Garrett's E-mail This Week
hey mom!!!
so yea, get this... i did get transferred, to the joshua branch just down the road, i live in the same area, and cover the same city, just a lot bigger... i have a car, i'm not on bike anymore, and wont be for the rest of my mission... a year on bike has done wonders for my legs, but i'm glad they get a rest here at the end. i am in spanish work!!! woot woot! it is sad to leave, but the great thing is i can still visit everyone! if anything i live even closer to them all! hahaha! hows that for a move! haha, i'm very excited, my compaions name is elder collins, and i have served around him for my whole mish, but never been comps with him. it will be fun... he has one transfer left, so next transfer i will get a new companion, but it will be nice to have a good friend as a companion... now here is the thing that i did not expect... i'm now a zone leader! what the?!?!?! i heard pres wanted me as a zone leader, but i never thought i had the stuff to be one... never thought that calling would fall on my shoulders... it feels weird, exciting, but still a bit much, especially since i only have one transfer with my comp to learn the area, and the zone! thats a little hard, but i know i can do it! i'm soooo excited for this end chapter of my stewardship in the lords vineyard... i thought about it... i have had the perfect mission! all the lay out... the companions, the hard times, the joys, the learning experiences, the fun times, the sad times, the overwhelming times (both of joy and spirituality, and of pressure) and now to finish with a familiar area/comp/people/work... i'm very excited!
this move thing sounds crazy! but i feel that its guided, and whatever happens, the lord is in it! thats a great promise and makes it easier i think... to tell you the truth, i'm pretty excited about it! haha
i'm sorry you've been feeling so stressed and stuff, away from dad... thats hard... i don't now how it feels, but i like to think i can imagine a little of how you feel... after all, being away from family for 2 years might be close... but yea, it'll be over soon... in the end you'll say as elijah (paraphrasing) "lord, now i understand the wisdom of your timing." haha, yea, i don't think we'll ever get that one...
the weather is weird, its been SUPER windy, and cold, which is not like the desert at all... but i don't have to worry about it anymore, i'm in a car area!! just in time for the summer! this set up gets better and better!!!
i love you mom!
but yea, i'm really at a loss for words right now... i look at our situation right now, and its like i can picture it being told in scripture language...
1 "and it came to pass that in the twenty and first year of my parents companionship, the lord came to my father in a vision saying "get thee into the wilderness, take with thee thy family and all that thou hast, and store it in the neighboring city of denver.
2 then shall i lead you to a land of promise. there shall ye wait for a season, then shall i lead you to a land prepared for thee and thy family, for thee to dwell forever."
3 and thus my father did as the lord commanded. he gave his 30 day notice, and the way was shone him that he should take with him his family. and all this came to pass while i was thus serving the lord in the city of lancaster.
4 behold, the lord god worketh in ways that man cannot understand, and he trieth his people in their weakness, that he may store up for them many mansions in the kingdom of heaven. for behold, he loveth his children, though they are weak and simple things, he esteemeth them equally as his loved ones.
5 and thus we see that in his mercy all mankind must pass through stress, and longing, and tribulation that they may lean upon the understanding of the lord;
6 that they may feel his hand in their lives, for they may, if they hold to him, forever.
hahahahaaaa, dang... i'm pretty good, maybe i should take up ancient record keeping... hahahaaa... we are making our own scripture, every moment is a verse. its gonna be cool to look back when its all over and see verses like "nevertheless, they proved faithful to the lord in all their dealings, and the lord found favor with them," or like "and it came to pass that she said unto him 'i know in whom i have trusted, for the lord is my god, and he has guided me through the furnace of affliction, and i have felt the grace of his healing hand, and the power of his begotten son's atoning sacrifice... behold i have fought a good fight, i have finished my course, i have kept the faith'"
how cool will that be!
well mom i love you, thanks for everything!!! have the best day ever! stay strong!
love elder bennett
so yea, get this... i did get transferred, to the joshua branch just down the road, i live in the same area, and cover the same city, just a lot bigger... i have a car, i'm not on bike anymore, and wont be for the rest of my mission... a year on bike has done wonders for my legs, but i'm glad they get a rest here at the end. i am in spanish work!!! woot woot! it is sad to leave, but the great thing is i can still visit everyone! if anything i live even closer to them all! hahaha! hows that for a move! haha, i'm very excited, my compaions name is elder collins, and i have served around him for my whole mish, but never been comps with him. it will be fun... he has one transfer left, so next transfer i will get a new companion, but it will be nice to have a good friend as a companion... now here is the thing that i did not expect... i'm now a zone leader! what the?!?!?! i heard pres wanted me as a zone leader, but i never thought i had the stuff to be one... never thought that calling would fall on my shoulders... it feels weird, exciting, but still a bit much, especially since i only have one transfer with my comp to learn the area, and the zone! thats a little hard, but i know i can do it! i'm soooo excited for this end chapter of my stewardship in the lords vineyard... i thought about it... i have had the perfect mission! all the lay out... the companions, the hard times, the joys, the learning experiences, the fun times, the sad times, the overwhelming times (both of joy and spirituality, and of pressure) and now to finish with a familiar area/comp/people/work... i'm very excited!
this move thing sounds crazy! but i feel that its guided, and whatever happens, the lord is in it! thats a great promise and makes it easier i think... to tell you the truth, i'm pretty excited about it! haha
i'm sorry you've been feeling so stressed and stuff, away from dad... thats hard... i don't now how it feels, but i like to think i can imagine a little of how you feel... after all, being away from family for 2 years might be close... but yea, it'll be over soon... in the end you'll say as elijah (paraphrasing) "lord, now i understand the wisdom of your timing." haha, yea, i don't think we'll ever get that one...
the weather is weird, its been SUPER windy, and cold, which is not like the desert at all... but i don't have to worry about it anymore, i'm in a car area!! just in time for the summer! this set up gets better and better!!!
i love you mom!
but yea, i'm really at a loss for words right now... i look at our situation right now, and its like i can picture it being told in scripture language...
1 "and it came to pass that in the twenty and first year of my parents companionship, the lord came to my father in a vision saying "get thee into the wilderness, take with thee thy family and all that thou hast, and store it in the neighboring city of denver.
2 then shall i lead you to a land of promise. there shall ye wait for a season, then shall i lead you to a land prepared for thee and thy family, for thee to dwell forever."
3 and thus my father did as the lord commanded. he gave his 30 day notice, and the way was shone him that he should take with him his family. and all this came to pass while i was thus serving the lord in the city of lancaster.
4 behold, the lord god worketh in ways that man cannot understand, and he trieth his people in their weakness, that he may store up for them many mansions in the kingdom of heaven. for behold, he loveth his children, though they are weak and simple things, he esteemeth them equally as his loved ones.
5 and thus we see that in his mercy all mankind must pass through stress, and longing, and tribulation that they may lean upon the understanding of the lord;
6 that they may feel his hand in their lives, for they may, if they hold to him, forever.
hahahahaaaa, dang... i'm pretty good, maybe i should take up ancient record keeping... hahahaaa... we are making our own scripture, every moment is a verse. its gonna be cool to look back when its all over and see verses like "nevertheless, they proved faithful to the lord in all their dealings, and the lord found favor with them," or like "and it came to pass that she said unto him 'i know in whom i have trusted, for the lord is my god, and he has guided me through the furnace of affliction, and i have felt the grace of his healing hand, and the power of his begotten son's atoning sacrifice... behold i have fought a good fight, i have finished my course, i have kept the faith'"
how cool will that be!
well mom i love you, thanks for everything!!! have the best day ever! stay strong!
love elder bennett
Taylor's E-mail This Week
Helllllo Mom!
Socks! well honestly... nah... there really isn't that big of a difference. I have seen other missionaries just get all the same kind of socks so they dont have to really worry about matching them! Good Idea! socks are socks, if they wear out, getting new ones is not that big of a deal. Ha ha, Every pair of my pants, by the way, have had the leg ends come unhemmed! I am starting to wonder if Missionary Mall ws really worth it... That or they did it on purpose to "give the missionaries the opportunity" to learn how to fix it themselves. I dont think that is very funny though....
Love ya mommy!
Aloha Family!
So! The rumor is going around that the people of Hawaii Feed the Missionaries a ton of food and the majority of the Elders cant make it out of the mission without picking up a few extra pounds. I thought I would take a moment to clarify, that The rumors are True. I have heard about one Elder that gained 70 pounds in 7 months! Similar stories all throughout the mission. luckily, I have only Gained five! not bad for 3 months! however, My companion and the rest of the Kapaa District made the decision to get healthy and stay healthy! There is a guy in our ward that is a professional Kick Boxer, and he used to take the missionaries every morning and work them Hard! He took 30 pounds off of some of the Elders in a month! so we thought we would give his work outs a shot! -oooh, that was the worst good decision we have ever made.- Every time we have to run up and down a Massive hill twice. Warm up. Then do Billions of sit ups of every variety (I had no Idea there were so many ways to sit up) And another Billion push ups of every variety. Intense Cardio work out; jumping on a bench 40 times, jumping over the bench 80 times, 40 single steps on the bench... Man, I hate that bench! All this At 6:00 AM mind you! (I am not a morning person...) Then we end every work out with the rubber Bands of Death! -We take two work out rubber bands and put them around our waste and have our companion holding it behind, then we have to run about 15 yards 20 times. All the while being held back by the companion. -The Worst good decision we have ever made.- But! Elder Bowlby has already lost 6 pounds! Menlove lost 5 and I lost 3! well, I dont have too much to loose, so I dont know why I am doing this anyhow...
Now that we are all super fit, after one solid week of working out, We had an Awesome baptism Saturday! I was so fortunate to Baptize Zoe KananiMalieo'Kalani Crawford. Even though I had to say the name over about four times, It was an awesome experience! We had so much support from the Ward which was exactly what we needed! This is the family I think I talked about a few weeks ago that had some trouble getting to church, But as they have been coming we have been depending heavily on the Ward. Missionary work needs the Ward sooo Much! Missionaries come and go, but the Ward members are always there to help the work continue and fellowship the new converts. I was soo Glad to see so many people come and support them in this baptism. The bishop gave some strong words of council to the family as the last welcome. He promised them that as the Family continued to come to church and remember all the Covenants that they make at baptism that the Lord would remember his promises as well. The lord is so willing to bless his people if they Keep his commandments, I have seen that a ton out here on my mission. "I the Lord am Bound when you do what I say!" D&C 82:10 That is no joke! God Loves us so much, and he wants us to be happy! I love watching people change their lives as they recognise that! It is so Cool!
The promises we make at baptism are real, and are blessed as we remember them and act on them. The Church is True!
Aloha!!!
Elder Miller
P.S. No, still no sign of the Dakine in the mail. I am kinda worried about it. annnd, no, I have no need of a wallet until I get a license, so I have just been pocketing my cash and stuff. (Dakine is a Hawaiian term for pretty much anything you want. "oh how was Dakine?" -the party?- "I was just down at Dakine."-the Neighbors place- "do you know Dakine?" -Bob... or whoever...) (Hawaii is Awesome)
I don't have a whole lot of time to write my thoughts down -I have to go and finish getting the house ready for the carpet cleaners and painters...2 and a half hours and counting...keep your fingers crossed that I get everything done by noon. Missionary e-mails are AWEsome, just saying!
