Another Sunday, another missionary

June 24, 2012

Dear Elder Alex,

It seems like we've been either going to a missionary farewell or going to a missionary homecoming almost every other week now. Today we actually missed one and I felt bad. Jon Kjar had his homecoming and I never heard about it. Kristina just happened to be at the church for a meeting, so she got to hear part of it. Today we went back to the 6th ward again for Spencer Myler's farewell. He will be an excellent missionary. He said while he was out with our local missionaries, they gave him some advice:

1. Don't worry so much about what you're saying, memorizing things, etc because it will be the spirit that does the most teaching, so live by the spirit.

2. Decide right now whether you will be a lazy missionary or one who works hard.

Spencer said there's no doubt in his mind that he will work hard every day because he's been thinking about serving a mission since he was little and he knows that the Lord wants him in Tempe, AZ.  His family sang the musical number and his little brothers sang by themselves to start out and they stole the show, especially the youngest who was standing right in front of the mic. That was probably the cutest rendition of I Hope They Cal Me on a Mission I've ever heard. I'd buy his little brother's CD.  :)

It was great seeing everyone from the old ward all back together again. We got to mingle with them last night at the Myler's open house. We're all just pretending that the ward split never happened by getting together monthly for some occasion.

Dad and I received callings in the mail yesterday from Elder Nattress. It was kind of weird getting a calling through the mail, but we've been asked to work as the medical directors for the upcoming Boise temple re-dedication youth spectacular. I realize that I'm mainly there for moral support. Dad said I can take the emotional needs and he'll treat the physical needs. It should be fun either way though to be part of the big re-dedication. Looks like they'll re-dedicate sometime in November and they're hoping to get the Taco Bell arena for the venue. We'll keep you posted.

Since coming home from CDA, we've been pretty much in full swing wedding mode. There are so many little details and decisions to be made. This weekend Kirk came home and we got him a new suit to wear to his wedding. He said most his friends don't wear tuxes now, they just get suits so they can wear them later on. I'm meeting with a florist tomorrow to talk about bouquets, corsages, etc. I feel a great weight of responsibility picking out the bouquet for Sarah but she can't do it since she's up in Canada. Wish me luck. We also managed to get almost all the invitations out in the mail now. I just keep thinking a few more people each day. I hope I don't forget anyone.

I've also gone to some friends houses who recently did weddings and have borrowed a lot of stuff. I'm thinking this should be some kind of stake calling, wedding stuff coordinator where she just keeps tables, flowers, ribbons of all colors, chairs, and decorations and lets people come and borrow what they need. It's kind of rediculous that we all have to almost reinvent the wheel when it comes to each of our weddings. I'm more than happy to share and borrow.

I was thinking about you a lot today listening to Spencer give his talk. He sounded a lot like you with his enthusiasm, dry humor and dedication to the Lord. I also thought about you today during the Sunday School lesson when we were talking about Alma teaching the people of Ammonihah, getting rejected and asked to return, but the second time returning and preaching with Amulek. Can you imagine being out there by yourself and trying to bear testimony without a second witness? Also while Elder Sorensen is speaking, you can gauge what your investigators are feeling and thinking, then when you speak, Elder Sorensen can do the same thing.The Lord is truly wise in all things. I also thought a lot about all the blessings I feel in my life because of my membership in the church and what a blessing it was that I was born into a family and raised right from the start with the gospel central in our home. It's something I hope I never take for granted and it's also something I always thank Heavenly Father for every day in my personal prayers. 

How was your week? I'm trying to keep it all straight-what you're up to there. It seems like you're all over the place but I guess that's what a traveling Elder does. It's great that you're still doing the firesides. I didn't realize that you were still doing those. It's great that you got to see the Taylors again, that must be sweet. 

How did your fireside in Nashville go? Did you really sing in Spanish? I'd love to hear that. I hope your appointments this past week went well too. Do you get most your appointments from the members? Are you keeping up with your journal writing? I hope so. I know it gets more difficult the further into your mission you go, but when we were out with the Larsens a couple weeks ago, Cody mentioned how he loves reading your letters and loves your writing style. He says you should think about writing a book. So keep up your writing and journaling-you never know, they may be a source of stories for an upcoming book. :)

Kristina left for EFY today. Steve and Monica Campbell drove her down to Provo. They were taking Carsen and also Caleb Braithwaite and Riley Billings. All four of them are staying at  Steve and Carolina's tonight, then Carolina will take them to BYU tomorrow morning. The boys are part of a different group than Kristina and Riley. Kristina has really been looking forward to this, took tons of junk food, cute outfits and we let her have texting for one month so she can keep in contact with us. After EFY, she will be staying with the Billings as they go to their grandparents in Fayette, UT. I guess it's a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, but sounds like they'll have fun celebrating the 4th of July there. Then Kristina comes home on July 6th. I miss her already and can't wait to hear her stories.

The rest of us are all plodding along here. Dad's back to work, Sean is back to work and Leah and Nikki are enjoying the lazy days of summer. I hope it's not getting too hot there yet. I'm expecting to sweat up a storm when we're there in August, but I haven't felt humidity for quite a while. My body may go into shock.

I'm going to send you a few more pics from our vacation last week. Hope you have an appointment-filled week! 

Love you much,

Mom xxoo

Coeur d'Alene

June 17, 2012
Dear Elder Alex,
Well, I've learned how to spell Coeur d'alene now that we've spent a week here. We are leaving tomorrow to go back home and we'll drive through the middle of the state to get there. We drove the freeways through Oregon coming here, so we'll try a different way going home.


We've had a great time exploring this new area. We're staying in a house on the lake here and it's been great. Here are the highlights of the few things we did while here:
toured the lake on a tour cruise boat
played games
rode the Hiawatha bike trail
rented a jet ski
played laser tag
ate
shopped
watched a car parade with hundreds of cars
attended the Coeur d'alene 3rd ward
bar-b-qued
visited a town that never left the 40's
ate some more


My favorite thing was the Hiawatha bike trail. We had to go into Montana to start the trail and it was almost downhill the whole way. There were lots of tunnels including one that was over a mile long, pitch black and freezing. Our bikes had little lights on them so we could see a little. The views on the trail down the mountain were amazing and breathtaking. I would highly recommend the bike ride. It took us about 3 hours. When you get to the bottom, a bus takes you and your bike back up to the first tunnel, the long one, where we get back on the bikes and ride back to the start.


On the way home from that, we stopped at a little town called Wallace that looked like time had stood still. It was almost freaky. We had huckleberry shakes in a little diner, walked around the entire town where Sean made the observation that there didn't seem to be any stores where they sold something new. Very strange.


We went to Spokane one day and played laser tag in a 3 story building. Lots of fun as usual and Sean beat us all as usual, but I actually came in second in the family in the first game (and it wasn't by shooting all the little kids).


Sean said his best thing we did was renting a jet ski. It really was a lot of fun. Kristina, dad, Sean and I got to drive and we took the little girls for rides.


Today at church, a young man was giving his homecoming report. His parents spoke before him talking about fathers and in fact, the RM also spoke about fathers. He didn't say very much about his mission at all, so I was a little disappointed in that, but he gave a good talk. In fact, right at the beginning of his talk, he said something very funny. He said, "It's so great to see everyone here and it's great to see my brothers here and my sister, and my girlfriend with her husband..."  Everyone laughed so hard.  We found out later that his family is related to the woman who was my first counselor last year before the stake split. We always seem to find at least one connection with people wherever we go. I enjoy meeting new people and attending new wards.


In our RS lesson today, we talked about missionary work and several sisters related their stories about their conversions. Many of them joined as adults. One joined as a 12 year old when her mother became dissatisfied with their new minister who couldn't answer the one question she had for him, Where did we come from? Another was wondering about the purpose of life and decided one day to pray to find the true religion. She said the missionaries showed up at her door within one week of her praying. That's a testament to me about the importance of staying in tune with the spirit. Each sister seemed to have this in common. They were really contemplating about life, religion, etc and wanted to find answers, and in each case they were either spontaneously contacted by the missionaries or a friend or family they knew(who were members) happened to get into conversations about life with them. So trust the spirit to guide you.


Dad had a good father's day today. He wanted to cook the entire meal which I was more than happy about (he's becoming quite the cook these days), so he put together 3 types of tacos-fish, chicken and steak with a grilled corn salad. He grilled peppers and tomatillos and blended them for a really tasty taco sauce. I think he really enjoyed it, all the cutting, grilling and prep work and it turned out great. We gave him cards and a book about how to train your human from a dog's point of view-very funny. We're also getting him a new golf bag.


I called my dad today and he was in good spirits. He had heard from all 12 of us kids, so he was pretty happy about that. He's still working hard at the Winn and taking care of grandma too, which is a ton of work at this point. She needs help with everything, but he never complains about it. He told me today that he likes calling me a lot because I'm like his therapist for him and I always make him feel better about things. That made me feel good and I always enjoy talking with him. He's always been a fun conversationalist.


Well, everyone is asleep now, so I better turn in. Next week, I'll have  more pictures for you. I'm typing on dad's laptop for now.

 Hiawatha Trail tunnel

 One of the passes we rode our bikes over

 visiting the town of Wallace

I hope you had a good week and that you were able to teach many lessons. Hearing all the women tell their conversion stories today made me think of you and got me excited with a renewed faith that there really are people out there searching for answers and ready to learn. Tell us about where you spent your time this week and keep us posted on the ones you've been teaching.


Have a great day and a spirit-led week.
love you much,
mom
xxoo

Firesides, side of the fire and missionary concert

June 10, 2012

Dear Elder Alex,

So here's a pic of the missionary concert we got this evening in our home. Our two polynesian elders plus one "vanilla" boy (as Nikki and Leah call him) came to our house this evening and gave us a lesson. Then afterwards since Elder Ika was being transferred tomorrow, they serenaded us with one Tongan song and "A Child's Prayer" using guitars and ukele. It was so wonderful having the elders in our home and Elder Ika left us with one of the nicest prayers I've ever heard blessing our family. Dad sent them off with cans of Spam again and they loved it.

Then we headed off to the Tanner's house, in our ward, where they invited us to do smores with them sitting outside by their pond in their backyard. We all talked til it got too dark and a little cold, but it was so nice sitting out there with them. Made me want to have a house with a pond again.

The fireside part in the title was just because Kristina went to our ward's monthly Bishop's Youth Discussion fireside then joined us at the Tanner's afterwards.

We've had a full Sabbath today which I love. We started out at our ward where Bro. Crosgrove and Zach both spoke. Bro. Crosgrove was speaking because he's a high councilor and he brought his son with him. Then we went to the 6th ward to hear Coleman Madsen give his farewell talk. He takes off for Birmingham, AL in a couple weeks. Coleman sounds like a return missionary already. He'll do a great job.

Megan Leifson got her mission call this week and she's going to the exact same mission as Coleman. She doesn't leave until Sept though. She's excited to talk with you about the South when you get home. She's going to be having her farewell the same day you give your homecoming talk, Aug. 19th. Sis. Leifson is in charge of music in our ward so she wanted me to ask you if you had any thoughts about what you'd like as a musical number at your homecoming. She even said Megan could sing a duet with you if you'd like. So let me know if you've given that any thought at all so I can pass it along.

We opted out on Eagle Fun Days this year, at least the parade part. It was just too cold. But a few of us did go to downtown Eagle on Friday night and walked around. It doesn't really change much each year, but we actually ate dinner at the Wild West Cafe downtown which we had never been to. They claim to have the best hamburgers around, so dad had one of those and said they were pretty good. We ran into Tim Givens there and he asked about you. He said it seems like just yesterday that you too went out golfing before you left on your mission.

Kristina went to Academy this week and loved it. They did things a bit differently this year. It was just a one day event. Every Bishop in the stake was there the entire day. In the morning they did a hands-on service project, then after lunch they did a ropes course which I guess was pretty impressive. She loved the one called Leap of Faith the best where you climb up high into a tree then jump out and catch a bar. The girls down below were holding the rope that would catch you if you fell. Kristina said it was scary and fun at the same time. Then after dinner Pres. Shaw spoke to them and they had testimonies.

I've been busy working on plans for the wedding. There are a lot of little details that have to be worked out, decisions to be made, phone calls to make, dresses to buy, flowers to pick out and plant, hotel rooms to book, etc. Hopefully we'll do all the behind the scenes work and it will just be a nice, enjoyable day for Kirk and Sarah.

This week we are taking a mini vacation and going to Coeur d'alene from Wed until next Monday. We've rented a house on the lake and will explore the area, go biking, shopping and also hopefully we'll get to meet Sarah's parents because they are thinking of coming down one day so they can meet us. If it's a totally fun place, we'll go back again some day, but I'll let you know. 

So how was your week? I'm anxious to hear about Kyle, if you were able to get in to talk with him again. Did he read something on the internet that made him not want to go to church? What other cities have you been traveling to? Keep me posted on Alvin and his church also. I just love hearing about what's going on there.

I heard from Terri Westerberg this week and Austin flies home the exact same day as we do, only a few hours earlier. I think he's reporting on the same day as you too, so hopefully his ward meets at a different time so we can all go hear him. I sent another ChemPal newsletter this week, so maybe by now you've already gotten it.

One question we have for you is: Sean is interested in going to a Brave's game while we're out picking you up, but the only night we could be in Atlanta is Monday the 13th, the night before we fly home. We could fly home from Atlanta on Tuesday. But what I want to hear from you is if you are interested in something like that at all or do you have some families you've planned to see on that Monday? Driving to Atlanta on Monday would take away from some visiting time, so please let me know either way because we would have to change our tickets and fly home from Atlanta if that's something you'd want to do. We are not leaning towards either choice, even Sean, it was just an idea, so I told him I'd talk with you about it first. So let me know truthfully what you'd like to do. We're just excited to be there.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying this new calling of a traveling elder. I'm sure it's hard at times, but hopefully there are some sweet rewarding moments. I hope you're having opportunities to be in the members' homes like we had tonight. The spirit they bring is so strong and leaves a wonderful influence in our home. 

Remember who's always praying for you--me! and who loves you and is always asking Heavenly Father to guide your very footsteps--me! Have a great week sharing the gospel.

Love you,

Mom xxoo

One awesome brother!

Today Kristina had to take the ACT test, the admissions test for colleges. It takes 4 hours and the scores determine which colleges you can get into. She got up early to get to the testing center and on the drivers seat of the Mustang that she drives was a note and a candy bar, a payday, from big brother Sean.  This is what it said:

Kristina, Remember this: After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box. In the end, the score you get on this test will not define who you are or what you will become. Do your best and the Lord will provide the rest.  Sean

Wedding Bells

June 3, 2012

Dear Elder Alex,

I had to title this one wedding bells since I just got off the phone with Sarah's parents in Canada and we are now in the "active planning" stages of the wedding. Sarah only has one more thing left on her side of the visa, waiting for her police record to show up, then she calls the Vancouver embassy and they make an appt. for her to come in for an interview. Right after the interview, she receives her visa. So they've set a date of July 20th as their wedding and will be getting married in Idaho Falls because Kirk will still be in Rexburg finishing up his finals the day before. He had a choice of either being part of his graduation ceremony or getting married and I think it was a pretty easy choice for him.  Then the next day, we'll all travel over here to Eagle for an open house at our house. The one weird thing we have to do is have their wedding reception in Canada before they actually get married because after they get married she can't travel to Canada until she gets a different visa which may take up to a month. So their reception will be on July 14th, a week before. We'll all be going up to Canada for that. I think that will be kind of weird for Kirk because he'll be part of a reception with his bride, then take off alone and go back to Rexburg. But since nothing about their relationship has been "normal", this will just be par for the course.

So my mind now has to turn to all the details of wedding/open house stuff. Wish me luck. This is all new to me.

I loved your letter last week and it was mainly because of the story you shared about Pres. McKee teaching the pastor, Alvin. I loved that and it gave me goosebumps.What a great story! Keep me posted on what happens there.

We had a nice Sunday here. The weather is beautiful, the sun stays out til late at night, everything is so green-you just feel like being outside. The testimonies were very nice today too. I especially enjoyed hearing from our local missionaries. As you've seen from some of our pictures, they are both Polynesian, and their testimonies were so wonderful. The one from Samoa talked about his dad becoming active since he's been gone and how much that has meant. The other one talked about how moved he was by a talk from one of the young Ray boys a couple weeks ago when he spoke of his older brother who is on a mission and what a great example he is and how they love receiving letters from him. The elder said when he heard that, he felt guilty because he hadn't been writing letters very often and he even knew of some problems his family was having back home. He said when he did write, they were very short, maybe just a sentence. He said he thought to himself during that talk, "please don't read a portion of your brother's letters." Then sure enough, the kid read a portion of his brother's last letter. Afterwards, the one elder elbowed his companion and said, "Is that how you write your family?" His companion said, "no." "Me either," said the one. So that week they both committed to start writing much better letters home to their families because he was so touched by how much the letters meant to the brother. 

I just want you to know first off, that you write amazing letters and that they really do mean so much to all of us and I thought today that I would love it some time if you wrote your testimony to Leah and Nikki in particular, something they could always hold onto. I think it would mean a lot to them especially as they grow older. 

Secondly, I want you to know that the elders bring such a powerful spirit with them whenever they speak or enter our homes. I doubt you realize it, but it's so evident to us. I hope you have many, many opportunities to be in people's homes if for no other reason than for them to feel the spirit that you bring. Always pray to have that spirit with you.

We are all well here. Sean is working, Kristina is making big plans for the summer with her friends. She's camping out with Claire this Tuesday, going to academies Thursday and the temple on Friday. Leah and Nikki love sleeping in a little, staying up a little later, getting up and making eggs in the morning. Life is good when their tummies are full and they get plenty of sleep!

Dad and I double dated with the Hugentobler's this weekend. We went out to dinner, saw a movie and then got frozen yogurt. They're just fun company to be with. The simple pleasures of life are the best-I helped the beehives with a sewing project this week, got together with my Material Girls, went to an Eagle court of honor, went to a BBQ at the Simmons (first house on the corner in Tahoe Ridge), went to lunch with dad at Carl's Jr and Taco Bell, I got to hold Rebecca Nielsen's(Justin's wife) newborn all during RS today--like I said, it's just the simple pleasures and the people you're with that make life beautiful.

Grandpa Trumbo called me tonight and we had a fun talk as usual. He's doing well and I can tell it's time for me to get back down there again for a visit and to continue working on his life history. Maybe you and I can make a quick trip down there after you get home.

Around the house here we've been sprucing some things up. Yes, we actually have a gardener come now and I can't believe how awesome everything looks. Even dad admits that. Now dad has more time to work on his other projects like the garden and landscaping, etc. I think he's enjoying it a lot more.

I hope you had a great week. How did your lesson with Kyle go? Can't wait to hear. Are you moving to Bowling Green yet? Let us know all the places you travel. It's fun to look it up on the map and track you.

Have a fun day. Always remember how many people are praying for you and the people you teach. We have a great family.

Love you,

Mom xxoo