LOVING CEDAR CITY!!!

Hola mis queridos Padres!      October 17, 2011

This was just an absolutely crazy week! I guess that is to be expected with all the changes that came this week. My new area is awesome! I love it so much! We are busy all the time, but that is a really good thing. I actually gave you incomplete information about the area.  It really isn’t an all Spanish area, just mostly Spanish. We cover two branches; one is the Spanish branch for all of the Cedar City area, and the other one is a Native American branch for all of the Cedar City area. We just call ourselves the "Lamanite Missionaries".

I have been pretty lost the last few days, but I am starting to get it all down. I am the official driver, so I was just thrown under the bus and have been trying to learn the streets and all of that. It is a pretty tough thing to do when you cover the whole city and surrounding areas.  I found out that I didn’t really lose my Spanish, but that my mind just works in Spanish a little slower then it did when I was in St. George. I have definitely been trying to work on getting my mind working in Spanish again and it seems to be going pretty well.

I guess it is on to the companion. His name is Bernardo Castro. He is from Salt Lake. Well I guess he technically claims Kearns, but it is all the same right? He was born in Mexico, but has lived most of his life in Utah; mainly the Logan area. He is so awesome! We were in the same zone when we were in St. George, so we know each other pretty well. It is such a big difference to go from having a rough time with a companion, to being with a companion that I get along with. It is pretty awesome. We actually both have the exact same time in the mission. We went into the MTC on the same day.

I am learning so much here in this area. Elder Castro is bringing out the good side of me and I feel that I am continually progressing and becoming the best missionary I can be. There are so many little things that you pass over as a missionary, but those little things can make a huge difference. I have been learning about how we need to properly set our goals and plans, and that we are accountable for these goals and plans and if we reach them or not. Just a lot of learning is going on.

This week was full of amazing teaching experiences.  President Leonard has really been stressing that we create lesson plans for each investigator that we have and that these plans are specifically for them. I can truly testify that a lesson plan really helps us bring the Spirit so we can help our investigators. We had an awesome lesson with this couple named Erica and Julio. They have only been taught for a little while, and we put a baptismal date to them, but they declined. So we decided to go and teach the doctrine of baptism and really help them understand it. We read from the Book of Mormon and taught the covenant and the blessings of baptism. Then we re-extended the commitment to be baptized, and this time they accepted! It is such an exciting thing when an investigator really accepts a baptismal date.

The next experience comes from a less active lady. We are teaching her family, and they are getting baptized next week. We have taught them a bunch, but they always seem kind of shut off towards us and their feelings. This weekend they got married, and we had a lesson with them afterwards. We asked her how she felt, and she just started to break down and cry. We were just like "wow, what is going to happen?" She then talked about how great of a blessing it was to have her whole family getting baptized. She had been less active for quite a while and had moved around a lot.  She had always secretly wanted to go back to Church, but she could never find it within herself to go back or to take those steps. Then one day the missionaries came and knocked on her door. She thanked us for coming to her door and that we have taught them and helped them be able to enter into the Church again and that now her family can share the blessings of the gospel with her. It really is just a true testimony on how Heavenly Father truly prepares people for us to find, teach, and baptize. He is doing His part in the missionary work; we just have to do ours.

 It doesn’t matter if we are members or full time missionaries, we can all be part of the great work of bringing souls to Christ. That is my little challenge for you this week; to go and find a missionary opportunity!  I am so grateful for this chance I have to serve a full time mission and I am grateful for all of your support! Dios les bendiga!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!    les amo!        ELDER D

New Area - Cedar City, and a ZONE LEADER!

Buenas tardes mis queridos Padres y amigos!    10 October 2011  

 Elder Chad sends birthday wishes to his niece, Chaylyn, who turned three this week!

Well it sure sounds like there is quite a bit going on back up there in your neck of the woods.  Life is really just one big test right? It is how we overcome the challenges and trials that are placed before us. Just keeping pushing forward and doing what you know you should, and the Lord will bless you will the strength to overcome these challenges, or at least push through them.  (Chad’s father lost his job this past week and now seeking new employment. Chad’s mom has to return for exploratory surgery this week to find out why she has stomach pains.)

       This week for me has been pretty tiring and exhausting. It was the week before transfers, so I was basically running around trying to get stuff cleared up.  The thing is that we really don’t know if we are transferred or not, but that is always in the back of out minds. We try to focus on the here and now, but that doesn’t always work.

There has certainly been a weather change down here. About the middle of last week, it just snapped from summer to winter. There was about one day of fall, but it isn’t too bad. I think it is hilarious to see my companion all bundled up with a sweater and a huge trench coat, when I am still just wearing a white shirt. It isn’t that cold, it was just the shock of it changing from around the upper 60s to the 40s over night. Probably the craziest thing was while we were helping a recent convert move from one apartment to another, we actually saw it snow. It was already pouring down rain, so we were battling that the whole time. I did get pretty soaked from head to foot, but luckily we were in street clothes. During the course of the time that we were moving into the second apartment, the rain slowly turned into slush and then into snow. Pretty crazy to have it snow the first week of October! (Welcome to UTAH weather, Chad!)

       We did have a really cool experience this week. On Monday evening we received a call from a counselor from a Bishopric here. He said that he needed to set an appointment with us so his friend could be taught by us. It comes time for our appointment and we meet him and you could definitely tell that there was some potential. We taught the whole Restoration to him. He seemed to absorb it pretty well, so we asked him how he felt about it. He then looked up at us with tear filled eyes, and said that he believed it all and that is was completely true. The Spirit was so strong at the point; there was only one thing we could do. We extend the commitment to be baptized and he accepted it! It was a really great experience.  I am amazed on how prepared some people really are to hear and receive the Restored Gospel. It is just another testimony that the Lord is truly preparing people for missionaries to find, teach, and baptize!

This is the end of the transfer, and before I tell you where I am going, I want to clear up a few things. I know that my time here with my latest companion was pretty crazy and had a ton of ups and downs, but I really think I learned what I need to learn. I think the Lord tested me with the constant emotional roller coaster to try and test me to see how I would react to the situation. It was definitely hard to keep myself from freaking out at times, but I learned a lot about patience and charity this transfer - Two extremely vital things in life to possess. I will break the news and tell you I am leaving the area here and am being transferred to Cedar City. Oh, and I will become a Zone Leader there. It is a crazy thought to know that I am now a Zone Leader. I don’t know if I am completely ready for all of the responsibility that comes with it, but I am sure going to try and do all I can to follow through with my calling. It is a pretty bitter sweet call. I am pretty bummed to think that I am leaving Price/Wellington and all the people that I have come to love so much, but I am excited to the fact that I get to be in an all Spanish area once again, and an area that has a ton of potential. It is going to be a new experience and a crazy transfer, so we will see how that all plays out over the next 6 weeks.

I am sorry the letter really isn’t that long, but I hope it will do until next week. (We are grateful for Chad’s letters.  Other missionary parents comment that they get about a fourth of the size of letters that Chad sends.)   I wish you the best and I am always praying for you!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!

les amo!     ELDER D

Instrument in the Hands of the Lord

Buenos Dias!                          October 3, 2011

 This week was a pretty fantastic week! It was not one of great numbers or filled with baptisms, but there was just a great feeling left over from the week. I just feel like I went and did what the Lord wanted me to do, and I was rewarded with many "tender mercies of the Lord". I have been learning so much, so rapidly! This week I learned how important it is to have the Spirit and to truly be an "instrument in the hands of the Lord".

This letter may be a bit jumbled and hard to understand, but I will try my best to provide a good account of all these events this week. First of all, I am still having ups and downs with my companion. He really is more emotional then a woman. That is probably the toughest part. One day he is on top of the world, and then the next he doesn’t even want to go out and work. It is just a tough thing to deal with all the emotional change back and forth, but I am still trying to help him and understand more about who he is. Not all of this is easy, but there is something that the Lord wants me to learn by serving here with Elder McCarty.

We put our shoulder to the wheel this week, that is for sure. I had a pretty crazy experience with this guy in an apartment complex. He just came up to me and was like, "hey, I am not Mormon. What do you got for me?" So I just started to talk to him about what we believe and it became apparent that all he really wanted to do was "bash" with me. There were so many points I could have called him out on, or said that he was contradicting himself in many ways. But those were things that Elder Davis wanted to say to this man, so I could prove my point. But it turns out that the Spirit had other plans for this situation. I was really calm through the whole experience. I had moments where I thought to get angry and start being really rude to this man, but the Spirit was there. I was really made an instrument of the Lord at that point in time. I was speaking the words that the Lord would have spoken. I testified boldly about the Restoration of the Gospel and left him the opportunity to pray about these things for himself. After I had left this invitation, he just sat there staring at me, like "well this didn’t work to my advantage at all". It was a bad situation turned good.

I also went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I went to the Zone Leader's area with Elder Wood. He is from Olympia. So we had a few arguments about which side of Washington is better, but it is a clear statement that Eastern Washington is so much better! It was a different feeling to be out teaching people that I didn’t know their stories or background. So I really had to rely on the Spirit to help me when it came time for me to teach a part of the lesson. I have never been a really shy person, but it is something really different to go into a teaching appointment with absolutely no knowledge about this person and try to relate the Gospel to them. I met a guy that they were teaching that reminded me a lot of Ricardo. So it was a good experience there.

When we exchanged back, Elder McCarty and I had another amazing lesson with Claire. I mentioned her a week or two ago and about her lesson, but we had another tender mercy of the Lord with her. She is really listening with real intent to everything we teach. This lesson that we had was about faith and how she can better increase her own faith. Well that was the main topic, but it weathered down to her personal conversion and testimony. I think that this was the first time that I have really cried in a lesson in quite awhile. The Spirit was just so strong there and we were able to read the last two paragraphs of the Introduction to the Book of Mormon and then testify of these things! The Book of Mormon is really the keystone of our religion and through that book we can truly come to discover the Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church upon the earth. We must all pass through reading the Book of Mormon, pondering it, and then praying about it. That is the only way that we can know of those things. It was just such a wonderful lesson and it opened her eyes to see how she must truly gain her own witness of the Church and stop living off of "borrowed light".

Right after this lesson, we went to teach an investigator named Mike. Mike had been struggling to follow the Word of Wisdom, and we kept following up on how he was doing, but he would always slip a little bit. We walked in the door and started talking about how he was, and then it lead up to the usual question on how he was doing with the Word of Wisdom. Usually he just looks around and says that it hasn’t been going well. But this night he looked straight at us and said that he was done for good. We had not been there to help his decision or to force him to do this; he completely decided to do this on his own. I think he finally realized that there is no way that he can progress towards baptism if he continues to not follow this commandment. It completely set the tone for that lesson and we were able to set up a really good plan to help him finalizing his quitting.

There were just so many miracles that happened this week. These miracles were both big and small, but they came through obedience and personal worthiness. We cannot expect to have huge miracles or blessings from the Lord if we are not striving to do our part and be continually obedient to His commandments.  I honestly can say that at this point in my mission, I feel that I am the best I have been. I know that I am far from being a perfect missionary, but I have been able to grow and develop what is necessary in my life as a missionary. So the great benefit from this is blessings and miracles that I have seen here this week. I know that the Lord is blessing me for my obedience to His commandments and the mission rules!

General Conference was pretty amazing! I absolutely love Conference now. Looking back on my youth, I can’t believe on how much I seemed to let it pass by without giving it any thought. I mean I would watch it, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I just thought it was awesome that I didn’t have to get dressed in my white shirt and tie to go to Church, but that I could just kick it in my sweats. Now, Conference plays such a bigger meaning in my life. Especially as a missionary, I have received so much guidance and counsel for my personal self, my future, and right now. I know that from now on, my Conference experience will be more meaningful for the rest of my life! I will always cherish those short hours that we have to listen to the Prophet and Apostles speak the words in which we need to know for our days. It is an amazing time in my life as a missionary to listen to these other men that also hold the title of "Elder".

Well I know it is Chay Chay's birthday next week, so give her a big hug and kiss for me! I really miss all of you and you are always in my prayers! Have a great week!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!  Les amo muchismo!   ELDER D

Travelling around the Countryside!

Buenos dias!        Sept 26, 2011

Wow - the weeks come and go so fast, at times it is still hard for me to separate the days. This week was still a good week, but it was filled with both good and bad, but that just comes along with the job description, I guess.



SOUNDS LIKE IT IS TIME TO
 WRITE ELDER CHAD!



This week I finally had the realization of how long I have really been away from home. For the longest time I was just going out and doing the work and nothing effected me, but last week it just all sort of came down on top of me. Don’t get me wrong and think that now I am totally useless and haven’t worked for the past week, because that wasn’t the case at all. I just finally had it hit me that I have been away from home for almost 13 months and haven’t seen any family or friends. It is just something that was very unusual for me. I haven’t had a day like that, or even thoughts like that for a really long time.  I was definitely caught off guard by those feelings. It was just a one day thing, and now I am back to normal and enjoying the time here once again. It just was different to be out for this long and to see how far into my mission I really am. Well enough ranting about that...



Visting Historic MANTI TEMPLE!



This week I was able to go on exchanges with an Elder from the Castle Dale area. He came back to Price with me and worked in my area. It was a good relief for the day. It was nice to get away from my regular companion for the day and get a new fresh view of the mission.  On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go to the Manti Temple as the north part of the mission. It was pretty amazing! It just feels like a castle, but there is so much history, symbolism, and artifacts there.  We had to wake up and be ready to go around 5am just to make the trip to Manti and be there by 8. So it was pretty tough. It is surprising how much riding in a car drains your energy.

          In the evening we had a really amazing experience with one of our investigators named Claire. She has been going to church off and on for quite a few years, but has never been baptized because she can’t kick some habits. Her home situation is a pretty interesting one as well. As we went into the lesson, I actually was thinking on how we could get out of there and get over to someone else’s house to teach them.  Well the Spirit had completely different plans for us. Claire and Margaret were both having terrible days, and they were just stressed out about life and how they were going to keep going. So we followed the Spirit the whole time in the lesson, and it truly provided. She talked about how she loved the principles of the Gospel and wanted to stay close to the Church so that her son could have the examples of the members in his life. She hopes that one day he would make better choices then she has. It was at this point where the lesson was taken to a whole new level. I was guided to ask the question, "Well how much more powerful would that example be if it came from inside the home?"  Claire just basically stopped and stared and thought for about 2 minutes. She was completely taken off guard. She was having a huge internal battle about what to say; we eventually went on to talk about how she could make those necessary changes and how she could be that example to her son. It was one of the most powerful lessons that I have had in a while. It was what we would have called an "ideal lesson." It was probably the main highlight of my week to have that experience.

On Thursday, I hit the road again, and was out traveling almost the whole day. I had a ton of baptismal interviews to do, but because our district is so huge, that makes it tough to get in the miles. First we were off to Green River, which is an hour away. I interviewed a pretty awesome 76 year old man.  He had a pretty amazing story. and had some eye opening experiences lately, and he decided to take the plunge.(to be baptized) As soon as we got back to Price, we had to hop in another car and head to Castle Dale for another interview. This one was for a 9 year old boy. We got home and had to hop in our car and head out to East Carbon for dinner and a lesson with Tony and Kristie. So you think that day is pretty full and done, but we had to go back to Price and once again do another baptismal interview. My day was just jam packed with traveling and interviews. It was a tiring day, but a good one.

Some of the bad this week has been dealing with a lot of cancellations. I think this is just a little test and trial for me. I will just have to work harder to overcome those cancellations and find the people that are prepared for the Gospel.

This week ended with an awesome recent convert fireside. There were some great conversion stories that were shared. It really strengthened my own testimony on how important this Gospel is to me. It also reconfirmed on how much the Gospel blesses my life and anyone’s life if they will just apply the principles and give it a shot. Well that about wraps up my week.

          I am grateful for your love and support! Thanks for everything and keep on moving forward!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!     Les Amo!      Dios les bendiga!

                          ELDER D                         

Elder D Meets an Apostle of the Lord!

Hola Mis Queridos Padres!        September 19, 2011

Well this week was pretty amazing. I was able to have so many memorable moments!  There were definitely some ups and downs, but I was able to push through it and find the good. Hopefully, I will be able to portray all my memories here to all of you through these words, but typed words can only do so much.

First, I want to talk a little about an investigator I am teaching. I say "I" because we are teaching here in Spanish, and since my companion doesn’t know Spanish, I am left alone to try and teach these lessons. Rosie is a middle aged lady with two kids, but the craziest part is that her husband is in Eastern Washington right now. They have spent a bunch of time up in the Tri-Cities, so we have that connection to help me out. But more then just talking about common things, she is completely ready for the Gospel. The Lord has definitely prepared her to be taught at this time. There is so much potential and I am happy to have the opportunity to teach her. She has asked some really great questions, and had some really good experiences that have led her to this point. I am just waiting for her husband to get back, so that we can set a baptismal date and have them baptized at the same time.

          This week I was also able to go to Ephraim to have leadership training with President Leonard. It was pretty humbling and inspiring. I definitely learned a ton and was able to have the Spirit to help me learn and have those epiphanies. To answer your question Mom, my opinion of President Leonard has changed immensely. I really am grateful for his love and guidance.  Before I used to think that he was very timid and not very personable, but he is definitely coming out of his shell and I am able to see the good in him. The training took almost all day, so when I got back to Price, my companion wasn’t in the best state of mind and I could sense some tension there between us. So I had to try and get him to open up to me and tell me what the problem was, that didn’t happen very easily. We eventually arrived at the point and we had a little companionship intervention. The Lord is definitely testing me with my current companionship, but I am taking them as learning experiences.

I also had a really good talk with Elder Hultgren. He is my ex Zone Leader and the new Assistant to the President. We have had a pretty good relationship and have known each other since the plane ride to St. George. So we had a really big heart to heart about our missions and we were able to uplift each other by the things that we talked about. The Lord definitely places people in our lives to change our lives, and I can definitely say that Elder Hultgren has changed not only my mission, but my life as well.

          As part of being a District Leader, I have to go on exchanges, or go to other areas in my district. So this week I got to experience MOAB! It was so amazing! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go there and to see all the sites and meet the people down there. I was able to help them find a new investigator that is going to be baptized in a few weeks, so it was very fruitful. But Moab is unlike any place I have ever seen in my life. It is the place that truly has adventure written all over it! It ranges from mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, hiking, to my favorite Jeeping! There were so many Jeeps all over, I thought I was in heaven! I had another pretty random experience down there. I had to do a baptismal interview down there, and the girl's father served a mission in Hawaii at the same time that Pops did. His name is Harlan Hawks, or Pops might know him as Elder Hawks. Does it ring a bell? (Chad’s father does remember an Elder Hawks that served in Hawaii towards the end of Darin’s mission.)

          This week I am still learning the importance of planning and how it benefits us to have a set plan. Things don’t always work according to our plans, but planning is there to help us. We also had a baptism this week! Her name is Nicole, and she is 10 years old! She is pretty amazing! Her family is less active and didn’t really support her too much through her whole learning experience and journey to baptism. So she basically had to do everything herself. She even got up and went to Church without anyone else’s help. Pretty amazing, because how many 10 year olds do you know that want to wake up at 8 in the morning to go to Church? Her baptism was super amazing, and I had the opportunity to baptize her myself. I was pretty excited about that! She had a pretty memorable experience herself -- She was able to peek into a meeting where Elder Holland was, and she got a wave and a kiss blown to her from Elder Holland. It was a pretty good way to remember her baptism. Nicole's grandma also came up to me with tears and thanked me for helping Nicole and Braxton. Braxton was another kid that got baptized a few weeks ago, and Nicole and Braxton are cousins. So their grandmother is extremely thankful for the missionaries and being able to help her grandchildren to come unto Christ.

          Next, Sunday like always was extremely crazy! We had to run around like chickens with our heads cut off, but it all worked out. We had the confirmation of Nicole in the morning, and then afterwards we rushed out to Wellington to go to their special Stake Conference. At this conference, we were able to sing in the choir, so we were right up on the stand. This is significant because Elder Holland was at this conference. We were sitting literally 5 feet behind him. It was so amazing to hear him speak in person. That man speaks with so much power and authority! His talk really opened my eyes and I had some pretty humbling realizations from that talk. The best part came after the conference. I was able to go and meet Elder Holland. Yes, I did meet Elder Holland. I shook his hand and I expected that to be all, but I talked with him for about 2 to 3 minutes about missionary work and my mission is going. It was probably one of the greatest memories from my mission. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever meet an Apostle face to face. So it is pretty crazy to be able to talk with him, but I also counted and between the MTC and now, I have seen 5 Apostles in person. Pretty strange fact to say that I have seen almost half of the Apostles in person.

          Well just to let you know, I did get the package and I am satisfied with the shirts, and they will fit the bill. Thank you for all the other little gidgets in there as well. Thank you for sharing the story about Verna with me. It really touched me. I feel sorry for her and I know what she is going through. But you both know that as well, so you can be there for her and help her out through all of this! (Verna sent her youngest son off to college and was missing him terribly. She realized we have it a bit tougher because we had to say goodbye to Chad for two years!)  You are great people and will know what to do! Well my time is almost up, but thank you for everything that you have done and helped me out with, it means more to me then you will ever know! Just keep on moving forward and everything will work out!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!    Dios les bendiga!  Les amo!     ELDER D!

ONE YEAR, Chad reflects on Why He Is Serving A Mission

(Parent Preface: It is apparently a tradition that on your ONE YEAR MARK, you burn a white shirt. If you remember Chad burned a tie at 6 months. So, enjoy the pictures.  Also, Chad shares some tender feelings about WHY HE IS SERVING A MISSION and what it has done for him.  He certainly has wisdom beyond his years.  We love him and are grateful for his example, and his missionary service that will bless his LIFE every day.)



Burning a SHIRT for ONE YEAR on a Mission!




SAD because one year is gone?
Only ONE YEAR left?
 Time really does fly!



Hola Mis Queridos Padres!           12 Sept 2011

Another week has come and gone. This week was a decent week. It was not the greatest, but it was good enough for me. I just have had a lot of things fighting against me and I am trying to push through and stay positive. One thing is that the afternoons and starting to become really slow. In the summer we were able to go teach a lot during the afternoon because there was no school, but now most of the people we are trying to teach are in school for the whole day. It is just a real test of my diligence to see how I work through it. Sometimes wish that I was in a big city where there are always people out walking around and we would be able to contact them on the street. In Price, there is no one ever walking around, or if there is someone walking it is usually the missionaries. J  However, I am grateful to be able to serve, even if it is in a little town in the middle of no where.

This week I have had some good experiences and some learning experiences. I really have learned about the power of prayer this week. I have been really increasing this lately, but we had a lesson where we talked about how they needed to pray for understanding on what God wanted them to do. We talked a lot about how it is a conversation with Heavenly Father and how it is a powerful tool. It finally hit me that since it is a conversation between us and Heavenly Father, it requires us to take the time to stop and listen to what He has to say as well. We can’t just run in and rattle off a little prayer and then just take off. We need to say a heartfelt, sincere prayer and then stop and wait for the answers and remarks that He has for us. It was a pretty crazy epiphany for me.

          Well a crazy, random thing that happened this week is that I had a boxing match with a 4 year old. She is the daughter of our investigators. When we were over there one night, she pulled out these boxing gloves. After the lesson I had a bout with her. It was pretty funny. There is a video of it, but I guess that will have to wait for another year.

Yes, I am officially a year old in the mission now! It is so crazy to think that half of my mission is gone. It is amazing to see how fast time flies by. I do know that this is probably the greatest thing I have ever done in my life to this point. I have been able to learn so much in this past year, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. I have a ton of people that ask me if I feel that it is too much to give up two years.  I just look at them and say it is worth every second. I never thought it would be possible for me to learn this much in such a short amount of time. My knowledge of the Gospel has grown infinitely. I have also been able to learn a whole other language and be able to completely understand and communicate with others in this language. Great experiences! I am looking forward to this next year of my life with great excitement to see what will come out of it. I just pray that it will be as great as the first year of my mission.

One big excitement here is that the Spanish work is really starting to take off. We had a ton of investigators at Sacrament meeting. It was definitely a surprise. We have been teaching more in Spanish and since I am the only missionary that speaks Spanish, I have been relying on the Spirit so much. If I didn’t have the Spirit to help guide me, I would be completely lost and those lessons would have been terrible. The Spirit is so important in this work!  I am really learning a lot by serving as a District Leader this time around. I feel that I am a little more prepared and I understand what is expected more at this time. Before I just "winged" it and I was not that qualified to serve in that position because I would ask things of people and then not do them myself. But how can I ask others to do things that I am not willing to do myself? It just doesn’t work like that, or at least it shouldn’t. So I have made the commitment to myself this time around that I will be the example that I should have been last time and follow through with both my words and my actions.  The Lord does call us in our weaknesses so that we are able to be lifted up by His hand.

We had another pretty cool experience about teaching the Word of Wisdom to some of our investigators, Mattie and Hagen. Mattie is 11 and Hagen is 9, but that wasn’t the cool part. Their father is a pretty typical country man, so I was a little worried about how he was going to take it as we taught his children, and it basically would call out all of the things that he does wrong. This week it came down to "D-Day". The whole time we taught the lesson, the dad was in and out of the house, but as he listened he just didn’t say anything. Then finally he said that it is something good that we were teaching his kids. He may not be perfect and not keep the Word of Wisdom at all, but he can definitely recognize the principle behind us teaching it. So to me, it just was a real testimony that the Lord is helping us out and He truly can soften others hearts to the good.

          I figured out this week as well, that I have an extreme pet peeve about plans changing after I have them set. Before my mission I would never plan anything, and if I did it was just a day in general, but never a specific time. That all has changed since I have been here. This week I had planned out all the exchanges with the other companionships of Elders in my district, but that all changed because of some leadership meeting with President. It extremely stressed me out to have to reschedule all of the things that I had already planned out. It was just like BOOM, you have changed into someone who is organized and needs to be scheduled and planned. Is this a blessing or a curse from being out here?

We had 3 investigators that are pregnant, that was something new for me to see on my mission. We are down to only having two pregnant investigators now. Kristie (investigator) had her baby yesterday. It was the first person that I have known outside of Emma or Bethany that has had a baby. Just a little random fact for you.

Well I am still trying to become my best out here. It is a lot tougher than I thought. I think I am at a point, and then I will discover something else that I need to change. I guess that is just a good thing that there is always a constant need to change and become better. I am still dealing with trying to bond with my companion. We are just so extremely different that it is hard for me to find that common ground. I have really been praying a lot more for charity. (Charity is the pure Love of Christ.) This week I will have a lot of breaks from him, so that might help a little. I will be in Ephraim for a day in a meeting with President, then on Thursday I will be in Moab with another companion. This may be a good break to help me relax and then be able to continue to find the good in my companion. We will work hard and look for the good in each other.

     NEWS FROM HOME:  (We had our local full time missionaries stop by.)  It is good that the missionaries still stop by the house. I am glad that the new missionary is in good hands. That is the biggest thing, how your mission starts out. If your mission starts out in a good way, that usually sets the tone for the rest of your mission. That is why training is such a highly acclaimed calling while on a mission.

Well I am grateful for all the support and information that you have given me! (Since both Darin and I have served missions, we have sent our wisdom on how to get along with companions and how to be your best self.) Make everyday a great one and always give thanks to Heavenly Father for what he has given to us!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!

Les vayan con Dios!    Les amo!     ELDER D

Transfers, New Companion, New Struggles, New Growth

Hola Mis Queridos Padres!     6 Sept 2011

Well this week has been a longer week then usual. I think it had to do with transfers and trying to adjust to a new companion. But the work must go on right? We are still striving to do our best, but this week was pretty tough in a lot of aspects of the work.

My new companion is Elder McCarty. He is a navy brat and has lived in quite a few places - Virginia, Washington, Japan, and most recently Dallas, Texas. He is a good guy, but we just don’t have a whole lot in common. He is a little more eccentric than I am and has a lot of different interests. He loves video games and choir and I love sports and movies. It has taken us a while to adjust to one another’s personalities. I know that it is just as hard for him as it is for me. It is just a crazy change from Elder Nathan, who I had almost everything in common with, to Elder McCarty, who I have almost nothing in common with. Don’t get me wrong, I am still trying to stay positive and look for the good in this companionship. Sometimes we are placed in companionships like this for a good learning experience, and maybe that is what this is for me. Back in the MTC I had a little trouble with one of my companions and things turned out pretty well as we adjusted and looked for the good. So hopefully things will get better and we will find that common ground somewhere.

Not too many crazy things happened this week, but there is one situation that was pretty random. We were out trying to find an address to contact a referral. We finally found it and we go up and knock on the door. No one answers. So I knock again. This guy comes to the door shirtless and he seemed half asleep. We talk to him and he isn’t really interested so we are getting ready to leave. He heads back in the house then turns around. The next part is just so crazy and hilarious to me. He says to me, "Oh... and don’t ever knock on my door like that again! You can knock, just not like that." I had to do all I could to keep myself from busting up laughing right in his face. I hadn’t knocked any different then I usually do, but no one has ever said anything like that to me before. I have been told that I have a "cop knock" but no one has freaked before. So just a fun little tidbit for the week.

A good thing from this week was that I am back to interviewing baptismal candidates. It is a little strenuous because our district is extremely large, but the traveling is just something that has to be done. It is always an memorable experience to meet other missionaries’ baptismal candidates. I think that is my number one favorite part of being a District Leader.

We have increased the Spanish work here a little. I spoke Spanish for basically a whole night teaching lessons and contacting people. So I got stuck in Spanish mode the rest of the night and it was hard for me to switch back and forth to English. We found out that one of our Spanish investigators that we hadn’t seen for about 5 weeks was up in the Tri-Cities for about a month. They usually go up there during the summer and work in the orchards and things; the husband actually is still up there. It was pretty random to talk to them about the Tri-Cities and that is where I live. It was pretty shocking to them as well. Who knows, maybe I will see them after my mission up there.

This weekend was pretty rough. As missionaries, it is a little hard for us to understand holidays and things like that since we don’t get them. I know a lot of people go camping and things on Labor Day weekend, but here it is exponentially worse. We seriously couldn’t find anyone home for 3 days straight. All of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday no one was around. The only people we could find at home were members that had to stick around because of the football game here this weekend. So we went there because that was where the people were. We contacted people and got to know some people down at the football game.

On Sunday, we went to the Spanish Branch for the first time in a month. It was so weird on how much more comfortable I felt just hearing a Sacrament Meeting in Spanish again. It was amazing! We also joined an all men's choir for a special Stake Conference. There is supposedly an Apostle coming to the Stake Conference, so we are using this as a ploy to be able to have a certain seat and one that is on the stand. J  It will be an interesting experience, so I will let you know how that goes in two weeks.

NEWS FROM HOME: I am happy that you got out and experienced Seattle. I am sure that it was amazing and a highlight for you two. I am glad that spending time with family was possible. (Darin and I were able to "escape" to Seattle and Lacey and go to Pike Street Market and enjoy a ferry ride and visit with Family.) I am glad that Turk is still as crazy as ever, and tell him that I will see what I can do to take a trip back to Hurricane and St. George with him after my mission.  (Brother DeMille mentioned that a trip back to Hurricane to visit some young ladies might be in order upon Chad's return from the mission field.  Always teasing and joking, Turk is!)  I am thankful for all the support, and everything you do for me! Have a great week!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!

Con muchismo amor,  ELDER D   (no pictures this week!!)

FOUR BAPTISMS THIS WEEK! Lovin' it!

Hola Padres!   

        29 August 2011

 

This was one very successful and rewarding week! We had a lot of good things happen!

School has started again down here in Utah. This makes it a little tougher for us to continue teaching as much as we used to. During the summer months, we were so busy all day long and could space our lessons out throughout the entire day.  It is a lot harder to cram all of our lessons in from four in the afternoon to nine at night. Just one of the many struggles that we have here in this area, but we are still making it work!

Well Mom, you know how at the beginning of my mission you said that I was going to fall in love with Spanish food (rice and beans or all of that)? Well it absolutely has happened! It took me to not be in a Spanish area to figure this out. In the Spanish areas, I was so surrounded by the native food that I didn’t really think about it. Then this week we went to a little Mexican shop for lunch and it made all the flavors of Spanish food come back. It made me feel comfortable and right at home. So I miss Spanish food a ton! I can’t wait to get back to a Spanish area where I can just have Spanish food all the time. So sorry Mom, you might want to learn how to cook some real Spanish food for me! (Well, the mom has a better idea, HE can learn how to cook it and then cook it for us when he returns!  J )

This week we also had a new challenge, we had a third companion. It was one of our Zone Leaders. His companion got called to be the Assistant to the President, so he left in the middle of the week. Elder Bagley has been with me and Elder Nathan since Wednesday. It has been pretty tough because his style really doesn’t match Elder Nathan's and mine, but we found some common ground and just went forward.

We have had some pretty cool experiences with some investigators and the Word of Wisdom. We thought that some of these investigators were going to take it pretty hard and not be able to go through with it, or put up a fight, but that didn’t happen at all. We just taught them about it and they already knew that they needed to quit and make that change. So we have had four different investigators stop smoking, chewing, and drinking. It is a pretty awesome thing to see that change in people.

Another crazy experience we had was a humongous Slip n Slide! We went to a ward party and they had it at this park where there is a huge hill and they happen to lay out 4 or 5 old billboard signs and set up some sprinklers and hoses. So being the crazy and adventurous missionaries that we are, we decided to spice up life a little and go down the Slip n Slide too. But we didn’t change into shorts, we just walked up to the top, took off our shoes and went down in our white shirts and ties! It was pretty crazy and fun! I have seriously done some of the craziest things on my mission in this area. I mean a parade, racing a ram, and now a huge Slip n Slide! (Our wild and Crazy Chad boy is still alive and well!) 

You mentioned about Steve Wilstead's brother-in-law and that he picked us up. It is a pretty crazy story to be honest. We got a ride to a little town on the edge of our area, but we didn’t have one back, so we just decided to start walking back, hoping that someone will pick us up. So we walked about 5 miles and then Steve Wilstead's brother-in-law picked us up and gave us a ride back into town. We got to talking and it came out that he knew someone up in the Tri-Cities. So I asked the last name and he said Wilstead. I told him that he was our Home Teacher and all of that. It is just crazy to see how small the gospel makes the world.

Now onto the rewarding part of this week. We had four baptisms this weekend! We were super excited and it had been a lot of planning and following through! We baptized a set of twins named Hayden and Kyle. They are 10 years old and are pretty crazy and into Star Wars and Indiana Jones. So we had some interesting times with them! The next baptism was a 9 year old kid named Kayden. Elder Nathan actually knew this family when he was here last year.  Our last baptism was another 9 year old kid named Dominic. We only taught him for about 3 weeks. We met him and instantly he wanted to get baptized. Both sides of his family are members and he has be attending Church for the last 4 months. He just need to get taught and baptized. It was one of the most crazy and stressful days of my mission. We got everything worked out, and everyone was baptized that day. On Sunday I was even able to confirm Kayden and Dominic.

Now it is time for the big news about transfers. I will be staying here in Price, but Elder Nathan will be not. I am pretty bummed about that because we just worked so well together.  My new companion is going to be Elder McCarty. Oh, I will also be District Leader again. So I am excited about! I will get to visit a lot of different places so I will have a few more experiences.  I am still keeping my Spanish, don’t worry about that. My mind doesn’t work as quickly as it did just a month ago, but I am still keeping it down and I try and talk to anyone that speaks Spanish.

I enjoyed the little package that I did get from you. (Elder Chad is approaching the ONE YEAR mark on his mission, so we sent him a WASHINGTON t-shirt and a McD’s gift card.  I also asked if he was still getting lots of mail from the regulars, or if his mail was not as frequent.)  Well my mail that I get is starting to slow down, but that is just what happens when you get farther into the mission. Well I am grateful for all the support and everything you do! Have a great week!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!

siempre estan en mis oraciones!!     les amo!  ELDER D!