February 12, 2013

I am sorry to hear about Jessica's baby. I am glad that all is well with the rest of you though. I seemed to have misplaced my patriarchal blessing. I was wondering if you could send me out another copy as quick as you could. Thank you! So it was the Chinese new year this past Saturday and that is the activity that you saw me in the picture at. Because Elder Shiu (pronounced shoe) is from Hong Kong we got permission to go to the Chinese branches party. It was really cool and fun. I didn't understand a single word the entire time but other then that it was fun. We sang karaoke because apparently that is really big with the Asians. Elder Shiu has a really really good voice and everybody wanted him to sing again and again. I even sang a song. They had a couple of English ones. So I sang Dust in the Wind. It was one of the few that I knew that they had ha ha. It was a lot of fun. Elder Shiu has one older sister who is married and his family is all members. He is a really really cool guy and the first companion in a long time that I haven't felt like I had to be his mother at the same time. It is really nice. His English is really good, they have to learn it in school over there, and everything else is going great right now. I am a district leader right now not a zone leader mom ha ha. All that means is that I teach district meeting every single Thursday and I go on exchanges with the Elder's in my district. It really isn't that big of a deal. It sounds like the girls are really busy like always. Make sure they are having fun also.....just not with boys. I am sorry that this is so short but I have to go. Seems work here is never done. I love you guys so much.

February 4, 2013

Alright, I am coming home. I need to kill this Baylor kid. He is not allowed to talk, look, or even be around Jaylen anymore. She is too young for a boyfriend!!!

Anyways I got a new companion today. His name is Elder Shoe and he is from Hong Kong. First I got a comp from Kenya now Hong Kong. I guess I am just going to come back very cultured ha ha. It is really good because Irvine, where I am at, has a huge number of Asian people in it so now they won't be able to pull the, "No no, no English." card because Elder Shoe will start talking Asian to them.

I have been super sick this week also. I got the flu so I have been buying a lot of medicine. I got a really bad canker sore also so I really couldn't eat. It sucked. I am just getting over being sick now. Not much happened this week because we stayed in while I had a fever. It really sucked. Being sick as a missionary is awful because you can't do anything. You can only watch the Testaments so many times...... I am getting better now though.

That is good to hear that Kate is doing well though. I pray for the girls a lot. They are going to be so different to me when I get home. Dad those shirts look amazing and I want one. :) Tell them you won't let them produce them unless you get a sample, size large, for your son. I love you guys so much. Thanks for everything that you do.

Love,
Connor

 

January 29, 2013

Sorry about the late e-mail. P-day yesterday was really crazy. So the baptism of Marc went really well. He asked me to baptize him which was really neat. I worry sometimes that this is only my third baptism. I feel like I am like not up to par with some missionaries who are on like 6 or 7 and they have been out like 3-4 months less than me. I know it isn't a compitition, but still kinda stinks ha ha. It is alright though because we are all on the same team.

Transfers are this week and we are getting 9 19 year old sister missionaries. The Elder's in this mission are really excited ha ha. It is going to be so crazy when they all come. The mission is going to be so jam packed with missionaries there really isn't going to be enough work to go around. Other than the baptism this past week was kinda the same. We just visited Marc a ton. He is really a cool dude, a really good friend of mine now. That is the part that I love most about missionary work. Being able to make really good friends and then get to share with them the gospel. I got to do that with every single one of my baptisms so far which is really neat. Especially with Tyler who I still keep in touch with.

I hope that I get a new companion this Monday which usually means that I won't ha ha. I am very big with acting a certain way around members making it look like we are super on the ball and responsible and what not. With Parry that kinda just gets thrown out the window ha ha. I usually can laugh it off though so it is okay.

 I can't believe about Bro. Sharp being Bishop that is really cool. It seems like so long ago that I mowed his lawn. Ha ha those were the times. I am enjoying my time out here, I think that I am over my shulmp of crappy stuff. I still hurt a lot from Jess, but I am okay now. I think I can finally say that. I still don't want to come home though ha ha. The real world terrifies me now, actually dating and working and worrying about real world stuff. That is why I am enjoying just the simple life of the Lord's Missionary. Thank you guys so much for everything I love you so much.

January 22, 2013

Sorry I didn't e-mail you guys yesterday. We went to the temple today so our p-day was changed to today. It was really good and went really well. This week has been really good. Marc the bike guy is getting baptized this Sunday and we are super excited about that. His story is that he married a less active member. They are both in their mid twenties. They have been married for about 6 months now. He got one of the lessons before they were married but then we started to teach him. It was super easy and me and him get along really well. We are both kinda nerdy so we can talk about computers and stuff like that. We helped him install a projector in his house this week which was super fun. We are going over to watch a church movie, either the Testaments or Prophet Joseph Smith this week. He is reading really well though and feels the spirit when he reads. He really is like a golden investigator. The Lord has been preparing his heart for a long time. He didn't have any problem with any of the commandments which is really cool. I have found it very valuable to be able to connect with people in the mission field. Sometimes people can't feel the spirit when you teach unless they trust you. People only trust people that they respect, or connect with. So being able to be friends with my investigators and teach them at the same time has been really really valuable and just a neat experience.

I am happy to hear that Jaylen is doing well with everything going on in her life. I do pray for the girls all the time. I hope that Kate will get better too. I haven't been sick yet but with the change of seasons my allergies are getting worse. I am experimenting to see what brand works best and I think that Allegra works the best for me.

 Dad you might find this fun, I am running a D&D campaign now on P-day for 9 missionaries in the zone. It is two groups of 4 and 5 and they alternate P-days that they play. I am DMing. Ha ha we really don't have an athletic zone, so basketball really isn't a viable p-day option. Partly because all of the Asian Languages (Chinese, Vietnamese,  Korean)  are in our zone ha ha.

Our other investigator Lisa Clark is being a party pooper. It is one of those where she knows it is true, knows what she needs to do, tells us she wants to be baptized, then doesn't read and come to church. It is frustrating to have to watch people make their own decisions and then make the wrong ones. But I am learning patience and unconditional love. I am doing great. Thank you for everything that you do. I love you both. Tell the girls hi and good luck.

January 14, 2013

Hi mom and dad. You guys really aren't helping me out by telling me that Jaylen is having boys over, and is talking about dating now. Ha ha also that she failed her driving test. That instills a lot of confidence in seeing my car again. So what are your plans with my computer? That is good to hear that Jaylen and Kate are doing so well at sports though. We all know that in the south if you do sports in high school you are a god. That is really cool that Jaylen got a letter from the U! That would be really funny if she went there and I didn't ha ha.

So I got my tire all fixed and Marc did it for super cheep which was really nice. The bad news is that I got a flat the next day ha ha. Marc is being awesome though and is going to bring over a tire tonight to help me replace it. I think God is causing my bike to have so many problems so that we can see Marc a lot and check up on his reading and progression to baptism ha ha. 

This week was pretty normal, we walked a lot because we didn't get my bike fixed till Thursday night. I don't really like being a District Leader, just means I gotta do more stuff and be a better example and all that fun stuff. I am completely content with being a jc (junior companion) the lowest position in the mission. 

We are getting nine 19 year old sisters in about four weeks. It is our fist batch. The mission is kinda pumped because they are suppose to be kinda cute ha ha. I think it is so funny with these 19 year olds coming out. The mission president is going to have so many mission romance problems on his hands. We had a special training meeting for all the leaders specifically on how to deal with stress for the new missionaries because they are coming out younger. We got told that women sometimes have special times when you don't mess with them ha ha, and that men sometimes have feelings too and need to be encouraged. Basically what can happen is new missionaries can arrive and other missionaries can be all like "I want to show them how hard missionary life is" and make it really hard for them. Kinda what my trainer did to me. Well President is worried about this and doesn't want it to happen when these youngins come out.

So we are working on developing a ward missionary plan for the year of 2013 and also we are going to each family and making a ward mission plan. We are setting up three goals and asking them to set them playfully. They are: How many people will you invite to church? How many people will you invite to hear the missionary discussions  How many times do you plan on having someone taught in your home? I think it would be cool if you guys picked numbers for the year 2013 and made your own family mission plan. Maybe that could be a cool FHE. 

I am doing good and we are working hard. I could use some more man soap, shampoo, and contact solution. Thanks for everything that you guys do. I love you!

January 7, 2013

Whoa whoa whoa what are you planning on doing with my computer? That is my baby. Has my name etched on the bottom of it and everything. Ha ha but I can't really upgrade that computer so I probably will want a new one. What I would love is a really cool Desktop that I can game from and upgrade and stuff and then like a little 100-200 dollar notebook that I take to classes to take notes on and stuff. MaryJane (the laptop I have now) is just too big to take to class. So I would hope to get that when I get home. Idk only speculating. The answer is no though I wasn't planning on having MaryJane for very long. I was going to sell her pretty soon after I got home. 

So my prayers were answered this week and I guess Jaylen didn't pass her driving test ha ha just kidding. She better take that test 7 times and pass it every time before she drives ha ha. Tell her that she isn't allowed to go on a date with a boy especially one named Baylor. Gosh Texans have the weirdest names. At least he plays sports so he'll be a little normal. 

I totally forgot about that CD that I made for mom. That was like my Jr. year I think. That is pretty cool. That is cool to hear about Nate also. I am glad that he is happy now. He sent me a letter on my mission. I never wrote him back though. I am pretty bad at that ha ha. 

So tragedy struck this week. My bike tire bent. I was just pedaling along and then my front tire caught on something and my entire wheel looks like a taco now. That is why I had some purchases this week. I had to get a new axel and some other things from amazon. Luckily our investigator Marc works and manages a bike shop for really hi end bikes. He hooked me up with some sick discounts and is fixing my bike for free. So a huge blessing there. A 100 dollar repair just costs about 40 bucks now. But he can only fix it on Tuesday so we have been walking for the most part this past week which is hard but we have been doing good. 

Our investigator Lisa Clark has a baptismal date for the 19th of January and then Marc has a date for the 27th so we are super excited about that. They are both on track to hit those dates. 

I am learning lots of love and patience with Elder Parry. I have learned to just laugh and not really worry about things like that so much. It has been great and I am having a ton of fun with him. He has had an obsession with racist jokes lately and thinks that they are so funny. He loves to tell them to everybody that we meet. One of his favorite is. How do Chinese people name their children? They throw pots and pans down their stairs. We live in a community of about 70% Asian. It doesn't go over to well ha ha. 

I have to go but I love you all. Thank you for everything that you do!

Love,

Connor

December 31, 2013

This week was pretty good. I am adjusting to the new area really well. Me and Elder Parry are getting along really well also. We laugh a lot and that makes things a lot easier sometimes. He is super slow at riding a bike. Like we could run faster than we ride ha ha. So we have to plan a lot of travel time in between appointments. It was really great to see the whole family again. It has been so long. I can't wait to be home again. At the same time though I don't want to leave the mission field ha ha. I'm having too much fun and it is so neat here also. I'm doing really okay. We had a new investigator move into our ward from another ward. She had a baptismal date but she is kinda flaking on us with the move so we are trying to work with her. We are also teaching a Part member family. The husband is not a member but he seems really sincere about it and wanting to read.  So we are super excited about that. Other then that nothing really has changed since I talked to you. Love you all lots.

Connor

December 16, 2012

Hi mom, I'm happy that everybody got a good early Christmas. I did get your and Mackenzie's presents thank you. But, I got transferred today. President assured me that we were staying together for one more transfer but that changed. I am now with Elder Perry. He is special. He is kinda like Mikey just not as happy all the time haha. I am in Irvine now also. I am not too happy about his because I have no idea what is going on for Christmas. Mackenzie did get his presents though and he is thankful for them. I have no idea what time I will be calling/skyping you guys yet I'll e-mail you sometime this week when I find out. It is just going to be really really crazy this week. Thanks for everything that you have sent me mom. I can't wait to open my presents and see what I got. I'm doing fine though. I can't wait to talk and see everybody also. I love you so much.

December 10, 2012

So Elder Mackenzie is a medium size t shirt and a 30 size waist. I gave him my razor because Nana got me that new one so I think he is fine there. He could use some replacement heads though for the razor. Gillette Fusion pro glide or something like that. He would love a Panda gift card and needs more ties. That is all I can think of right now. Thank you so much for doing this.

I keep praying for the girls. Looks like we both are going through a hard time. Elder Mackenzie and I just hit 0 with Investigators. So we are going back to finding. The thing I like worst about Missionary work ha ha. I love teaching but finding is hard and usually unrewarding. But we are working hard to try and find someone else ready to hear the gospel. That is really cool about the Heisman trophy. Also cool about the mormon kid. We need good press like that right now. Other then that I am doing good. Thanks so much for everything dad.

December 10, 2012

Hi guys, just wanted to let you know that I can Skype for Christmas! So be excited for that. Also I got your tree mom thank you so much for it. I will send you pictures of it set up soon. The ornaments are great. I can't believe that you found a Utah tree. It is just perfect. I love you guys so much, thank you for everything.

December 3, 2013 to dad

Hey dad. Sorry to hear about the Huskers, at least they weren't as bad as the Utes this year ha ha. I hope that Texas A&M has their QB get the Heisman. The Elders Quorum was talking about it this Sunday on who was going to get it. I hope that your business trip went well. Fanatics is that store in the mall that charges like an arm and a leg for shirts right? Haha, don't tell them that I said that. That is good to hear that Utah State is doing well. They are still so small time though, they need to be given a chance like Utah or Boise to grow a little bit in a bigger conference. I will be praying for the girls. High school isn't easy, I know that better than anybody. I just take comfort in the fact that Jaylen and Kate are a little bit cooler than I was in high school. When does Kate start her freshman year? Read mom's e-mail for a lot more updates. Love you dad.

Connor

December 3, 2012

I was able to watch only half of the devotional. Being on bike you show up late to stuff because people need to drive you everywhere ha ha. It was good though.

About Christmas though mom. Elder Mackenzie has never gotten a Christmas present before in his life. They don't do that in Kenya. So I would rather have you send him stuff instead of me. He loves Panda Express and he could use some more ties. Like more than anything else if you could send me that for him that would be awesome. I want to make sure he has a really cool Christmas also, because he isn't going to be getting anything from his family.

I could use an extra pair of Athletic shorts though.

The last time I was at the mission home was when I trained for the first time to pick up Elder Healey. You don't go there that often. You got there to pick up a trainee or to go and get yelled at by the mission president ha ha. For Christmas we will probably be going to a members house. Hopefully the same one that we went to for Thanksgiving. The Moates are really cool. So are you going to Nana's for Christmas or where are you going to be spending it? I hope that you guys have fun in Utah. I don't know if we get to skype this year. I don't think that we will. I will still get to call you though.

I did listen to those CDs. They were great thank you so much. Music out here is like gold. I don't get to listen to it too much though because we are on bike and we normally listen to music in the car. But I turn it on when we are in the apartment. I am getting out those Christmas CDs you gave me last year also and have been playing them lately.

This week was tough with missionary work. Jeramie dropped us, told us he prayed to God and he told him not to get baptized. Told us also to never come by his house again. Just really sucks, I hate it when that happens. We finally had to let Mili go also. She just never has called us back. The Rodriguez family canceled our appointment with them also. Just a tough week. I will see the Rodriguez family baptized though before the end of the year. That is my goal.

Thanks for everything that you do mom. I will send more pictures soon.

Connor