VERY short Letter

Well, it is hard to hear things are just not going very well at home and that people are not making good choices. It took me forever to realize that rules are there to make us happy…not to just suck the fun out of everything?..........................

I don't really know what else to put now that you totally killed the vibe...

It was great to see some pics of the cousins! And what are the chances of Brock and Katy moving into that ward? 

Pretty short letter this week, I guess.

Elder Rook is now a zone leader somewhere else in the mission. He is the best. Elder Christensen is pretty cool. He has been out for about a year also and likes to get to know the ward and work. It will be a good transfer. It is weird that I am getting trained, but I am leading the area.... 

Not a whole lot has happened in the last week except transfers. 

I have been doing my best to get to know the ward better and get family mission plans enforced, then check up… check up… and more check up on those. This area is pretty wealthy, so the only way we teach is through member missionary work.

I am starting to enjoy reading different gospel related books and articles.

No pics… I forgot my camera....

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Letter to Mom:

Well dang, yeah, I saw the new iPhone 6 came out, and I knew you would get it. I am glad to hear you enjoyed the Women’s Conference.  That is good. What size did you get?

I am really sorry to hear that Nancy and Meg are making such crappy choices. Things like that are hard to hear… especially when the passed week has been rather slow.  (I guess I (mom) should not say too much about negative stuff at home....I'll know for next time.) I do like getting pics of cousins though. Haha! That was a good thing. Ha! Ties (paisley) and jerky are never a bad thing to get in the mail. Ha! This week an investigator guy made it to sacrament meeting and that was miracle! And the talk that was given was by a guy who just got home from his mission from Brazil and gave a super good talk about conversion.  It was perfect for this guy. Other than that… not a whole lot happened. 

When others make bad choices, and things get tough, just think of how you can improve because that is the only thing you can do. It really stinks, but that is the Lord’s way. He will never take away agency.

Love you,

Hope you have a better week!!!

Staying in Chandler 9.22.14

Well dang, dang! Elder Rooki s going to be transferred, so I am staying in my area… just getting a new trainer. Ha! Well, we got along pretty well and I love that guy. But I love my ward so much!!!!!!! They are so awesome! I don’t remember what I have told you about Robert, but dang, dang!!!! They are so awesome! So one night about 8 we get a text from Robert and he asks us when the MESA visitors center closes. We say 9. Ha. (We live about a half hour away from it. So they reply and say, “Well ok, we will just go walk around the Gilbert Temple.” They do and text us back and say they loved it and is was so peaceful!!! We didn't invite them to do anything at all. They said that they just hopped on Roberts Harley and went for a ride and was prompted to make a few turns and ended up at the Temple. So then we text back and say, “Hey, we can give you a tour of the MESA temple visitor center. They text back and say, “Yes, we were hoping you would say that.” They also said that they felt the spirit and they recognize that they both need it in there lives. So on Saturday we were able to go give them a tour of it and watch the Restoration and a family video. The spirit was so strong!!! They both loved it and can’t wait to visit with us again!!!! They are both past golden.

Robert was a member, but fell away after he got his call and has never gone back to church. And his GF, Karie, is a non member. This has been a huge testimony builder to me that when the Lord wants his work done he will do it. We are not in control of anything. All we can do is be obedient and the rest will work out. I am so glad the Lord is letting me be part of his work here in TEMPE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant wait till Thursday! Love you HJ!! And also that is transfers. Ha! But the lord will do his work. Oh yeah… we also, on Saturday, had a conference with D Todd Christopherson with our mission. Ha! It was super sweet. The 2nd counselor in the Presiding Bishopric and a 1st quorum of the seventy were also there and the presiding authority. That was a solid good meeting! Saturday was the best. We went out to the Res and some natives made us some fry bread :) 

MEG WHAT... THE? -_-

But that is super cool about Nancy! That is sweet! I got the package. It will be sweet! Gas here is 3:13 a gallon. Haha.

The place is the best! It is amazing that the Lord has blessed me so much as to call me to be one of His Representatives. The Lord has blessed me so much out here. I have been challenged to look for the ways the Lord has had his hand in my day. It is so crazy how much I need to learn. This is His work. There is just no other way to put it. This is the only way to be happy. You are always following someone you can never just be idle... The only way to be happy is to follow the law and commandments that the Lord has put in front of us. If you want to be happy, find more ways to be more obedient. Me and Elder Rook did and we are just trying to be strictly obedient… even when it might seem pointless and dull or dumb. It is worth it. And it is the only way to be happy. The devil has done a very good job at making the ways of the world look good and accepted, but out here the Lord has shown me how happy the "world and it’s way" is. You will never be happy if you do what you want to and follow what you want to do all the time. The lord only wants us to have joy (complete happiness  and he has laid the blue print on how to do it; "The commandments," but the natural man will look at it and say they are too hard or restricting. I have so much to learn and I can only learn so much a day.

This gospel is true and is the only way to know complete joy. Of this I know. I see it everyday. I see it when I look back at people I use to know . I love being out here. I have so much to learn and not enough time to learn in. I love being a missionary!

Pic of us at the Temple.   Karie is right next to me and Robert is behind her.

The Lord's Hand 9.15.14

What the????? Of course Nancy, I want you to write me!! Ha!

The last few days have been great! It was amazing yesterday to finally be able to teach a family! They are all super interested…I think. And I see great things happing in the future for them. I finally did get the package!!! #ties#heart#lovethem. Starting to love paisley ties… like a lot! Haha! You can’t have too many of them out here.

We are starting to see missionary work progress in my area with the ward. We are having all our dinner messages to family be about PMG and how everyone.. if you are a member of this church… is a missionary. I will be doing some serious hand-writing when I get home! Ha! I am getting the hang of it our here!!!! Finally! HAYDEN??? Man, I have not heard from you what the??? Silly!!!!!!

But this week has been amazing. The Stake President has asked us to look for the Lord’s hand in our work everyday. And sad to say.. it took a little bit to think of how He has? Yeah, so for the rest of the day I was thinking about it and saw the Lord’s hand in the lessons I taught, the people we saw, the members I see. The Lord has his hand in our lives. He knows how to do His work. This gospel with go forth boldly, nobly, and independent.  It is our job to just to be obedient and patient for the Lord to give us opportunities. The Lord has been in my life so much more than I have realized. I can not teach, be a missionary, or anything without Him. I am learning that the Lord loves all of his children! And I just need to share what I know with everyone I see. The lord puts people in your way just for us to be able to teach them. 

This gospel is the one true church and it stands alone in a world of darkness. It is a pillar of light. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works to glorify your father that is in heaven! I love to be able to read and study talks and scripture in the morning! I have just begun to realize that there is so much more out there to learn and to grow from! There is so much more that I need for my testimony to grow. 

I will put more details of the family that we are teaching in the hand letter. I expect a hand written letter from HJ before he goes the MTC!!!!! 

  

Pictures a scorpion and a huge 5 inch spider and a pretty cute Elder Dawes

Haboobs and Flood Waters

Yeah, I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious (Napolean Dynamite reference) Ha! The weather has been Cra-Cra. Like everything flooded. None in my apartment though. It was nice and cozy. Ha! It was crazy! This was the 2nd Haboob I have seen. This one was so cool looking! But that rain though!! Ha. Like 6 inches of rain in 8 hours! Flip Dang-Yeah. It has had cooler temps but 58,398 times the humidity ---. There is just no win out here! Ha. But it is still way cool to be out here. I will send a pic and the park is 6 feet under! Everywhere is just slopping wet! Haha! Way cool though. We are starting to use our members as much as we can. The people here, where I am, are all pretty content where they are right now. So when we come up to knock on the door they sure don't want to let us in. So we are really depending on our members to get us in, but they just need to get to know them and become their friend.

It is so crazy. 95% of the people don’t even know their neighbors names! Like, there is almost no interaction between people here! So, the first thing we are challenging our members to do is to get to know the first and last name of one of your neighbors. Turns out we are not in Emery County. (Silly-Silly.) 

But it is so cool out here. I was actually making fry bread. (P.S. 5,948,750 times harder then it looks. No joke!)

I am starting to just get the hang of things out here… and I love it!

WAY SAD ABOUT ZACK THO!!!!!!!!!! Man, I was looking forward to transfers just to see a face that I recognize! Silly-silly Satan. What a goof. He does work on you super hard right after you get your call. That is too bad!!!!

Yeah, I have Megan’s letter and that is all so far? Ha! I will send hers out when I have others to send out with it. I have to be Conservative with stamps.

We have transfers on the 24th. So idk if I will be with Elder Rook for his birthday. There is a very good chance I will be though. He has been here for 4.5 months, and so it could go either way.

Meg, you look great out there. I think it is a penalty because you are touching the net. (I have always wondered how people come up with positions to take pictures. Ha!)

I think I am glad I got out when I did from Emery Football. Ha!

Dad, I love that you are reading PMG. Man, that is what our message is every dinner lesson! Oh my, it is the greatest. Yes, definitely try and read that with the family for FHE or something. It is the best book. It helps you gain your own testimony instead of just memorizing discussions. It was for sure inspired.

WOOT-WOOT to B! Ha! Ha! That is so cool. I have now come to the realization that life does go on without me. It is so weird to see things like that! But congratulations B!! I do expect to see some more pics though. Ha!

Dad, I am super glad to hear your back is doing well! If you could would you send be my flops and some more shorts? Life is crazy and I am about out of time, but it is good!!!! The temple was way good. I have a testimony that you will get answers to your prayers if you take them to the temple.

Here are some pics:

1- Elder Dawes & Elder May switch jackets

2- Floods in Arizona

Pay-Day Letter from Elder Dawes 9.2.14

We had such a good day yesterday. It was amazing!!! We are in a pretty rich area so the people are not ever outside and are not open to religion or changing there. So Elder Rook and I decided that we would talk to everyone we see. (On a lucky day we will see like 5 people outside). That is including the people that are just getting out of their cars and/or in their garages. But me and Elder Rook prayed that we could find an investigator. Man, The Lord provided! We found a lady named Caroline that we are now teaching. Ha! She has been Methodist her whole life. And we have been able to teach her very well. I think we are able to each teach like half of the lessons.

The people here are soo nice! The ward here is soo amazing! They are lining up for the dinner schedule. We literally have dinners every night! And they have actually been super good!

On a side note, man, I wish that there was such thing as cold here. Ha! I looked at the temperature in Castle Dale one day and it was 75! Ha!  People don't go swimming here if it is 80 because it is too cold.

I have not got the mail yet from Tempe. I did get the letter from Meg though. Ha! I will be writing back. Silly silly... Ha!

You went and hiked Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse. That would be fun! And I bet it was like 80 (a.k.a sweater weather). Man, yeah, if you don't have water here you will be a raisin in 5 minutes. Ha! This is a little gross, but when I drip sweat onto the sidewalk… it evaporates in, no joke, 4 seconds. My blood is probably thinner than laxative water. And when I walk outside, and it is only 101, I feel like I am in heaven.

Anyway, I love it out here. I love to be able to rekindle a little that has been put out over time when they hear the gospel. We just go out everyday trying to just invite others to come unto Christ. That is our whole purpose as a missionary.

     

And to Dad, yes, I bet that camping with a lot of girls would be

very different than scouts! Ha! And yeah, going without water was silly.

Haha! That would be bad! But that is sweet that you are getting out and

doing a lot of stuff.

I don't really have anything to complain about. I have not felt homesick or anything like that. I feel The Lord has really blessed me, and how he is helping me be focused on the work.

PREACH MY GOSPEL…Ha! That is like the greatest thing ever! It is so helpful for everything you do. It is amazing. The Lord is blessing me with courage and stuff like that. We went to church and the Bishop came up and asked if I could talk after the sacrament... Ha! So I did, and all I did was go through the first lesson. God is our loving Heavenly Father, the gospel blesses family,..etc. And then I just bore my testimony and experiences on each one.

I am so grateful that you raised me the way you did. I have learned how to listen and to talk to people! I have learned that some thing's are going to be hard, but with The Lord, I can get through them. Some advise you gave me before I left was that I should only take things one day at a time... That helped me for the first few days, then time bolted, and I am a month out. The MTC is a blur to me now! And I am half way with this transfer. It is crazy. But I love it. I bike everywhere I go, and I sweat even more. But the work is good. You raised me so well.

 

We were able to be in a home where a less-active prayed aloud for the first time in years. The Spirit was incredible. I could feel the blood pumping in my heart. The Spirit was so amazing in the lesson. I love it.

Next week we are going to have P-day on Wednesday. Our zone is going to the temple so you won't be getting a letter till then. In the meantime, I would love to get hand-written letters. (You could have already sent them… it takes a while for the zone leaders to go to Tempe and pick them up.) I will be writing Meg back today. Ha! Thanks.