Hello Family! I can't believe its
Monday already! From what your emails have sounded like, our new ward must be
pretty cool! We didn't do those fun activities for scouts or young men. We had
a few fun trips for like youth conference. I remember that we went boating
twice out at Starvation Res. Man, that seems like it was forever ago! Good
memories. GAVIN: How was your scout camp? Do you like the new ward? Are the
young men nice? It sounded like a blast so I hope you weren't too home sick. Go
on lots of camp outs before you come on your mission, it will teach you how to
not be home sick. :) CONNOR: I know you wont get this until you get home from
scout camp but how was it? Do you like the ward too?
This week we went on exchanges with
Elders Hearn and Heiner. Elder Heiner goes home with Elder Wardell and they
wanted to be comps for the day and our district leader approved it. So they
drove in from Gila, New Mexico and then I drove back out there with Elder
Hearn. He is great! I don't remember very much about him except that we have a
lot of the same interests. We both like sports and listened to the same kind of
music back home. He goes home in about 9 months or so. I know that I have been
East of Utah but I never really had a choice about it. I just always tagged
along. Well for the first time, I can say that I finally went east of Utah on
my own! Haha I know it's kinda lame to say but I haven't really traveled
anywhere but north and west. Well not anymore! ;) Gila, New Mexico is tiny. I
thought that Pima was small but at least I can see other peoples houses when I
go out my front door. Gila has one church building that is about the size of
the gym of our old church there next to the high school. It is really small.
There are no stores for 30 miles in any direction and no gas stations for 15
miles in any direction. It was great to see a new area and get to know new
people but it really made me appreciate all those months that I was on a bike.
We spent easily over 3 hours in the car going to appointments and that isn't
counting the 3 hours to get to Gila and back to Pima. But it was great. I loved
Elder Hearn! He isn't the best example but he is really easy to get along with.
All of the missionaries that are going home at the end of the transfer get to
go to the Temple one last time before they go home. So Elder Heiner and Elder
Hearn are coming back out here so that Elder Heiner can go to the Temple. That means
that I get to be with Elder Hearn again on Tuesday! :)
Elder Wardell got sick the day after
exchanges so we stayed in all that day. He just had the 24 hour bug so he is
feeling better now but it was hard to see him in pain and I couldn't do
anything to help him out. He stayed in bed most of the day except for when he
showered and when he came in to try and get some food in his stomach. I studied
and slept for a little bit. Elder Wardell has an electric keyboard that he
plays on every so often. He is teaching himself how to play and has memorized a
hymn or 2. So I decided I should give it a try. I have now learned how to
slowly read music and play both the top hand and the bottom hand! Like I said,
it is very slow and takes me about three times as long to get through the song
but I am learning! :)
This week was President Killpacks
final Zone Conference in the Gila Valley. He is such a great mission president.
I am really going to miss him and sister Killpack. They have really helped me
realize my true potential to be the missionary the Lord knows I can be and I am
striving harder than ever to get there. I know I won't be perfect, and trust
me, I haven't been, but I am trying and that is what the Lord asks of me. The
hardest part for me is getting up on time. Elder Wardell doesn't usually get up
till around 9 or even 10, sometimes later. And I don't usually sleep in past 8
but like I said, I'm not perfect. President Killpack says that the morning
schedule will either make or break your mission. And I can see the way that it
has made my mission better! I’m not saying that I am glad that I sleep in
sometimes cause I don't like the fact that I do it. But I don't have the
motivation to get up by myself. We have 5 alarms that go off at 6:30 and some
of them aren't even in our bedroom! Plus we have a daily challenge from the
Zone Leaders to do every morning and the winner of the week gets a prize. We
get up and turn off all the alarms and do the challenge but then somehow we end
up back in bed. Well I know how, we walk there, but Elder Wardell wont stay up.
I go in and turn the light on and ask him if he's going to get in the shower
and do that multiple times. But until he's ready to get up, he won't unless he
has to. So this week I am going to try and set some appointments for like 9 or
8 in the morning so that he has to get up and maybe that will help him for the
last 2 weeks of his mission or so. Don't get me wrong, I love Elder Wardell! He
is one of my favorite companions I've had out here. But no one is perfect and
everyone has their own battles to work through.
This week we have been talking about
Alma 6:6 and relating it the talk given by Elder S. Gifford Nielson called
"Hastening the Lord's Game Plan!". You can re-read it here - <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/hastening-the-lords-game-plan?lang=eng>
I really liked this talk! In the talk, he asks the Members to pray for 3
things. 1) Pray for the missionaries by name (that includes me and the
missionaries in the ward you are in too). 2) Pray for my investigators and the
investigators in the ward you are in now too. If you will pray for Aaron
Totsoni that would be awesome! I will tell you about him in a second. 3) Pray
for missionary opportunities of your own. I realized something though as I was
reading Alma 6:6. Alma talks about "mighty prayer". So what makes a
prayer mighty...? I think it has to do with the intents of your heart. You can
pray for all these things but if you don't have real intent to do them, it
doesn't matter what you pray for. Real intent and having the Spirit are the two
most important things you can have during a prayer. I've learned that before I
pray, if I take like a minute or two to clear my mind, my prayers are more
meaningful and I get more out of them and put more into them too!
Now about Aaron Totsoni. Aaron is 22
and absolutely Golden! I have talked about him in past emails. I remember
telling you guys that we were teaching him and that he wanted to get baptized!
Well the only problem is that he lives in San Carlos, AZ. San Carlos is not
only out of our area, it is out of our mission... So President Killpack said
that we needed to pass him off to the Elders serving in San Carlos but that we
could keep teaching him until they took over. That means that he cant get
baptized down here. Well, we told his fellow shipper who just so happens to be
the ward Mission Leaders wife. Her and Aaron were great friends before he
started taking the lessons and she wanted him to get baptized. So she called
President Killpack yesterday. She explained the situation more clearly to
President. Aaron lives alone, his parents kicked him out. He drives the 2 hours
or so every week to come to church with her. The person he wants to baptize him
lives in the ward too. And lastly, he is moving up to Mesa in like 3 weeks for
school so San Carlos is only a temporary place for him to live. We got a call
from President Killpack and he said, "Elders, because of Aarons situation,
you have my permission to baptize him in there in Pima. Keep up the good work
Elders!" AARON IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!! The baptism date is set for
the 1st of July. It's not a Saturday but it fits best with his schedule and the
person he wants to baptize him! Elder Wardell is super excited too cause he has
been teaching him from the first lesson. What a great way to end his mission!
Well that about sums up this week.
Oh! Connor: Remember how you told me that USA wasn't going anywhere in this
world cup? Well, you were wrong!!! Here is what needs to happen for USA to move
on to the next round. We either need to win or tie against Germany. If we lose
to Germany, then Portugal would have to beat Ghana and our point differential
would have to be higher than Portugal's. Portugal is at a -4 point differential
and USA is at +1. So we just have to stay above them in that way and we will
move on! I can't believe that I am missing everything! They play on Thursday
and so you guys better watch it for me cause I can't! If you can, try to go to
the Jones's and watch it there cause that where I would be watching if I was
home. You can just go there for me! ;)
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Remember to
say your prayers and study your scriptures, including PMG! I love you. <3
~Elder Kyle Harris
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