Email Letter - October 31, 2011

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween! Halloween is not a good holiday for missionaries though, sadly we cannot dress up and go trick or treating, although I hear Mormon Missionary is going to be an 'in' costume this year with Mitt running for office. We also have to be in our apartment by 6 to 'avoid persecution' as it was put. That's alright though, being cooped up in an apartment all night is a good thing, it'll be so much fun! We'll play death ball.

As for the work this week it's been kinda slow again, but that's alright. We keep ourselves busy. We've started doing a 21 day promise thing issued by Robert E Wells of the Seventy that is starting to work its magic. One of the members that had her cycle of 21 days end yesterday and she had a less-active with her at church that hadn't been in over 10 years! How good is that? SO GOOD! We're beginning to meet with a lot of the ward's less-actives and find new people to teach through them as we reactivate them as well. It's going really well for us in that area and life is good. Things are going really well for our recent-converts as well, both of them hold callings now and are excited to go home teaching regularly. Mike said just the other day, "I didn't get to go on a mission when I was your age, so home teaching is my mission now". Needless to say, that is something we really like to hear! Especially since the home teaching in this ward is not very strong, and that is a way that we find new people to teach as well.

Things with Thuey are going really well too, we're working hard. It's nice to have someone that will push me to work harder, I need that, sometimes my own self is not quite enough. That's what companions are for right?

Well, nothing very monumental happened this week, so there isn't much to say. But here, enjoy a picture of how we're going to be celebrating tonight! I love you all! Enjoy your week, the holiday and such. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARTER! Love you buddy, you're such an old fart.


---Elder King
3rd Nephi 5:13

Email Letter - October 24, 2011

Hello everyone! It's been a great week here in California. The weather is wonderful, staying in the mid to low 80s and sometimes even into the seventies. It has been quite enjoyable.

Elder Thueson is great too. We're working hard and the work is picking up. We're still looking for more success in finding new people to teach though, but that happens, it's slowly coming around. Remember Yvette? I brought her up before when she was still being lame and not wanting anything to do with us because of the member she was no longer dating. We got a call from her last week asking if we could drop by and begin teaching her. SCORE! She's definitely been prepared, as we found out. Last Thursday we taught the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She accepted the message, but not the invitation to be baptized offered by Elder Thueson. She said she wasn't willing to jump right into the Gospel, because she's making the decision for her son as well, and she wants to make sure it's right for him as well as her. But the fact that she's willing to listen regardless of her relationship with that member, and keep commitments and such is a very good sign.We're hoping to pick up a family of 5 today after our P-day activity. Some other missionaries were out street contacting and ran into these people, Bill and Carrie that live in our ward. They seem promising so we shall see how that goes. The one thing that is holding me back about this family is that they live on the sketchiest street in our area. Not knowing this Elder Thueson and I went and tried to contact them at about 7 o'clock at night, long after the sun went down. Most people were drinking or smoking on their doorstep, or cat calling us with things like "what message does Satan have for us tonight boys" and that sort of thing. After that particular one I decided to mumble under my breath "We wouldn't know what message Satan has for you, but you can ask him yourself if you like" I was pretty lucky they didn't hear that I think, but Thueson and I had a good laugh at it. I went back the next day with Elder Rakuita, my big brown Fijian friend, in the middle of the day, to talk to them. The appointment we set is for today. We've decided to make sure that we're not there too late after dark this time.

All in all, it's been a good week. We've worked hard and done well. We're expecting more success for the work this week! I love you all!


---Elder King
3rd Nephi 5:13

Email Letter - October 17, 2011

This week has been the most stressful week of my mission thus far.

So Elder Garner went up to Chico early on Tuesday, and is doing well and working hard up there. He's enjoying being in a car. His comp goes home in 5 weeks, and he goes home in 11, making them the oldest companionship in the mission, alongside the APs. I have been out a total of 13 weeks in the field and my new companion has been out 1 (almost) making us the youngest companionship in the mission, alongside another of the missionaries that came out with me that is also training. I hope I'm not the only one that thinks that is funny. The missionary from my group happens to be training Elder Thueson's MTC companion.

Anyway, the reason this week has been super stressful, even though I know that I'm qualified to train because I have been called of God by President Weston, I barely know how to be a missionary myself and am still trying to find out how to train a new missionary when hardly know how to be one myself. Elder Thueson has joined me from Parma, Idaho, which is about 40 miles west of Boise, near the border with Oregon. The kid is great. The MTC has changed their training program from the lessons in Preach My Gospel, to what they call the 8 fundamental lessons. These lessons are the basis of helping the missionaries in every aspect of the teaching process. For example, "How to begin teaching" and "My missionary purpose" are for before teaching, "Revelation through prayer" and "Revelation through the book of Mormon" are for helping the investigator feel the Holy Ghost and so on. My time in the MTC was the time they were starting the switch so I got the lessons in PMG and the fundamentals, which is good because I am adequately prepared to teach the lessons, and lead through expanded study of the fundamentals. The changes sure are helping out as we've seen a lot of success with the last group to come out with this new training program.

A little bit more about Elder Thueson: He comes from a family of 7, 5 boys and 2 girls and he is the youngest. He played tennis in high school and is very similar in mannerisms as I am. Plus, the fact that he is my "son" it is only fitting that he looks like me! I'll include a picture with this email.

As for the work, we've started to do a lot of the things that are taught in PMG, and are going to start meeting with the leaders of the Ward and help them fulfill their duties in each of their areas. In doing this we are going to seek Less-actives and Part-member families to teach and bring into the fold. We believe and have faith that this will increase our teaching pool, as it promises in PMG, giving us investigators to teach and bring to the truth. All in all, we are going to become more and more like how we should be as outlined in Preach my Gospel.

Anyway, that's all for this week, as things start to unfold with Elder Thueson and with the families we'll hopefully start teaching, I'll keep you updated. I love you all!


---Elder King
3rd Nephi 5:13

Email Letter - October 10, 2011

Big shake ups with transfer calls this week, not really what we were expecting but good stuff none-the-less.

Elder Garner is going to the Chico First Ward, which is on campus. It's a dangerous world up there. There's a sorority that is out to destroy missionaries. You can't be admitted in unless you come with an elder's garments and tag. Scary stuff there, a lot of missionaries get sent home. At least he's going to be there only for the winter when they're at least bundled up. Also, he's not zone leader like we thought he would be but President Weston has set him up to train his last transfer.

Speaking of training... That's what I'm doing. Yes, enter Papa King. Admittedly the rumors started last week so I was almost sure that I would be, but it's still nerve racking. I'm going to be responsible for a new missionary as he enters the field. I've only been in the field twelve weeks, it's unheard of for a missionary to train this early. The earliest we have heard of before this is 18 weeks. I'm nervous as freak! But I know that I'm ready. I told President that I was ready and willing to take any responsibility that he and the Lord thought that I was ready for, and apparently they think I'm ready too, so in saying that, I have no reason to be nervous or feel inadequate to do this!

I'm very much excited to meet my greenie tomorrow! It'll be great. I need a banner to hang outside our apartment that says "It's a boy!"

As per the work this week it was another slow week, both of our promising potentials have asked that we back off a bit until they get into the Book of Mormon more, I guess I can't really complain too much about that but I would rather start teaching them the doctrine. Things with our current 'gators are going well, we've found the right members to help us teach and places to teach them where there will be minimal distraction. We plan on extending the commitment to baptism to Yvette this week as well. It'll be very good as we feel that she will accept.

Anyway, there isn't much to say other than that! I hope you guys are just as excited for me as I am for myself.


---Elder King
3rd Nephi 5:13

Email Letter - October 3, 2011

This week was really busy as I expected it to be. It was really nice having people to teach instead of trying to find. Remember that Yvette girl that ditched out a couple of weeks ago? We’re teaching her now and things are going really good with her. She always has awesome questions and we always have awesome, inspired answers. We plan on committing her to baptism this week!

There have been a few other really good things also but not much to say about them quite yet. Other than Yvette we picked up Kathy as well, I'm pretty sure I told you about her. We tracted into her a week and a half ago and gave her a book of Mormon to read, she was already 5 chapters in before we were able to come back and start to teach her. It's great how the Lord prepares His people to be taught.

Conference was awesome. That would be enough to say normally but it won't suffice this time. There were too many great talks this time around. It was different this time because I wasn't only watching conference for me though, in each talk I either learned something for myself or the people that I'm teaching. Hearing Elder Bednar's talk on genealogy for example was great. A few days ago Dan shared a bit from his Patriarchal blessing about how he is going to be a "Savior on Mount Zion" Elder Bednar explained just how to do that. Cool stuff huh?

Later this week I'm going to scan my notes at Dan's and send them over to you guys, that way you can see what I learned, and I can get cookies from dad for showing my notes. Even though I'm on a mission that still applies right? There was so much to learn and I can't wait until the Ensign comes out so I can look at the talks in study time. It'll be a great thing to have and a great tool to teach with. I think the most exciting part about conference though was the announcement of the new Provo temple. You should have seen me; it was very distracting for the other 15 missionaries and the families in the stake center.

One of the messages that hit me most was Elder Holland's talk in priesthood. The part about how missionaries can't afford to bind their tongues intentionally. Also the Brother's talk about synchronizing our will with the will of the Spirit, to teach by it and not in front or behind it. His name escapes me now but I'm sure I'll remember as I leave the library.

I love you guys! I'll talk to you soon!


---Elder King
3rd Nephi 5:13