When the time for performance has arrived,
the time for preparation has passed.
Thomas S. Monson
Elder Fudim for the Last Time
Sent April 28, 2008
ok, so can i tell you how weird this feels knowing that the next time i talk to yall ill be able to see you! this past week has been a roller coaster of feelings to say the least...im not sure how to really feel about my mission ending! its kinda sad to think that my mission the thing that every kid looks to and doesnt really look past, is going to be over! forever!man, last week at zone conference i gave my farewell testimony....such a unreal feeling, cuz they call the names of all the departing missionaries to go up and give their testimonies, and i was first on the list...and that wasnt good cuz i got caught off gaurd...kinda one of those things that you know your whole mish that its gonna happen but when they call your name youre not realy prepared...but the temple was awesome! i was so excited to go in..... i thought a lot about all the people in my life good bad and anyone....every single person ive come in contact with has had some impact on me thats gotten me to this point! then i thought a lot about those members of our family who dont have these great feeling of going into the lord's house...either because they havent accepted the gospel yet, or they havent been able to make and keep covenants...and those feelings i had in there once again re-confirmed to me that this is true, and the great work that ive been apart of for the past 2 years is the most important thing ive done so-far in my life...the most important thing i can do right now, is make a desicion to continue to serve, and stick to it...theres so many bum returned missionaries that come back and dont do things...ive learned we dont have to be the smartest or the most able or the most spiritual or even the most worthy! for the lord to use us...we are all unworthy and we are all completely un able to do this work when we actually think about it! but its when we go and do! when we show the lord that were willing to be a do-er, then hes the one who qualifies us...its been like that since the very beggining...look @ joseph smith...man look @ moses! neither of them thought they were qualified, but they showed that they wanted to serve...last time i talked to prez he told me that one of the most crucial times in my life is coming...right after the mish! cuz you can either keep the fire and keep it burning, or you can come back and let it die down...he gave me a list of "absolutes". things that need to happen after the mish and a list of things that i can start after the mish, to keep it burning...wow, can i just say right now that president allred truly is one of my heroes...man i look up to him sooo much... his talk last zone conf after the temple session was incredible, the things he said helped me come to conclusions and find answers to ive been looking for my whole mission! the power of the atonement is real and it truly does heal broken hearts! there is safety found when we make and keep covenants! ill have to tell you what he said when i can talk to you in person....we had an aweome leson with the minkels, on friday, then again on sunday after church...kinda sad tho that it was my last lesson being able to teach them, im sure ill be able to see em again, but not as a teacher! but theyre still on fire! ariel is doing great, weve still been teaching her the new member lessons, and she is soaking it all in, we gave her a copy of pmg and let her go to town with that, its been cool because her mom had been asking a lot of questions about the church still so its strengthened ariels testimony being able to teach her mom...weve stopped by beth again recently, and ahhh man, its still the same, but a little better! theyre soooo going to be members of the church and accept the gospel 100%...and when they do theyll be unstoppable. we just need to get her to that point...but the past couple visits have been a lot better than about a month ago! she straight told us that she knows that eventually theyll join, but its all timing, but then she thanked me for being here for all the crazy moments in their lives...mani still have such high hopes for that family! no matter how much added anxiety and stress theyve brought...i wouldnt change it after thinking about it! because i knonw theyre still headed in the right direction, so theyll be that much more prepared and ready for when they finally do make that desicion! the avilas are still awesome...lucy was so glad that we were able to go and see edwin...hes not at the new place yet, the new one is in san antone (about 2 hrs away). but we were added to the list of people ok to see him, so we got to go in and talk to him...wow. that was hard and i dont know if i was completely ready for that! talk about a humbling experience...and he got kinda choked up when he appologized to me that this was the way i had to say goodbye to him...behind glass on a phone...but im so glad i got to see him. man, i want you all to know i love my mission! its meant everything and more to me! through it ive learned whats important. im not coming back with the book of mormon memorized, or an amazing bible scholar...but i do know that this church is true, and i do know who my heavenly father is. i know the power of prayer changes things, ive seen miracles happen on my mission. how grateful i am to have served these past 2 years in the areas ive served, and met the people ive met!houston texas will always be a special place for me.thank you for all yall have done for me these past two years...each of you individually has been an amazing source of support and motivation for me...thank you! im so excited to see yall...you have no idea! thanks for everything!keep on keepin on, because the church is true!-elder fudim
ok, so can i tell you how weird this feels knowing that the next time i talk to yall ill be able to see you! this past week has been a roller coaster of feelings to say the least...im not sure how to really feel about my mission ending! its kinda sad to think that my mission the thing that every kid looks to and doesnt really look past, is going to be over! forever!man, last week at zone conference i gave my farewell testimony....such a unreal feeling, cuz they call the names of all the departing missionaries to go up and give their testimonies, and i was first on the list...and that wasnt good cuz i got caught off gaurd...kinda one of those things that you know your whole mish that its gonna happen but when they call your name youre not realy prepared...but the temple was awesome! i was so excited to go in..... i thought a lot about all the people in my life good bad and anyone....every single person ive come in contact with has had some impact on me thats gotten me to this point! then i thought a lot about those members of our family who dont have these great feeling of going into the lord's house...either because they havent accepted the gospel yet, or they havent been able to make and keep covenants...and those feelings i had in there once again re-confirmed to me that this is true, and the great work that ive been apart of for the past 2 years is the most important thing ive done so-far in my life...the most important thing i can do right now, is make a desicion to continue to serve, and stick to it...theres so many bum returned missionaries that come back and dont do things...ive learned we dont have to be the smartest or the most able or the most spiritual or even the most worthy! for the lord to use us...we are all unworthy and we are all completely un able to do this work when we actually think about it! but its when we go and do! when we show the lord that were willing to be a do-er, then hes the one who qualifies us...its been like that since the very beggining...look @ joseph smith...man look @ moses! neither of them thought they were qualified, but they showed that they wanted to serve...last time i talked to prez he told me that one of the most crucial times in my life is coming...right after the mish! cuz you can either keep the fire and keep it burning, or you can come back and let it die down...he gave me a list of "absolutes". things that need to happen after the mish and a list of things that i can start after the mish, to keep it burning...wow, can i just say right now that president allred truly is one of my heroes...man i look up to him sooo much... his talk last zone conf after the temple session was incredible, the things he said helped me come to conclusions and find answers to ive been looking for my whole mission! the power of the atonement is real and it truly does heal broken hearts! there is safety found when we make and keep covenants! ill have to tell you what he said when i can talk to you in person....we had an aweome leson with the minkels, on friday, then again on sunday after church...kinda sad tho that it was my last lesson being able to teach them, im sure ill be able to see em again, but not as a teacher! but theyre still on fire! ariel is doing great, weve still been teaching her the new member lessons, and she is soaking it all in, we gave her a copy of pmg and let her go to town with that, its been cool because her mom had been asking a lot of questions about the church still so its strengthened ariels testimony being able to teach her mom...weve stopped by beth again recently, and ahhh man, its still the same, but a little better! theyre soooo going to be members of the church and accept the gospel 100%...and when they do theyll be unstoppable. we just need to get her to that point...but the past couple visits have been a lot better than about a month ago! she straight told us that she knows that eventually theyll join, but its all timing, but then she thanked me for being here for all the crazy moments in their lives...mani still have such high hopes for that family! no matter how much added anxiety and stress theyve brought...i wouldnt change it after thinking about it! because i knonw theyre still headed in the right direction, so theyll be that much more prepared and ready for when they finally do make that desicion! the avilas are still awesome...lucy was so glad that we were able to go and see edwin...hes not at the new place yet, the new one is in san antone (about 2 hrs away). but we were added to the list of people ok to see him, so we got to go in and talk to him...wow. that was hard and i dont know if i was completely ready for that! talk about a humbling experience...and he got kinda choked up when he appologized to me that this was the way i had to say goodbye to him...behind glass on a phone...but im so glad i got to see him. man, i want you all to know i love my mission! its meant everything and more to me! through it ive learned whats important. im not coming back with the book of mormon memorized, or an amazing bible scholar...but i do know that this church is true, and i do know who my heavenly father is. i know the power of prayer changes things, ive seen miracles happen on my mission. how grateful i am to have served these past 2 years in the areas ive served, and met the people ive met!houston texas will always be a special place for me.thank you for all yall have done for me these past two years...each of you individually has been an amazing source of support and motivation for me...thank you! im so excited to see yall...you have no idea! thanks for everything!keep on keepin on, because the church is true!-elder fudim
April Emails
Sent April 21
wow,so much this week! first ill tell you about how we painted the bird! so while ferny and her mom were at the hospital all weekend i guess in the midst of all the confusion they forgot about nati's bird, and it died....problem being shes extremely attatched to the bird...so when we called hna avila and told her the bird had died she knew nati would be crushed! so we went around looking for a replacement bird! another problem is her bird is all white with a couple blue spots! and there are no white birds with blue spots to be found in all of rosenberg! finally right before theyre gonna get home from the hospital on tue we heard from another missionary that theres a lady who knows a lady whos mom buys birds from a little hispanic lady out of her home....soooooooo....we tack down this little lady and she has birds! and theyre cheap too! but all she has is BRIGHT green birds...so we decide whatever and buy the bird and tell her we got sick of it being white and we were gonna paint it for her....hahawhen we went back later that night her reaction was hilarious! and she kinda likes her birds "new hair style" we called it! but so that was fun this week...we lied to a 4 year old about her painting her bird...wow i feel good about myself.but also we talked to the minkels again...and were set for this friday! im soo excited...but again its bittersweet, cuz i know that i wont be able to see them be baptized! but i need to remember that ive def been able to see miracles and that theyve come so far and that i know that we were the missionaries that were needed at this time for them to get this far! im still so amazed at the fact that everything that they were telling us that they wanted to happen in the next lesson and everything they wanted us to teach and talk to the kids about was everything that we had planned....so i def know that the lords hand is in this lesson! i def know that when we teach them its not only what they want to happen but its exactly what the lord wants them to hear at this time! so that def a good feeling!but this week weve done more knocking and ive been a lot more bold with people and its worked! like one door i went to i did my regular.."hi im elder fudim a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints" and he cuts me off and says im a baptist and my wifes a catholic, weve got the religion thing covered! so i said, thats good sir but do you think christ intended it to be that way, do you think maybe he has one way for both you and your wife!? and he listened! i was able to teach him...its not like he was a golden investigator but i was ablew to talk to him and help smooth out some of the opinions he had about mormons...i left him with a 1st pamp and told him to read then showed him the website....so it was cool because above all it showed me again that i cant be afraid to be bold, they may not like what i say, but itll leave them thinking! man thats so cool to hear about chels and sean both being in laurels and deacins pres...studs! so hows murray doing...whats wrong with him again...man thats such a bummer, ill be praying for him.....for sure! im glad yall will be able to see him tho, tell him i say hello..wow thats soooo cool to hear about kathleen and her sister missionaries! wow thats soo cool. you have no idea how dumb i look at the computer with my dopey grin right now! thats def good to hear! wow i love getting these kind of emails from you...where everyone is doing good and things are happening! wow so with ferny...haha....we were able to call her while she was in the hospital, and one of the time that i callled she was saying that she hopes the doctors dont keep her till thursday cuz she doesnt wanna miss young womens...sesh and i laughed cuz shes still so young...so itll def be good for her to be able to be a kid again...its been good being able to see her being with her friends agian...cuz she def needs and deserves that...before she was very self concious didnt get too involved, but now shes back to herself again which is good....lucy said it was soo good being able to know that the baby is going to a great family and that now they can try and get back to normal.but wow things are so good out here, im kind of in awe thayt its coming to and end very very quick......so weird! but yeah todays been a good day already...i got a good letter, and were goin to the alligator park today. so it should be fun...man i cant wait to tell you guys in person all of my experiences!i love yall so much....ill see you soon!-kendall
Sent April 14
thats so crazy!!! dans going foreign!!! switzerland of all places too!! wow!! what a freakin stud tho! thatll be so weird cuz matt and i are goin through things that he wont really...but he be dealin with soooooo much more that we cant even imagine...i just think what different experiences well all have...gram and pa in one summer will have 2 rm grandsons and continue to have a grandson on a mish...thats so cool!wow thats soo weird to think that james is home now! wow....next week caleb gets home!!! then 2 weeks i go! woot woot! and ok woman i DO have a layover in slc...i got my itinerary changed....i now leave h-town brown...at 4...i get to slc @ 630...but i dont leave slc till 925 and get into sac town @ 1015...i got it changed so that way i get to fly with all my buds to slc...i was gonna fly all by my lonesem to slc and be stuck @ the h-town airport for 3 hours...but i told the sister in charge of the tickets id rather be hangin out in the slc airpot than h-town...at least in slc there will be people to talk to...so yeah what now! ill still be in sac at about 1015 tho...man that would be so rad if randy came to the airport!!!! im so stoked!yeah things are better with sesh and i...i just need to realize ill be done in 23 days so whatev....as for the avilas.....big news...today ferny had the baby! man on fri she was having problems so they went to the hospital...shed been there ever since and hna avila left a text message today that ferny had the baby!! everythings going fine and were excited for em, im sure its extremely emotional, but at the same time they can now start to focus on helping ferny get better and try to get back to things again. edwins still at the old place but goin soon so were still praying for him.awww man the minkels!!! man we got a call last night from them...and were gonna need to push the date back.....im soooooooo bummed! so now i wont be out here when they get baptized! but its all good cuz they are still wanting to learn, but they want us to def focus on the kids...bummer tho cuz ya know that cool lesson we had planned, well the appt got cancelled so we never got to do it, but when sis minkel called she told us that her and bro minkel were thinking that they wanted us to teach just the kids, and if it was possible, to have the kids teach them afterwards.....so we were excitede for the fact that we were inspired enough to realize that thats what we were gonna do from the very beggining ands now thats what theyre telling us they need...so that was kind of a good feeling...so yea im excited in the most bummed way right now, cuz i now know that i wont baptize any more here in texas...so its kinda weird to think about that...but awe man sesh and i had the best tracting day yesterday!!! we were truly blessed...we were both kinda bummed and decided to knock a cmplex that weve passd hundreds of times and it turned out to be a gold mine!! we found 5 new investigators there and taught 7 other lessons!! so this week we had a total of 9 newbs....awesome!so yeah were def excited...im loving my last little bit out here, just trying to work hard so that way my wife will be good lookin! hahaanyways...love yall tons, thanks for all you do-kendall
Sent April 7
man o man,nothing golden can stay! conference has come and gone! wow what amazing sessions we had...how blessed we are to have such inspired leaders! wow, i hope you all got a message that effected you each directly...i know i sure did...im get soooo excited for conference, and i love priesthood session...besides the temple i think priesthood sessions might be my next favorite place to be! so good...thats so good to hear from you guys and that yall are doing. man im soo excitd to see you guys. sounds like you all have a lot goin on and are keepin real busy with life. the minkel family is still doing good, we have a lesson with them tomorrow.....so were way excited, for that...no we havent had the chance to see the spanish referral yet, its about 30 minutes away in the middle of no where, so its kinda hard to just stop by....but we made it a goal to go out the this week....were keeping our fingers crossed!wow though....today sessions and i kinda got in a fight.....its so frustrating at times.....i love the kid to death but does he test my patience.....he only has 1 brother thats 10 yrs older, so he was basically treated as an only child his whole life, so he kinda has that mentality....so he lets the stupidest little things bug him, if its not done right or not his way....and me out for a long time have almost no patience for people who get bent over nothing or when things dont go their way....its a mission...most of the time things are gonna suck, its hot outside, people are mean, and most of the time things dont go your way....freakin cowboy up!....kinda hard to explain but wow...im trying really hard to be patient and still work hard and act like i love him....ya know i dont want to leave and for him to be glad im gone...thats such a bummer. but at the same time ive really been struggling becasue maybe he needs help...ya know. one thing ive learned from the mish is that, im so quick to judge others and quick to find fault and how those faults upset me...but really i should probably look at the sich again and think of what i can be doing better...how i can continually be a better companion and friend to him...i just said numerous times that a mission isnt easy...and i need to remember that hes still got a long time to go, so maybe thats whats getting him down, or he has problems back home...i have no idea...but maybe i should be a little more charitable towards him..it would be so easy for me to kinda just throw in the towel with him so to speak and tell myself that ive got 28 days...but thats not what this lifes about..i need to endure to the end to recieve the blessings!! so from now on im gonna try a little harder to think of what i can do to help.mom ill def be praying for you....i love you tons and tons...just know a missionary in texas loves you and is praying for your comfort!man thats weird to think about my drums again....haha...man i love this work...i cant wait to talk to each of you guys and spend some much needed one on one time with each of you...i love yall sooooo much.... i know now more than ever the adversary does not want me to become who heavenly father wants me to become....these next coulpe months will determine if i stay dedicated with finding out who he wants me to be...basically i cant be just anither r/m bum that goes and settles with the norm...im freakin kendall i can do anything!-see you in 28 days............................... love you-from me-
wow,so much this week! first ill tell you about how we painted the bird! so while ferny and her mom were at the hospital all weekend i guess in the midst of all the confusion they forgot about nati's bird, and it died....problem being shes extremely attatched to the bird...so when we called hna avila and told her the bird had died she knew nati would be crushed! so we went around looking for a replacement bird! another problem is her bird is all white with a couple blue spots! and there are no white birds with blue spots to be found in all of rosenberg! finally right before theyre gonna get home from the hospital on tue we heard from another missionary that theres a lady who knows a lady whos mom buys birds from a little hispanic lady out of her home....soooooooo....we tack down this little lady and she has birds! and theyre cheap too! but all she has is BRIGHT green birds...so we decide whatever and buy the bird and tell her we got sick of it being white and we were gonna paint it for her....hahawhen we went back later that night her reaction was hilarious! and she kinda likes her birds "new hair style" we called it! but so that was fun this week...we lied to a 4 year old about her painting her bird...wow i feel good about myself.but also we talked to the minkels again...and were set for this friday! im soo excited...but again its bittersweet, cuz i know that i wont be able to see them be baptized! but i need to remember that ive def been able to see miracles and that theyve come so far and that i know that we were the missionaries that were needed at this time for them to get this far! im still so amazed at the fact that everything that they were telling us that they wanted to happen in the next lesson and everything they wanted us to teach and talk to the kids about was everything that we had planned....so i def know that the lords hand is in this lesson! i def know that when we teach them its not only what they want to happen but its exactly what the lord wants them to hear at this time! so that def a good feeling!but this week weve done more knocking and ive been a lot more bold with people and its worked! like one door i went to i did my regular.."hi im elder fudim a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints" and he cuts me off and says im a baptist and my wifes a catholic, weve got the religion thing covered! so i said, thats good sir but do you think christ intended it to be that way, do you think maybe he has one way for both you and your wife!? and he listened! i was able to teach him...its not like he was a golden investigator but i was ablew to talk to him and help smooth out some of the opinions he had about mormons...i left him with a 1st pamp and told him to read then showed him the website....so it was cool because above all it showed me again that i cant be afraid to be bold, they may not like what i say, but itll leave them thinking! man thats so cool to hear about chels and sean both being in laurels and deacins pres...studs! so hows murray doing...whats wrong with him again...man thats such a bummer, ill be praying for him.....for sure! im glad yall will be able to see him tho, tell him i say hello..wow thats soooo cool to hear about kathleen and her sister missionaries! wow thats soo cool. you have no idea how dumb i look at the computer with my dopey grin right now! thats def good to hear! wow i love getting these kind of emails from you...where everyone is doing good and things are happening! wow so with ferny...haha....we were able to call her while she was in the hospital, and one of the time that i callled she was saying that she hopes the doctors dont keep her till thursday cuz she doesnt wanna miss young womens...sesh and i laughed cuz shes still so young...so itll def be good for her to be able to be a kid again...its been good being able to see her being with her friends agian...cuz she def needs and deserves that...before she was very self concious didnt get too involved, but now shes back to herself again which is good....lucy said it was soo good being able to know that the baby is going to a great family and that now they can try and get back to normal.but wow things are so good out here, im kind of in awe thayt its coming to and end very very quick......so weird! but yeah todays been a good day already...i got a good letter, and were goin to the alligator park today. so it should be fun...man i cant wait to tell you guys in person all of my experiences!i love yall so much....ill see you soon!-kendall
Sent April 14
thats so crazy!!! dans going foreign!!! switzerland of all places too!! wow!! what a freakin stud tho! thatll be so weird cuz matt and i are goin through things that he wont really...but he be dealin with soooooo much more that we cant even imagine...i just think what different experiences well all have...gram and pa in one summer will have 2 rm grandsons and continue to have a grandson on a mish...thats so cool!wow thats soo weird to think that james is home now! wow....next week caleb gets home!!! then 2 weeks i go! woot woot! and ok woman i DO have a layover in slc...i got my itinerary changed....i now leave h-town brown...at 4...i get to slc @ 630...but i dont leave slc till 925 and get into sac town @ 1015...i got it changed so that way i get to fly with all my buds to slc...i was gonna fly all by my lonesem to slc and be stuck @ the h-town airport for 3 hours...but i told the sister in charge of the tickets id rather be hangin out in the slc airpot than h-town...at least in slc there will be people to talk to...so yeah what now! ill still be in sac at about 1015 tho...man that would be so rad if randy came to the airport!!!! im so stoked!yeah things are better with sesh and i...i just need to realize ill be done in 23 days so whatev....as for the avilas.....big news...today ferny had the baby! man on fri she was having problems so they went to the hospital...shed been there ever since and hna avila left a text message today that ferny had the baby!! everythings going fine and were excited for em, im sure its extremely emotional, but at the same time they can now start to focus on helping ferny get better and try to get back to things again. edwins still at the old place but goin soon so were still praying for him.awww man the minkels!!! man we got a call last night from them...and were gonna need to push the date back.....im soooooooo bummed! so now i wont be out here when they get baptized! but its all good cuz they are still wanting to learn, but they want us to def focus on the kids...bummer tho cuz ya know that cool lesson we had planned, well the appt got cancelled so we never got to do it, but when sis minkel called she told us that her and bro minkel were thinking that they wanted us to teach just the kids, and if it was possible, to have the kids teach them afterwards.....so we were excitede for the fact that we were inspired enough to realize that thats what we were gonna do from the very beggining ands now thats what theyre telling us they need...so that was kind of a good feeling...so yea im excited in the most bummed way right now, cuz i now know that i wont baptize any more here in texas...so its kinda weird to think about that...but awe man sesh and i had the best tracting day yesterday!!! we were truly blessed...we were both kinda bummed and decided to knock a cmplex that weve passd hundreds of times and it turned out to be a gold mine!! we found 5 new investigators there and taught 7 other lessons!! so this week we had a total of 9 newbs....awesome!so yeah were def excited...im loving my last little bit out here, just trying to work hard so that way my wife will be good lookin! hahaanyways...love yall tons, thanks for all you do-kendall
Sent April 7
man o man,nothing golden can stay! conference has come and gone! wow what amazing sessions we had...how blessed we are to have such inspired leaders! wow, i hope you all got a message that effected you each directly...i know i sure did...im get soooo excited for conference, and i love priesthood session...besides the temple i think priesthood sessions might be my next favorite place to be! so good...thats so good to hear from you guys and that yall are doing. man im soo excitd to see you guys. sounds like you all have a lot goin on and are keepin real busy with life. the minkel family is still doing good, we have a lesson with them tomorrow.....so were way excited, for that...no we havent had the chance to see the spanish referral yet, its about 30 minutes away in the middle of no where, so its kinda hard to just stop by....but we made it a goal to go out the this week....were keeping our fingers crossed!wow though....today sessions and i kinda got in a fight.....its so frustrating at times.....i love the kid to death but does he test my patience.....he only has 1 brother thats 10 yrs older, so he was basically treated as an only child his whole life, so he kinda has that mentality....so he lets the stupidest little things bug him, if its not done right or not his way....and me out for a long time have almost no patience for people who get bent over nothing or when things dont go their way....its a mission...most of the time things are gonna suck, its hot outside, people are mean, and most of the time things dont go your way....freakin cowboy up!....kinda hard to explain but wow...im trying really hard to be patient and still work hard and act like i love him....ya know i dont want to leave and for him to be glad im gone...thats such a bummer. but at the same time ive really been struggling becasue maybe he needs help...ya know. one thing ive learned from the mish is that, im so quick to judge others and quick to find fault and how those faults upset me...but really i should probably look at the sich again and think of what i can be doing better...how i can continually be a better companion and friend to him...i just said numerous times that a mission isnt easy...and i need to remember that hes still got a long time to go, so maybe thats whats getting him down, or he has problems back home...i have no idea...but maybe i should be a little more charitable towards him..it would be so easy for me to kinda just throw in the towel with him so to speak and tell myself that ive got 28 days...but thats not what this lifes about..i need to endure to the end to recieve the blessings!! so from now on im gonna try a little harder to think of what i can do to help.mom ill def be praying for you....i love you tons and tons...just know a missionary in texas loves you and is praying for your comfort!man thats weird to think about my drums again....haha...man i love this work...i cant wait to talk to each of you guys and spend some much needed one on one time with each of you...i love yall sooooo much.... i know now more than ever the adversary does not want me to become who heavenly father wants me to become....these next coulpe months will determine if i stay dedicated with finding out who he wants me to be...basically i cant be just anither r/m bum that goes and settles with the norm...im freakin kendall i can do anything!-see you in 28 days............................... love you-from me-
In the Service of The Lord
Old News
Sent March 31
wow...crazy things are happening!
kevin couch! what a stud! and thats soo cool to hear about anthony, wheres he going? man ill definitely go to his farewell...
thats fun to hear about what goes on in primary...ill bet youre doin an awesome job...
wow, thats soo weird to me that natahniel comes home! i was in the mtc with him....that almost makes it sound like im close to goin home or something.....good thing im NOT! and ive still got oober time to help these people.....
wow...ok sooooo....heres the week in rosenberg........to say it was a week full of miracles would be an understatement!
so the minkels have a bap date set for the 26 of april!!!! wow we are soo stoked! the lesson was absolutely amazing...the spirit was so strong! what a difference it makes teaching in members homes! bro and sis minkel told us that they would love them all to be baptized but theyre concerned that the kids dont have a full testimony of baptism yet...i said that was prefect because our next lesson is the gospel and it talks specifically about baptism and so were gonna make a lesson planned just for the kids...were gonna take em outside and have activities for them so they can have visual aides that can go along with the lesson...sis potter...the fellowshipper is gonna keep bro and sis minkel in the house while were outside with the kids, then after we teach the kids were all gonna go inside and let the kids teach bro and sis minkel so that way they can see that the kids have a good understanding of why were baptized...our next lesson is apr 9th so were getting oober ready and were so excited for it!
also a la/pm that weve been workin w/....the omuryi fam all came to church yesterday... in the begining the wife was not friendly toward us, either she wouldnt let us in, or when wed talk to the husband and the kids shed go in the back room...so on sat when we went over she was the one who invited us in, her husband was busy so we talked to her for about 10 min until her husband came out, it was so different...then on sunday we saw them and their 6 kids @ church!! how cool is that.. she hasnt been to church for prolly 2 yrs!
little things keep happening, and were so stoked for it all to play out!
were gonna go check on that spanish referral from prez lopez this week, now that we have more miles! they sound so awesome, the lopez family keeps asking us if weve gone and seen em yet, the familys name is the longorias...fyi!
ok so now for the avilas.....wow....the hits just keep on comin! luckily this hit was kind of a love tap cuz its both good and bad...
but anyways they went to court, and found out that edwin will be transfered to another location up by san antone...major bumer...but hermana avila remains optimistic and was telling us that up there its a way nicer location...actually the new place isnt even a detention center, so hes not even in jail...its more for therapy and getting him back into the swing of things and helping him cope with the whole sich...cuz i guess he still feels pretty bad..he'll be able to wear normal clothes, attend classes, call home...so i guess its more like a therapy/boarding school/clinic place....so thats whats keeping the avilas positive, is the fact that he'll be taken care of so much better up there...cuz hes only 13 and this place that hes in right now is an actual jail with some pretty rough stuff goin on...
but since he cant recive mail from others right now, i wanted to think of a way that i can still get a message to him. and since hermano and hermana avila get to see him every sunday what i decided im gonna do is make posters each with a different word on em, and have a different missionary hold each poster, and take a picture of it...then print off the pictures and give em to hermana avila so she can put em in her purse next time she goes to see him, then he can look at the pictures and read our message so he knows we love him! im so excited...
thanks for all your prayers and your fasts...you dont know how much it means to not only the avilas...tons and tons! but also it means a lot to me too, knowing that my family whos 2000 miles away cares for these people that theyve never met! you guys are such an example to me!!thank you!
anyways things are going good, e sessions and i had the best week weve had so far as a companionship...we had the highest numbers last week, so were gonna try and improve it every week till i leave...i want these last 5 weeks to be the most amazing weeks! miracles are truly happening!! ether 12:12
-hey caleb...man im oober stoked to see you..thats so cool that you started baseball, im gonna have to come and see one of your games, if the season is still goin on! have fun ya lil philly!
-aliya- my lil friend...how are you...you bet im excited that youre six...thats soo old! but not as old as dad, and definitely not as old as mom, cuz shes older than dad...did you know that?! haha thats rad youre on the swim team, you should get an orange swim suit so that way you'll look like nemo...
well fam, thanks again for all you do, yall are amazing! keep on keepin on! im sooooooooooo excited about conference!
-kendall
Sent March 24
ok so wow this was a week to remember....
both way good and way bad...and a little bit of everything else...
so to start off with the bad, that way i dont finish on a depressing note..
so on friday morning at about 605 we got a call from charlies wife..and she was goin crazy, she was crying so hard into the phone that we could barely understnd her, turns out charlie is abusive, and me having a great opinion of abusive men wanted to leave and beat the crap out of him...i was so mad...she kept telling us that she was ok and she just needed someone to talk to because at least he wasnt physically abusive hes just extremely mentally and emotionally abusive, she then said that she was going to be moving out and she needed our help to get her out quick and to come over at about 9...we didnt feel very comfortable being that far form the sitch for that long so we went over to the neighborhood and parked the car about 5 houses away just incase anything happened...meanwhile we called her 17 yr old daughter who was in her room, and that was kinda our communication line with the wife just to make sure she was doin ok...things were goin good and we found em a place to stay for a couple days, then her and charlie talked and she called us about 1030 and said that she was sorry for calling us because she realized that she was overreacting and that really it was her fault and that hes changing...which made us even more mad, because all hes doing now is manipulating her into thinking its her fault!! but at about 1115 we told her that wed still like to talk to her in person and just see how shes doin, so we did, she looked like a mess, and she still gave the same story, which is a bummer, but theres not a lot we can do, so we told the relief society prez and the bish and theyre both aware of the sitch, and the relief soc prez said that she had contacted the churchs abuse hotline and she was gonna talk to the wife....so hopefully things get better for her...
and needless to say charlie's a #$&%#$&# and we're not teaching him anymore.
BUT this week was also way awesome...we got a referral from the spanish branch prez...a family of 5, so were excited about that, were hopin to go and see them sometime this week with him..
the minkels are still doin good, they were actually just on vacation for a while so thats why you havent heard anything about them, but yeah theyre still good and weve got an appt with them tomorrow, and hopefully we can extend a d8 to em as well. man that family is so good, it would be my dream to have them baptized before i go home...were gonna work oober hard this tran so that way the lord can def work through us to get the spirit into that family...im so stoked!
the avilas are still good, wow, the hits just keep on comin tho...holy cow...so everything was starting to clear up, so it seemed, they have a family for ferny and a court date for edwin, and we were actually at a good bye party for her with like half of the branch there, and brother avila gets a call and finds out that his dad died...holy cow! but it was so sad because the look on his face when he got the call looked almost as if he didnt feel anything anymore, ya know, that family has been through so much lately that they almost expect the worst, and when it comes theyre just numb to it now...but afterwards sis avila was telling me that she knows that these things come just to test our faith and see how much we really rely on the lord...shes only been a member for 10 months and its taken me almst 21 years and i still have a hard time remembering that...theyre so awesome!
wow..i cant believe i come home this transfer...holy cow..ok im starting to get emotional in the freakin library computer room, so im not gonna say that again...crazy im saying ill see yall at the end of this tran....im so stoked to see yall...you have no idea.
im so glad to hear that yall are doin so good, man that really does make my day hearing that yall had that much fun recently...im glad that yall still hang out with them still...
thats soo cool to hear about chelsea passing her lifegueard cert...way to go chels, what a stud...im so excited for her!
anyways love yall lots, thanks for the packege...yall are awesome..
ill talk to yall soon...thanks for all the constant prayers not only for me but for all the people out here as well...i can def tell it makes a difference.
-kendall
Sent March 17
hey guys,
well things are ok here...last night our stake had an easter program and that was cool. ariel was able to come. we helped the avilas out a ton on saturday. we redid their deck with them knowing, we got the branch involved. we got all the supplies donated from people in the ward and everything, they were so appreciative of it too...so that made us feel good. we had interviews with prez also this week, that went well, man i love him...hes so awesome...
i told him that i freakin out about going home, so he gave me some good advice...it wore off pretty quick, but nevertheless it was good advice...
right now im just kinda bummed....honestly i think im just more heartbroken than anything...
this is so hard...its really hard for me to see these people and know that im gonna be saying goodbye to them soon...for who knows how long! the majority will be forever!
honestly this mission has changed me more than i could ever imagine...how do you say goodbye to something like that!
ive also got such mixed feelings at the same time...
yesterday we met with beth & kids...and there was just something missing! its hard to explain but we could just feel it. ya know a hard realization i think im coming to is that im wondering if the gutierrez fam was just there for me to learn a lesson, i dont think they needed me as much as i needed them, so im trying really hard to understand what it is that im supposed to learn from this situation...
all i hear from people is "dont think about the end!" and if i hear it again im gonna go nuts!
but now more than ever, i love being a missionary! i love doing this and i love the people that im serving and the missionaries im serving with!! i couldnt ask for a better way to end! unfortunately the end comes way to quick!
sorry to sound like bum....dont get me wrong, i cant wait to see you guys!!!! im so excited! im so looking forward to seeing yall, and definitely to be abkle to spend that first couple weeks with just you dad and gid...
but these are my people! but i NEED to realize that heavenly father has his hand over this whole thing....its his work! and thats whats been the hardest part of the mish...
and i love it!
hope yall are doin great! love yall tons and tons! hope things are on the ups for you guys! thanks you for all yall do...youre constantly in my prayers...
hope things are getting better for you mom...ive been getting worried about your sitch...is it getting better, worse? hope alls well for you and the rest of the family.
anyways its getting late in the day...sorry this emails coming late, but o well..
con mucho amor!
-kendall
Sent March 10
hey,
well things are goin good...what a week too...
but first with you guys, thats good to hear that youll be getting things sorted out and hopefully youll be able to get things goin normal again...thats pretty cool, the way prez watkins explained that scripture...hes so awesome. i cant wait to see him again. does mikey turn in his papers soon...crazy! that means prez and sister watkins will be called to be mission presidents soon too! how cool! haha.....
well this week was good! we taught the minkel family and that went awesome! wow, so cool....we taught in a members home, all the kids had their scriptures out, and they were all into it! definitely not normal....especially for an english elder to be teaching a white family! were so excited for them, sister minkel said that shed talked to missionaries before, but that shed like her and her kids to be taught from the beggining again, so we were good with that! they came to church again this week, but thats not really that different because i thought that they were already members...
ariel is doing great, shes still on fire, were getting ready to teach her the new member discussions so that should be good...were gonna be teaching her at her sister and brother in laws house so that will be good cuz they can help out...
the gutierrez family is still the gutierrez family....wow, why the freak did i ever meet this family, i think that family has been the reason for many hours spent on my knees, and all that has come from it is me getting bummed, feeling great about them, talking to them, feeling good, then getting let down, its really hard to be wrapping up my mission like this...im trying super hard to stay positive...they just dont do anything! sessions and i are trying really hard to figure out what to do...ill keep yall updated fo sho!
but at the same time we cant get to wrapped up and sidetracked with them when the lord has blessed us with other awesome people like the minkels...ya know!!! i mean everything happens for a purpose and its our job to find out what that purpose is...sometimes it sucks, but thats just what we gotta do...it especially is a bummer when we found out that the lords purpose might be completely different than what we thought it should be...but.......what can ya do!?
the avilas on the other hand.....wow! what can i say other than amazing! man, evrytime i see them im in awe at the faith they have and the strength to get throuh things like that! because you would never know if you didnt actually know them! last sat we went over and did a bunch of yard work while they were out visiting their son (edwin).
it was a perfect day (unlike today). and what made it more perfect is that we were helping people that actually would need and appreciate it! it was def and good day on sat...
not much else is new around here...one of the elders in the district worries about everything! and is convinced he has every known illness and freaks out over everything, so its been fun playing with him...cuz not only does it freak him out, it drives his comp crazy...so weve got him convinced that he has scabies, and that there are mice in his walls! so hes convinced that hes constantly itchy, and that hes got scabies...and its funny cuz anytime he finds the smallest hole or crack or small opening in his apt he covers it with duct tape to keep the "mice" out....haha...
youre def in my prayers! hope everyone else is aight too! love yall tons and tons
-kendall
Sent Feb 25
hey family,
wow well this week was pretty awesome to say the least. ariels baptism went way good. there was such a powerful spirit there which was good cuz her mom was there whos not a member yet. but her sister gave an awesome talk, so that was cool cuz it was kinda geared toward her mom...
then we went and saw the gutierrez family theyre doin good...man i love seein them. beth is doin really good. last wed she called in sick to work and during the day she had nothing to do, so she just started driving north...she didnt really know where it was but knew kinda in a roundabout direction it was in, and about an hour later ended up in the temple parking lot! wow...how awesome is that! she had no idea where she was going she just knew that she wanted to drive and be able to kinda fig things out...and she ended up at the temple! so she stayed there for a little bit and said that she loved the feelings she got even just being on the grounds...man theyre so meant to be members of this church!
charlies doin good again....we met with him on thur and we have another appt w him this thur...so well see where exactly hes at...it was cool cuz at times when you have a good investigator youre kinda afraid to push em...but when elder clayton came he talked us about that, he said that sometimes what the missionaries think they shouldnt do is exactly what they should do...he said sometimes when we think we need to let up or go easy, we need to push and encourage...cuz by pushed a little bit more, it lets them know how truly important it is to you..its showing them that their membership in the church means something and that you care..so last week during comp study we were talking about what we can do for him and we were kinda stuck on him then at the same time both of us kinda realized that maybe we need to push, myabe the fellowship and care needs to feel from the ward is right here with us pushing and letting him know that he really needs this and that this is the right path he should take... so this week were gonna plan a good lesson for him and challenge him this week to think awbout what he wants in the future.
but anyways enough about me! haha.....i love aliya....thats so her! wanting to bring ham and cheese sandwiches! i love it! wow shes gonna be 6! i cant believe it....thats older than she was when i left! way to go sean...what a stud! maybe he wont be like me...and if im lucky none of my siblings will be like me...but hopefully he wont procrastinate getting his eagle until the night before he turns 18! keep on goin sean!
man im so stoked to see how everyone is when i get back...but at the same time im so flippin nervous...cuz im loving it out here! i really am! theres so much work for me to do! the people and missionaries im around right now....i love! but i know at the same time that heavenly father has soooo much in store for me, maybe im just scared to think about it...its amazing because every once in a while something will happen or ill meet someone or ill feel a prompting and ill kinda think about it...then almost immediatley as im questioning i get the answer almost as if to say...itll play out later, or remember this for the future..
im realizing now that answers i recieve and things i go through now...are building me for later! some of the things i go through may not even be for me! but the fact is, im going through them because heavenly father has a purpose and i need to figure out what im supposed to get out of it...the more i think about it...my mission is just beggining! ive got a whole life ahead of me to figure out and tune in on who heavenly father wants me to become....amazing! i love this gospel because it makes so much sense...what a feeling of belonging and purpose we have knowing what we know! i love it!
thank you all for everything you do, keep on keepin on! remember the great blessings we have! love yall tons! ill be home soon!
-kendall
Sent Feb 18
okay wow,
today was a great day.
p-day was way fun, we went to a park...hung out, then went to the church and played dodgeball, then we went to the park again and played capture the flag so that was way fun...
but yeah anyways we gots the baptism comin up this weekend, and were way stoked! im doin the baptism and sessions is doin the conf...
so thats pretty cool...hes nervous to do the conf cuz hes never done it...but i told him its all good cuz i got way nervous too, and that my knees were shakin pretty bad when i did it, and that if hes screws up itll only be in front of the entire ward...then i went to bed...haha
but were stoked about this weekend, its gonna be so cool..
good news, we also came in contact with charlie again and weve got another appt with him this week, so thats rad...hopefully he just freakin realizes that he knows it!
but wow! way to go sean.....im so proud of him! what a freakin stud! im glad hes been able to stick up for himself and learn how to do it in a mature way...thats gonna be so beneficial for him when he goes on a mission...and even a good lesson that he can keep for the rest of his life...tell him im proud of him!
and caleb...what a pimp! rock on dude!
anyways...im glad to hear that the rest of the family is goin good....well as good as you'll be with out me....haha
so with the new meds, do you think there'll be a chance that you can drive sooner, or do you think itll be longer! man i hope that all that gets taken care of! hope you know yall are in my prayers all the time!
anyways thank you thank you for the prayers and continued support i love yall tons!
-kendall
Sent Feb 11
hey,
well today we found out that neither of us are leaving. so were prety stoked! we had an awesome lesson with ariel yesterday and weve got another on wed then next sun so that will be awesome...man things are goin so good with her...were def excited for the 23rd...we got some other good people that were just starting with, but we got big hopes for them and hopefully theyll do something!
tell dad thank you tons for the money in the acct! thats crazy that cameron is leaving so soon....that would be kinda scary! holy freakin cow, im trying so hard not to get way trunky... im so close to comin home! 2 more transfers...freak!!!
thats awesome sean bleached his hair....haha! what a stud! i love that kid! tell him i messed up plenty of times bleaching my hair! so dont worry cuz the more you do it the better you get!
man im so excited to have elder clayton of the seventy come to our mish next week...thatll be so cool, hes doin a fireside next sunday for investigators and rect convertss, so we told ariel about it and she's way excited...the other day she watched this last conference on dvd again! so on fire and so its way cool to be a part of it!
thank you all for your prayers, i know it def makes a huge difference, i can feel it. i know that sometimes we need to leave it in the lords hands but that is def easier said than done...
i hope yall are doin good, i love you guys tons. man bein out on a mish has def made me realize how important the family is...seeing how hard satan works on the families out here its made me that much more appreciative to have the gospel and to have a family that lives the gospel and parents that understand whats important...you guys freakin rock...love you guys tons!
-kendall
Sent Feb 4
so......
oh my geeeosh!
wow, yesterday was such an awesome day...we taught ariel again and that was awesome...shes gonna get baptized on march 1,so were way excited, she didnt think that she could be baptized that soon so she was looking way into the future...but then i asked her how march 1st sounded and she started crying...shes so excited...
elder sessions and i are doin awesome, man we have so much fun and are workin way hard too...the other day it was a way nice day outside so we walked for the afternoon and evening.. we teach way good together too. so its been fun, i want this last part of my mission to be as meaningful as it can be...ya know! i wanna work harder, and be a better friend/ missionary/ teacher/ person in general....its gonna awesome!
anyways, thank you guys tons for all your prayers for the gutierrez family, i know they appreciate it....yall are continuously in my prayers as well
man thats a bummer about sean...tell him he def needs to keep doin it tho...cuz i wanna see him wrestle!!!!
hope alls goin well tho...hope youre doin good with the med situation and that gets worked out soon! when i come home ill be able to help out!!!
thats so crazy that nathaniel comes home!!! that means i come home soon.....holy crazy!
anyways thanks yall for all you do, love you lots.
-kendall
Sent Jan 28
crazy stuff! today is my last day of being in the triple digits!
wow....thats pretty big!
anyways, holy cow i cant believe tht shes marrying a poulter...his brothers are cool!
yeah things are goin way good out here....we had the most amazing lesson yesterday with ariel....man, it was the kind of lesson that missionaries dream about!! shes doin so good...just some of the things shes realized and the conclusions that shes come to ( on her own!) are amazing! as soon as we got done teaching, she just started crying and telling us that she loves the feeling she gets when she goes to church and when she talks about these things...man it was so good...then she went on to say that she loves how welcome she feels when she goes to church and that she fells like shes just meeting up with her family when she goes...she told us that she cant wait until she can bear testimony to other people and have the same confidence about the gospel that we do! wow! so shes not even doin it for herself...she wants to get a testimony so she can share it! how awesome is that!!! she been reading on her own and shes halfway through alma! so were stoked we've got another appointment with her at the same members home next sunday....woot woot!
i talked about the gutierrez family in pec yesterday, and whatever...they just kinda put on sad faces, and said that theyd be thinking of her....so at least my real ward cares and is full of awesome people! yeah i think im gonna call the houston temple tomorrow. lindsay, sessions, and i totally thought that we should give em blessings, so were gonna call beth either tonight or tomorrow, and see if thats all good! man crazy stuff out here!.....and i love it!
anyways, things are good, sessions and i get along really good so far, ive got interviews this wed, so im gonna tell prez that i think that he should stick to his original plan and move lindsay after the end of this transfer...things would go so much better...the ward really likes sessions too...it all just feels a lot better. so cross your fingers and say your prayers that sessions will stay next transfer..
man that sucks that everyone is so sick! im sorry to hear that, ill definitely be sure to pray extra hard for yall...
anyways love yall tons and tons..
hang in there and keep on keepin on
kendall
Sent Jan 22
hey family,
wow....so things are things! im not really sure what thats supposed to mean....i guess it means im enduring! ive had to keep reminding myself that i can handle this, ive been prepared, and that (even though it often seems to be the contrary)....yes he listens to my prayers! i didnt say he always answers...haha...but yes he does listen!
and to top it all off i definitely need to remember that in 107 days ill be in california!.............woot woot!
its def good to hear that caleb and sean are doin good! man what a bunch of freakin studs! send me pics!
this week weve got zone conference. one cool thing that prez told me is that ill be able to go on exchanges a lot more now that im on a 3some...so thats pretty cool i guess...actually im goin on exchanges tonight over to mish bend, so thats cool cuz i get to see all the peeps i said goodbye to, plus im doin another bap interview....freakin rock on! AND ill get to go see tim and sabrina, the couple that romney and i found while tracting that day! theyre still doin good so im pretty stoked to get back and help em....right now, im kinda just looking back and its a pretty amazing feeling thinking of all the people that ive come in contact with...i was kinda getting down on myslef (big shock) about how my area is kinda goin down...but then i realized that the ultimate goal for me being out here is to bring others to christ....and first i started think of all the people ive come in contact with....it doesnt mean ive baptized em all but i hope ive had some kind of impact...but then even more improtantly i thought about me...and how much stronger my testimony has gotten, and how my attitude of the gospel has changed...the other people, yeah its my job to baptize em, but if im not the one that get em to that point, as long as i leave em better than i ound em and they have a better view of the church, thats good....
yeah so the gutierrez family needs some serious help, beth found out that her 15 year old son has to have a heart transplant. he has always had a murmer but now he needs a trsplnt or he'll die in like 4 mnths. so i ned you to pray for them......and mom i need you pretty bad, she is just like you, when i talk to her its like talking to you is there anyway you can write to her or something and tell her its okay what shes been through and still accept the gospel and that mormons will still accept her cuz she doesnt get it...shes been thru totally the same stuff as you. its crazy. i think i was sent here to meet this family....i love them so much but at the same time they frustrate me so much, man i cant even think baout it anymore.
man, its so crazy to me that erins getting married! holy freak!
anyways hope yall are havin a gay ole time back in california
love you guys tons!
-kendall
Sent Jan 7
yaeh i had such an awesome birthday! man, i freakin love the missionaries im around, im so glad that the sisters are so cool, they and the spanish elders made it such a good day! bein on a mish for the holidays and then for your b-day isnt the most exciting! especially when your w a comp that you cant stand and things kinda suck at the current moment...but the other missionaries totally know how that goes so they put in a lot of effort to make it a good day...
im still feeling like crap! so far today ive kept down a bagel, so thats good news...but hey good thing about bein sick is ill probably lose weight....woohoo! i shouldve tried this getting sick business way long ago! yea ill prbably call the mish nurse in the next couple days...even tho i freaking hate calling doctors!...but because you told me to i will!
i talked to prez again! and he said he and i are gonna keep fasting and praying...its kind of a cool experience for me and him, cuz its both of us...last week we had a mission fast, and he said that i was the only elder that he fasted for specifically by name, so its been a way cool opp for both of us...cuz i talk to him so much, its like were friends! i love it! on some of the phone calls ive been pretty dang bold with him, and hes def been pretty bold to me...i think if hed said some of the comment that hes said to me, to anyone else they might have cried! and i think if anyone else had said the comment that ive said to him, they wouldve gotten slapped! so i freakin love talking to prez! hes such a stud!
oh my freak! i loved the pics of caleb and sean! seans such a stud! caleb too, but sean pinned a guy! way to go! gummybear is sitting right next to me and hes laughing at how much i enjoyed those pics! man i love getting pics of them! im so excited for them!
im so proud of yall for reading that much , keep it up.....okay hey a little somethin about how im gonna read, i read a section a day BUT im gonna skip section 93...i found out that sect 93 was revealed on may 6th...so im gonna skip it read down to sect 1 then read sect 93 on may 6 2008...the day it was revealed to joseph smith...and the day i go home! how cool is that!
anyways things are still goin...i knwo this is goin to be a very hard transf, but i know that whatever happens i can handle it, i guess youre not supposed to be too comfortable on your mish, this being the end, it feels like its the last stages of the refiners fire...and that with all of these current challenges and hang ups, if i can endure these well, then itll only help me get that much closer to who heavenly father really wants me to become...but man it sucks sometimes! haha
theres a reason for everything!
right now were still working with ariel, and charlie...both of which are still progressing, and we have appointments with them both this upcoming week! also some more good news...one of our focus five families has a 9 year old kid whos not baptized...they really want him to be baptized, but they kinds have a grudge against the ward so they waited till he was 9 so that the missionaries would be in charge of it...kinda sad for the kid, but either way he still needs to be baptized!
all in all things are alright, physically ive def had better days, and emotionally i feel drained like no other, but spiritually i feel on top of my game, so right now thats kinda whats been keeping me going, and i guess if i had to pick one of those 3 to keep me going, thats probably the best one....
love yall tons and tons
-kendall
wow...crazy things are happening!
kevin couch! what a stud! and thats soo cool to hear about anthony, wheres he going? man ill definitely go to his farewell...
thats fun to hear about what goes on in primary...ill bet youre doin an awesome job...
wow, thats soo weird to me that natahniel comes home! i was in the mtc with him....that almost makes it sound like im close to goin home or something.....good thing im NOT! and ive still got oober time to help these people.....
wow...ok sooooo....heres the week in rosenberg........to say it was a week full of miracles would be an understatement!
so the minkels have a bap date set for the 26 of april!!!! wow we are soo stoked! the lesson was absolutely amazing...the spirit was so strong! what a difference it makes teaching in members homes! bro and sis minkel told us that they would love them all to be baptized but theyre concerned that the kids dont have a full testimony of baptism yet...i said that was prefect because our next lesson is the gospel and it talks specifically about baptism and so were gonna make a lesson planned just for the kids...were gonna take em outside and have activities for them so they can have visual aides that can go along with the lesson...sis potter...the fellowshipper is gonna keep bro and sis minkel in the house while were outside with the kids, then after we teach the kids were all gonna go inside and let the kids teach bro and sis minkel so that way they can see that the kids have a good understanding of why were baptized...our next lesson is apr 9th so were getting oober ready and were so excited for it!
also a la/pm that weve been workin w/....the omuryi fam all came to church yesterday... in the begining the wife was not friendly toward us, either she wouldnt let us in, or when wed talk to the husband and the kids shed go in the back room...so on sat when we went over she was the one who invited us in, her husband was busy so we talked to her for about 10 min until her husband came out, it was so different...then on sunday we saw them and their 6 kids @ church!! how cool is that.. she hasnt been to church for prolly 2 yrs!
little things keep happening, and were so stoked for it all to play out!
were gonna go check on that spanish referral from prez lopez this week, now that we have more miles! they sound so awesome, the lopez family keeps asking us if weve gone and seen em yet, the familys name is the longorias...fyi!
ok so now for the avilas.....wow....the hits just keep on comin! luckily this hit was kind of a love tap cuz its both good and bad...
but anyways they went to court, and found out that edwin will be transfered to another location up by san antone...major bumer...but hermana avila remains optimistic and was telling us that up there its a way nicer location...actually the new place isnt even a detention center, so hes not even in jail...its more for therapy and getting him back into the swing of things and helping him cope with the whole sich...cuz i guess he still feels pretty bad..he'll be able to wear normal clothes, attend classes, call home...so i guess its more like a therapy/boarding school/clinic place....so thats whats keeping the avilas positive, is the fact that he'll be taken care of so much better up there...cuz hes only 13 and this place that hes in right now is an actual jail with some pretty rough stuff goin on...
but since he cant recive mail from others right now, i wanted to think of a way that i can still get a message to him. and since hermano and hermana avila get to see him every sunday what i decided im gonna do is make posters each with a different word on em, and have a different missionary hold each poster, and take a picture of it...then print off the pictures and give em to hermana avila so she can put em in her purse next time she goes to see him, then he can look at the pictures and read our message so he knows we love him! im so excited...
thanks for all your prayers and your fasts...you dont know how much it means to not only the avilas...tons and tons! but also it means a lot to me too, knowing that my family whos 2000 miles away cares for these people that theyve never met! you guys are such an example to me!!thank you!
anyways things are going good, e sessions and i had the best week weve had so far as a companionship...we had the highest numbers last week, so were gonna try and improve it every week till i leave...i want these last 5 weeks to be the most amazing weeks! miracles are truly happening!! ether 12:12
-hey caleb...man im oober stoked to see you..thats so cool that you started baseball, im gonna have to come and see one of your games, if the season is still goin on! have fun ya lil philly!
-aliya- my lil friend...how are you...you bet im excited that youre six...thats soo old! but not as old as dad, and definitely not as old as mom, cuz shes older than dad...did you know that?! haha thats rad youre on the swim team, you should get an orange swim suit so that way you'll look like nemo...
well fam, thanks again for all you do, yall are amazing! keep on keepin on! im sooooooooooo excited about conference!
-kendall
Sent March 24
ok so wow this was a week to remember....
both way good and way bad...and a little bit of everything else...
so to start off with the bad, that way i dont finish on a depressing note..
so on friday morning at about 605 we got a call from charlies wife..and she was goin crazy, she was crying so hard into the phone that we could barely understnd her, turns out charlie is abusive, and me having a great opinion of abusive men wanted to leave and beat the crap out of him...i was so mad...she kept telling us that she was ok and she just needed someone to talk to because at least he wasnt physically abusive hes just extremely mentally and emotionally abusive, she then said that she was going to be moving out and she needed our help to get her out quick and to come over at about 9...we didnt feel very comfortable being that far form the sitch for that long so we went over to the neighborhood and parked the car about 5 houses away just incase anything happened...meanwhile we called her 17 yr old daughter who was in her room, and that was kinda our communication line with the wife just to make sure she was doin ok...things were goin good and we found em a place to stay for a couple days, then her and charlie talked and she called us about 1030 and said that she was sorry for calling us because she realized that she was overreacting and that really it was her fault and that hes changing...which made us even more mad, because all hes doing now is manipulating her into thinking its her fault!! but at about 1115 we told her that wed still like to talk to her in person and just see how shes doin, so we did, she looked like a mess, and she still gave the same story, which is a bummer, but theres not a lot we can do, so we told the relief society prez and the bish and theyre both aware of the sitch, and the relief soc prez said that she had contacted the churchs abuse hotline and she was gonna talk to the wife....so hopefully things get better for her...
and needless to say charlie's a #$&%#$&# and we're not teaching him anymore.
BUT this week was also way awesome...we got a referral from the spanish branch prez...a family of 5, so were excited about that, were hopin to go and see them sometime this week with him..
the minkels are still doin good, they were actually just on vacation for a while so thats why you havent heard anything about them, but yeah theyre still good and weve got an appt with them tomorrow, and hopefully we can extend a d8 to em as well. man that family is so good, it would be my dream to have them baptized before i go home...were gonna work oober hard this tran so that way the lord can def work through us to get the spirit into that family...im so stoked!
the avilas are still good, wow, the hits just keep on comin tho...holy cow...so everything was starting to clear up, so it seemed, they have a family for ferny and a court date for edwin, and we were actually at a good bye party for her with like half of the branch there, and brother avila gets a call and finds out that his dad died...holy cow! but it was so sad because the look on his face when he got the call looked almost as if he didnt feel anything anymore, ya know, that family has been through so much lately that they almost expect the worst, and when it comes theyre just numb to it now...but afterwards sis avila was telling me that she knows that these things come just to test our faith and see how much we really rely on the lord...shes only been a member for 10 months and its taken me almst 21 years and i still have a hard time remembering that...theyre so awesome!
wow..i cant believe i come home this transfer...holy cow..ok im starting to get emotional in the freakin library computer room, so im not gonna say that again...crazy im saying ill see yall at the end of this tran....im so stoked to see yall...you have no idea.
im so glad to hear that yall are doin so good, man that really does make my day hearing that yall had that much fun recently...im glad that yall still hang out with them still...
thats soo cool to hear about chelsea passing her lifegueard cert...way to go chels, what a stud...im so excited for her!
anyways love yall lots, thanks for the packege...yall are awesome..
ill talk to yall soon...thanks for all the constant prayers not only for me but for all the people out here as well...i can def tell it makes a difference.
-kendall
Sent March 17
hey guys,
well things are ok here...last night our stake had an easter program and that was cool. ariel was able to come. we helped the avilas out a ton on saturday. we redid their deck with them knowing, we got the branch involved. we got all the supplies donated from people in the ward and everything, they were so appreciative of it too...so that made us feel good. we had interviews with prez also this week, that went well, man i love him...hes so awesome...
i told him that i freakin out about going home, so he gave me some good advice...it wore off pretty quick, but nevertheless it was good advice...
right now im just kinda bummed....honestly i think im just more heartbroken than anything...
this is so hard...its really hard for me to see these people and know that im gonna be saying goodbye to them soon...for who knows how long! the majority will be forever!
honestly this mission has changed me more than i could ever imagine...how do you say goodbye to something like that!
ive also got such mixed feelings at the same time...
yesterday we met with beth & kids...and there was just something missing! its hard to explain but we could just feel it. ya know a hard realization i think im coming to is that im wondering if the gutierrez fam was just there for me to learn a lesson, i dont think they needed me as much as i needed them, so im trying really hard to understand what it is that im supposed to learn from this situation...
all i hear from people is "dont think about the end!" and if i hear it again im gonna go nuts!
but now more than ever, i love being a missionary! i love doing this and i love the people that im serving and the missionaries im serving with!! i couldnt ask for a better way to end! unfortunately the end comes way to quick!
sorry to sound like bum....dont get me wrong, i cant wait to see you guys!!!! im so excited! im so looking forward to seeing yall, and definitely to be abkle to spend that first couple weeks with just you dad and gid...
but these are my people! but i NEED to realize that heavenly father has his hand over this whole thing....its his work! and thats whats been the hardest part of the mish...
and i love it!
hope yall are doin great! love yall tons and tons! hope things are on the ups for you guys! thanks you for all yall do...youre constantly in my prayers...
hope things are getting better for you mom...ive been getting worried about your sitch...is it getting better, worse? hope alls well for you and the rest of the family.
anyways its getting late in the day...sorry this emails coming late, but o well..
con mucho amor!
-kendall
Sent March 10
hey,
well things are goin good...what a week too...
but first with you guys, thats good to hear that youll be getting things sorted out and hopefully youll be able to get things goin normal again...thats pretty cool, the way prez watkins explained that scripture...hes so awesome. i cant wait to see him again. does mikey turn in his papers soon...crazy! that means prez and sister watkins will be called to be mission presidents soon too! how cool! haha.....
well this week was good! we taught the minkel family and that went awesome! wow, so cool....we taught in a members home, all the kids had their scriptures out, and they were all into it! definitely not normal....especially for an english elder to be teaching a white family! were so excited for them, sister minkel said that shed talked to missionaries before, but that shed like her and her kids to be taught from the beggining again, so we were good with that! they came to church again this week, but thats not really that different because i thought that they were already members...
ariel is doing great, shes still on fire, were getting ready to teach her the new member discussions so that should be good...were gonna be teaching her at her sister and brother in laws house so that will be good cuz they can help out...
the gutierrez family is still the gutierrez family....wow, why the freak did i ever meet this family, i think that family has been the reason for many hours spent on my knees, and all that has come from it is me getting bummed, feeling great about them, talking to them, feeling good, then getting let down, its really hard to be wrapping up my mission like this...im trying super hard to stay positive...they just dont do anything! sessions and i are trying really hard to figure out what to do...ill keep yall updated fo sho!
but at the same time we cant get to wrapped up and sidetracked with them when the lord has blessed us with other awesome people like the minkels...ya know!!! i mean everything happens for a purpose and its our job to find out what that purpose is...sometimes it sucks, but thats just what we gotta do...it especially is a bummer when we found out that the lords purpose might be completely different than what we thought it should be...but.......what can ya do!?
the avilas on the other hand.....wow! what can i say other than amazing! man, evrytime i see them im in awe at the faith they have and the strength to get throuh things like that! because you would never know if you didnt actually know them! last sat we went over and did a bunch of yard work while they were out visiting their son (edwin).
it was a perfect day (unlike today). and what made it more perfect is that we were helping people that actually would need and appreciate it! it was def and good day on sat...
not much else is new around here...one of the elders in the district worries about everything! and is convinced he has every known illness and freaks out over everything, so its been fun playing with him...cuz not only does it freak him out, it drives his comp crazy...so weve got him convinced that he has scabies, and that there are mice in his walls! so hes convinced that hes constantly itchy, and that hes got scabies...and its funny cuz anytime he finds the smallest hole or crack or small opening in his apt he covers it with duct tape to keep the "mice" out....haha...
youre def in my prayers! hope everyone else is aight too! love yall tons and tons
-kendall
Sent Feb 25
hey family,
wow well this week was pretty awesome to say the least. ariels baptism went way good. there was such a powerful spirit there which was good cuz her mom was there whos not a member yet. but her sister gave an awesome talk, so that was cool cuz it was kinda geared toward her mom...
then we went and saw the gutierrez family theyre doin good...man i love seein them. beth is doin really good. last wed she called in sick to work and during the day she had nothing to do, so she just started driving north...she didnt really know where it was but knew kinda in a roundabout direction it was in, and about an hour later ended up in the temple parking lot! wow...how awesome is that! she had no idea where she was going she just knew that she wanted to drive and be able to kinda fig things out...and she ended up at the temple! so she stayed there for a little bit and said that she loved the feelings she got even just being on the grounds...man theyre so meant to be members of this church!
charlies doin good again....we met with him on thur and we have another appt w him this thur...so well see where exactly hes at...it was cool cuz at times when you have a good investigator youre kinda afraid to push em...but when elder clayton came he talked us about that, he said that sometimes what the missionaries think they shouldnt do is exactly what they should do...he said sometimes when we think we need to let up or go easy, we need to push and encourage...cuz by pushed a little bit more, it lets them know how truly important it is to you..its showing them that their membership in the church means something and that you care..so last week during comp study we were talking about what we can do for him and we were kinda stuck on him then at the same time both of us kinda realized that maybe we need to push, myabe the fellowship and care needs to feel from the ward is right here with us pushing and letting him know that he really needs this and that this is the right path he should take... so this week were gonna plan a good lesson for him and challenge him this week to think awbout what he wants in the future.
but anyways enough about me! haha.....i love aliya....thats so her! wanting to bring ham and cheese sandwiches! i love it! wow shes gonna be 6! i cant believe it....thats older than she was when i left! way to go sean...what a stud! maybe he wont be like me...and if im lucky none of my siblings will be like me...but hopefully he wont procrastinate getting his eagle until the night before he turns 18! keep on goin sean!
man im so stoked to see how everyone is when i get back...but at the same time im so flippin nervous...cuz im loving it out here! i really am! theres so much work for me to do! the people and missionaries im around right now....i love! but i know at the same time that heavenly father has soooo much in store for me, maybe im just scared to think about it...its amazing because every once in a while something will happen or ill meet someone or ill feel a prompting and ill kinda think about it...then almost immediatley as im questioning i get the answer almost as if to say...itll play out later, or remember this for the future..
im realizing now that answers i recieve and things i go through now...are building me for later! some of the things i go through may not even be for me! but the fact is, im going through them because heavenly father has a purpose and i need to figure out what im supposed to get out of it...the more i think about it...my mission is just beggining! ive got a whole life ahead of me to figure out and tune in on who heavenly father wants me to become....amazing! i love this gospel because it makes so much sense...what a feeling of belonging and purpose we have knowing what we know! i love it!
thank you all for everything you do, keep on keepin on! remember the great blessings we have! love yall tons! ill be home soon!
-kendall
Sent Feb 18
okay wow,
today was a great day.
p-day was way fun, we went to a park...hung out, then went to the church and played dodgeball, then we went to the park again and played capture the flag so that was way fun...
but yeah anyways we gots the baptism comin up this weekend, and were way stoked! im doin the baptism and sessions is doin the conf...
so thats pretty cool...hes nervous to do the conf cuz hes never done it...but i told him its all good cuz i got way nervous too, and that my knees were shakin pretty bad when i did it, and that if hes screws up itll only be in front of the entire ward...then i went to bed...haha
but were stoked about this weekend, its gonna be so cool..
good news, we also came in contact with charlie again and weve got another appt with him this week, so thats rad...hopefully he just freakin realizes that he knows it!
but wow! way to go sean.....im so proud of him! what a freakin stud! im glad hes been able to stick up for himself and learn how to do it in a mature way...thats gonna be so beneficial for him when he goes on a mission...and even a good lesson that he can keep for the rest of his life...tell him im proud of him!
and caleb...what a pimp! rock on dude!
anyways...im glad to hear that the rest of the family is goin good....well as good as you'll be with out me....haha
so with the new meds, do you think there'll be a chance that you can drive sooner, or do you think itll be longer! man i hope that all that gets taken care of! hope you know yall are in my prayers all the time!
anyways thank you thank you for the prayers and continued support i love yall tons!
-kendall
Sent Feb 11
hey,
well today we found out that neither of us are leaving. so were prety stoked! we had an awesome lesson with ariel yesterday and weve got another on wed then next sun so that will be awesome...man things are goin so good with her...were def excited for the 23rd...we got some other good people that were just starting with, but we got big hopes for them and hopefully theyll do something!
tell dad thank you tons for the money in the acct! thats crazy that cameron is leaving so soon....that would be kinda scary! holy freakin cow, im trying so hard not to get way trunky... im so close to comin home! 2 more transfers...freak!!!
thats awesome sean bleached his hair....haha! what a stud! i love that kid! tell him i messed up plenty of times bleaching my hair! so dont worry cuz the more you do it the better you get!
man im so excited to have elder clayton of the seventy come to our mish next week...thatll be so cool, hes doin a fireside next sunday for investigators and rect convertss, so we told ariel about it and she's way excited...the other day she watched this last conference on dvd again! so on fire and so its way cool to be a part of it!
thank you all for your prayers, i know it def makes a huge difference, i can feel it. i know that sometimes we need to leave it in the lords hands but that is def easier said than done...
i hope yall are doin good, i love you guys tons. man bein out on a mish has def made me realize how important the family is...seeing how hard satan works on the families out here its made me that much more appreciative to have the gospel and to have a family that lives the gospel and parents that understand whats important...you guys freakin rock...love you guys tons!
-kendall
Sent Feb 4
so......
oh my geeeosh!
wow, yesterday was such an awesome day...we taught ariel again and that was awesome...shes gonna get baptized on march 1,so were way excited, she didnt think that she could be baptized that soon so she was looking way into the future...but then i asked her how march 1st sounded and she started crying...shes so excited...
elder sessions and i are doin awesome, man we have so much fun and are workin way hard too...the other day it was a way nice day outside so we walked for the afternoon and evening.. we teach way good together too. so its been fun, i want this last part of my mission to be as meaningful as it can be...ya know! i wanna work harder, and be a better friend/ missionary/ teacher/ person in general....its gonna awesome!
anyways, thank you guys tons for all your prayers for the gutierrez family, i know they appreciate it....yall are continuously in my prayers as well
man thats a bummer about sean...tell him he def needs to keep doin it tho...cuz i wanna see him wrestle!!!!
hope alls goin well tho...hope youre doin good with the med situation and that gets worked out soon! when i come home ill be able to help out!!!
thats so crazy that nathaniel comes home!!! that means i come home soon.....holy crazy!
anyways thanks yall for all you do, love you lots.
-kendall
Sent Jan 28
crazy stuff! today is my last day of being in the triple digits!
wow....thats pretty big!
anyways, holy cow i cant believe tht shes marrying a poulter...his brothers are cool!
yeah things are goin way good out here....we had the most amazing lesson yesterday with ariel....man, it was the kind of lesson that missionaries dream about!! shes doin so good...just some of the things shes realized and the conclusions that shes come to ( on her own!) are amazing! as soon as we got done teaching, she just started crying and telling us that she loves the feeling she gets when she goes to church and when she talks about these things...man it was so good...then she went on to say that she loves how welcome she feels when she goes to church and that she fells like shes just meeting up with her family when she goes...she told us that she cant wait until she can bear testimony to other people and have the same confidence about the gospel that we do! wow! so shes not even doin it for herself...she wants to get a testimony so she can share it! how awesome is that!!! she been reading on her own and shes halfway through alma! so were stoked we've got another appointment with her at the same members home next sunday....woot woot!
i talked about the gutierrez family in pec yesterday, and whatever...they just kinda put on sad faces, and said that theyd be thinking of her....so at least my real ward cares and is full of awesome people! yeah i think im gonna call the houston temple tomorrow. lindsay, sessions, and i totally thought that we should give em blessings, so were gonna call beth either tonight or tomorrow, and see if thats all good! man crazy stuff out here!.....and i love it!
anyways, things are good, sessions and i get along really good so far, ive got interviews this wed, so im gonna tell prez that i think that he should stick to his original plan and move lindsay after the end of this transfer...things would go so much better...the ward really likes sessions too...it all just feels a lot better. so cross your fingers and say your prayers that sessions will stay next transfer..
man that sucks that everyone is so sick! im sorry to hear that, ill definitely be sure to pray extra hard for yall...
anyways love yall tons and tons..
hang in there and keep on keepin on
kendall
Sent Jan 22
hey family,
wow....so things are things! im not really sure what thats supposed to mean....i guess it means im enduring! ive had to keep reminding myself that i can handle this, ive been prepared, and that (even though it often seems to be the contrary)....yes he listens to my prayers! i didnt say he always answers...haha...but yes he does listen!
and to top it all off i definitely need to remember that in 107 days ill be in california!.............woot woot!
its def good to hear that caleb and sean are doin good! man what a bunch of freakin studs! send me pics!
this week weve got zone conference. one cool thing that prez told me is that ill be able to go on exchanges a lot more now that im on a 3some...so thats pretty cool i guess...actually im goin on exchanges tonight over to mish bend, so thats cool cuz i get to see all the peeps i said goodbye to, plus im doin another bap interview....freakin rock on! AND ill get to go see tim and sabrina, the couple that romney and i found while tracting that day! theyre still doin good so im pretty stoked to get back and help em....right now, im kinda just looking back and its a pretty amazing feeling thinking of all the people that ive come in contact with...i was kinda getting down on myslef (big shock) about how my area is kinda goin down...but then i realized that the ultimate goal for me being out here is to bring others to christ....and first i started think of all the people ive come in contact with....it doesnt mean ive baptized em all but i hope ive had some kind of impact...but then even more improtantly i thought about me...and how much stronger my testimony has gotten, and how my attitude of the gospel has changed...the other people, yeah its my job to baptize em, but if im not the one that get em to that point, as long as i leave em better than i ound em and they have a better view of the church, thats good....
yeah so the gutierrez family needs some serious help, beth found out that her 15 year old son has to have a heart transplant. he has always had a murmer but now he needs a trsplnt or he'll die in like 4 mnths. so i ned you to pray for them......and mom i need you pretty bad, she is just like you, when i talk to her its like talking to you is there anyway you can write to her or something and tell her its okay what shes been through and still accept the gospel and that mormons will still accept her cuz she doesnt get it...shes been thru totally the same stuff as you. its crazy. i think i was sent here to meet this family....i love them so much but at the same time they frustrate me so much, man i cant even think baout it anymore.
man, its so crazy to me that erins getting married! holy freak!
anyways hope yall are havin a gay ole time back in california
love you guys tons!
-kendall
Sent Jan 7
yaeh i had such an awesome birthday! man, i freakin love the missionaries im around, im so glad that the sisters are so cool, they and the spanish elders made it such a good day! bein on a mish for the holidays and then for your b-day isnt the most exciting! especially when your w a comp that you cant stand and things kinda suck at the current moment...but the other missionaries totally know how that goes so they put in a lot of effort to make it a good day...
im still feeling like crap! so far today ive kept down a bagel, so thats good news...but hey good thing about bein sick is ill probably lose weight....woohoo! i shouldve tried this getting sick business way long ago! yea ill prbably call the mish nurse in the next couple days...even tho i freaking hate calling doctors!...but because you told me to i will!
i talked to prez again! and he said he and i are gonna keep fasting and praying...its kind of a cool experience for me and him, cuz its both of us...last week we had a mission fast, and he said that i was the only elder that he fasted for specifically by name, so its been a way cool opp for both of us...cuz i talk to him so much, its like were friends! i love it! on some of the phone calls ive been pretty dang bold with him, and hes def been pretty bold to me...i think if hed said some of the comment that hes said to me, to anyone else they might have cried! and i think if anyone else had said the comment that ive said to him, they wouldve gotten slapped! so i freakin love talking to prez! hes such a stud!
oh my freak! i loved the pics of caleb and sean! seans such a stud! caleb too, but sean pinned a guy! way to go! gummybear is sitting right next to me and hes laughing at how much i enjoyed those pics! man i love getting pics of them! im so excited for them!
im so proud of yall for reading that much , keep it up.....okay hey a little somethin about how im gonna read, i read a section a day BUT im gonna skip section 93...i found out that sect 93 was revealed on may 6th...so im gonna skip it read down to sect 1 then read sect 93 on may 6 2008...the day it was revealed to joseph smith...and the day i go home! how cool is that!
anyways things are still goin...i knwo this is goin to be a very hard transf, but i know that whatever happens i can handle it, i guess youre not supposed to be too comfortable on your mish, this being the end, it feels like its the last stages of the refiners fire...and that with all of these current challenges and hang ups, if i can endure these well, then itll only help me get that much closer to who heavenly father really wants me to become...but man it sucks sometimes! haha
theres a reason for everything!
right now were still working with ariel, and charlie...both of which are still progressing, and we have appointments with them both this upcoming week! also some more good news...one of our focus five families has a 9 year old kid whos not baptized...they really want him to be baptized, but they kinds have a grudge against the ward so they waited till he was 9 so that the missionaries would be in charge of it...kinda sad for the kid, but either way he still needs to be baptized!
all in all things are alright, physically ive def had better days, and emotionally i feel drained like no other, but spiritually i feel on top of my game, so right now thats kinda whats been keeping me going, and i guess if i had to pick one of those 3 to keep me going, thats probably the best one....
love yall tons and tons
-kendall
4 comments:
Dude you look awesome! Love, you little dude Caleb
We love the pic!! Now we want more pics and updates . . . pleeeease!
Hi Elder....I loved the your main pix. Almost as good as a Benton Photography photo, however, is that a little something hanging off your nose? It's so great to hear tid bits from you! I am so proud of you kendall....sorry, Elder. You are so cool...love you tons, Rescue Me! Sis. Benton
Bro, I heard you are getting pretty heafty! Must suck being the fat kid. Miss you.
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