afterwards. When we finished tracting, we went to talk to a member about some people in that ward. Elder Linville fell asleep in the chair he was in. It was quite funny.
     Another funny moment this week was that Elder Linville sat down in a chair on Sunday and just blew out his pants. They ripped in about 3 places; on the backside, next to the pocket, and on the leg. He was super embarrassed, because it was at our dinner, and the family has like 5 girls in their home. He seriously turned fire engine red!
       On Sunday, I had a little spiritual awakening. We heard some very good counsel throughout the whole day. In the first meeting we went to I heard a quote from President Monson on the temple. He said, "As we touch the Temple, the Temple will touch us." That thought really stuck with me. To think that if we will open ourselves up to the teachings in the Temple, that they will touch and change our lives. Then we went to a homecoming talk of a missionary that got home last week from Mendoza, Argentina. It was a really good talk, but it was just so weird to see him talking to people and hugging everyone that he hadn't seen for two years. He just kept telling me how weird it was to see all these people again. It will definitely be a weird feeling (for me) to be back and see everyone again.
         Last night, we also had a meeting with President Leonard and Elder Brimhall (Area Seventy). The meeting reemphasized the importance of what I am doing and how great my calling as a missionary really is. I am giving my time and attention to a cause that is greater then anything that I could be doing for myself. The work of the Lord is the great cause that exists upon this great earth.
      NEWS FROM HOME: It is good to hear that everything went well with Lois' surgery for her back. I wish her a quick and speedy recovery. It is a very true statement that we always do need someone to look out and watch over us, and that can come in many different ways. In this case, it comes for Lois and Pops through each other. (They call each other Mom and Son.) It is good that you got the chance to see the Broadhead family, too. I am sure that you had a pleasant surprise when that elder stopped by. (Former Missionary in the Burbank Area, Elder Aitchison, now home from his mission, stopped by to see us!) I am sure it was pretty weird for him to be back in the mission, without his nametag. I feel strange to go and see people that I met when I served in Price, and I am still a missionary. Last night I probably saw 15 people that I knew from when I served in Price at a big missionary training meeting. It was quite a weird experience.
        Well thank you for the package with the shirts, the pictures, and the letter to extend my license. I appreciate it. I love you all so much and thank you for your support!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!     ELDER D