Simply having a wonderful Christmas time - 12/17/12

"Well Elder... you're great."

That's what President Smart usually has to say during our interviews. He's not the most social person in the world, but he always makes his missionaries feel like he loves them. He also makes us feel like he can peer into our souls and know everything about us. But he still loves us, so that must be a good thing.

This week, my companion and I had interviews, and he also interviewed the best investigator I've had in a long time ("EQ"). He got baptized the very next day. He didn't invite any family or friends, but a lot of the ward showed up to support him. And they brought food, too. I felt bad because I couldn't bake anything super special for his special day, but I did find the time to whip up a box of brownies.

On Sunday, we attended a special musical performance that was composed and performed by members of our stake. It was pretty good. I met Sister Beckstrom there, the missionary that served in my home ward before I came here. She took a picture for facebook, if any of you are friends with her. She's a sweetheart, and she's excited to serve a mini-mission for a couple weeks after Christmas. That seems like a pretty cool opportunity to me.

Exchanges with the Zone Leaders were also this week, and that was a whole lot of fun. I love our Zone Leaders to bits. They are very good missionaries. I got to teach a killer first lesson to a potential investigator, which was super refreshing because we haven't found any new investigators in the three weeks I've been here.

Three weeks? That's half a transfer! I still don't know my ward or my area at all, and I'm sure my comp will be leaving me soon, since this is his fifth transfer in Murrieta. So I better pay attention and figure out what's going on so I don't look completely incompetent.

Christmas Eve will be next p-day. I don't know if the library will be open or not, to be honest, but I've got a homeshare that will bail us out if we need it. Hopefully we can figure out skype arrangements for our bi-yearly call home.

If I don't get to do it later, I'll go ahead and wish you a Merry Christmas right now. There are a few families in the ward that want us to see them either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we should be taken care of. Do me a favor and look at the Sara Bareilles song "Love is Christmas". Know that you are all loved and cared about, especially during the few seconds between my head hitting the pillow at night and the alarm going off at 6:30am.

It's that time of the year - 12/10/12

Happy Holidays everyone! I'm enjoying my time here in Murrieta. It's a little bit colder here, but it still doesn't feel much like winter. It is actually cold enough for me to wear a sweater or a suit coat without being hot. So that's something, right?

There are so many names to remember and I don't know a third of them. But, as of tomorrow, I will have been a missionary for 8 months. That's a third of my mission gone already. How does that feel? I am a bit shocked to be honest. I still have no idea what I'm doing. But I've been involved in a lot of good teaching and made a lot of good friends.

Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you guys that I had a baptism last week. My very first week in the ward, and we baptized 7 children in a part-member family. How cool is that? This family has been inactive in the church for a long time, until my companion tracted into them and started teaching them. I showed up just in time to get them interviewed and see them a couple times before they got dunked. It was a marvelous service. It was also the first baptism in the Cole Canyon ward since it was organized in March. It was amazing to see it happen. Obviously, it wasn't as special to me, because I hardly knew the family, but it was still great to see it.

I've discovered again how small the LDS world is. Apparently one of David Parry's (friend from home ward in S.C.) home teachers at BYU lives in my ward. The Zone Leaders live at the Perkins' home in the middle of Bear Creek, a super nice gated community with golf courses and multimillion dollar homes in it. Yeah, that's the kind of people that live in my wards. It's a major change of pace.

Also, a missionary that served her mission in South Carolina lives in Murrieta, I heard from another Elder in my zone, and she remembers serving in my ward while I was a ward missionary. That's a bit scary for me because I can't remember what she looks like, and I know I was probably a super slack ward missionary. It's a bit embarrassing especially now that I'm on the other side and I understand how frustrating that can be. (Brooke Beckstrom. Anyone remember her?)

Probably the most shocking is when I made super good friends with a guy and his wife, only to discover that the wife served her mission with my brother in the newly formed New Mexico Farmington mission. Then after we moved out, I discovered that his dad and my dad were childhood friends. I still can't get over that. I'm turning into my Grandma Hansen and how excited she gets over little connections like that. (No, I don't think they went to East High.)

Well I hope all is well with you guys wherever you are! Know that I love you and that I'm going to be just peachy here.

This week I discovered a scripture that covers the same bases as three of my favorite scriptures: D&C 68:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, and D&C 122. All covered in the first three verses of D&C 98. Check it out.

Merry Christmas!

The Lord gave and the Lord hath taketh away - 12/03/12

Blessed be the name of the Lord. Sorry for being such a downer in my last letter. I was upset and spoke from the "bitterness of my soul". (Job 10:1) I've since come to a greater trust that "all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things" (2 Nephi 2:24)

 

The first few days in Murrieta were a bit slow. Every single one of our appointments canceled the first day, and all but one canceled the second and third days. I found that as long as we were trying our best to do missionary work, I was given the strength physically and emotionally to smile and bear testimony and teach with the spirit. But once we made it back to the homeshare, I fell apart. I was totally exhausted. But I still put my trust in the Lord and tried my hardest the next day to be a good missionary.

We cover two wards, the Cole Canyon ward and the Murrieta Hills ward. The Cole Canyon ward was just organized in March and it's still pretty new. Geographically speaking, it's absolutely tiny. I've never seen a ward this small except in Utah. Murrieta Hills is a bit bigger, because it covers the mansions that all sit on their own hills five miles apart out in the country. I'm told we'll be eating at the home of a billionaire next week. I feel so out of place with all these rich white folks. I'm always afraid that I'll come off as a classless country kid. Luckily for me, I have the promise of the Lord, so I will be "strong and of a good courage", like in Joshua 1:9.

The downside of being in such a wealthy area is that it's awfully darn hard to tract. Nobody is ever home. We tracted for 3 hours one morning and only talked to 4 people. That's a huge difference from Jurupa Valley. Granted, it was from 10AM to 1PM, which is a poor time to tract anyways, but there's not much else we could have been doing, either. I'm going to have to get used to this kind of stuff. The best way for us to do our work, our ward mission leaders have told us, is to support and strengthen the members so that they trust us to teach their friends. I think I can do that. I have to learn two wards worth of people, but as much as I love people, surely I can rise to the challenge.

I sat through a ward council and 2 3-hour church blocks yesterday while fasting. That was an adventure, especially since we split up for part of it and Elder "C" didn't tell me where to go. Somewhere between bearing my testimony in the first ward and bearing my testimony in the next ward, I felt the spirit tell me that I would be able to do my job here and do it well. I folded my arms and said in my mind, "Challenge Accepted." I want to be able to look God in the eye and say that I gave it my best shot.

And I think I've done it, so far. I helped build a manger for a live nativity. I met a bunch of members, many of which enjoyed my testimony in testimony meeting. And I think I'm starting to get used to my companion. All will be fine. I trust in the Lord.

Broadening my horizons - 11/26/12

What a week. I burnt myself out trying to work too hard, for which I was reprimanded by the mission nurse. I took a four hour nap the next day, which helped a little. Exchanges day turned into errand-running day, with a trip to the mission office, a service project that I wasn't allowed to help with, and a surprise apartment inspection. We fixed the broken toilet and the light in the living room that day, so I consider that an accomplishment. I wish I had paid more attention when Dad fixed things around the house, because I feel kind of inadequate when things break and I don't know how to fix it. Luckily that's what the apartment maintenance guy is for.

Thursday was full of fun and way more food that I probably should have eaten. We had two meal appointments that day, one in the early afternoon and one in the evening, and they were both delicious. I started having sharp pains in my abdomen that day, but I'm kind of hoping it was just gas, or overeating.

I became very sentimental this week. I was sitting there with my miracle convert family  and realized how much like family I felt when I was at their house. I felt very loved, very comfortable, and very much at home. It was so powerful it brought a tear to my eye. I really and truly love these people, and I'm so happy to serve with them.

I also got sentimental when we put up the Christmas tree and lights that we found in the apartment closet. I will always love that about the holidays, seeing the bright shining lights of the Christmas tree when the room is dark and silent. It's a very special thing to me. Even if it's only a fake tree that's a foot tall. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a real live tree at my Ward Mission Leader's house. I smelled it the moment I set foot in the house. Love that smell.

Saturday morning, President Smart called us about Elder "A" serving as a Zone Leader in Yucaipa. We were both pretty excited about that. As much as we loved teaching together, we drove each other crazy in the time that we spent not doing missionary work.

He's going to be a Zone Leader in Yucaipa. I thought for sure I'd stick around and recover some more, since I still hurt and I'm still taking naps and taking narcotics. Well, that's not the case, as I discovered at 10:20 on Saturday night. I'm being transferred to Murrietta.

Well, by the time church rolled around, I was done being upset, and we ran around making our goodbyes and taking pictures. I'm so happy that I got to spend time here, and I'm super grateful for the ties I've made. Hopefully I can keep writing these people and start work in my new area even though I'm not 100%. My ride will be taking me there this afternoon. Wish me luck.

Back to work - 11/19/12

The days have been pretty long. I spent most of last week in bed, but on Friday, we kicked out the mini missionaries and Elder "A" and I went back to work. I probably would have liked to sleep a little bit longer, but I could tell my companion was getting a bit irritated at our helpers. I really liked having them around, to be honest. Except for the fact that they helped themselves to our food. We took them to the store and they bought their own groceries, but one of the Elders has never lived on his own before. He's used to helping himself to anything his parents buy. So we weren't quite all on the same page in that regard. In any case, they got a decent amount of missionary work done. I'm quite glad that the work was able to keep moving while I was down for the count.

At this very moment, I kind of wish I was still in bed. I still hurt sometimes, especially when the pain medication starts to wear off. I'm not quite at 100%. My companion is convinced that President Smart will be moving me when transfers roll around on Monday, but I kind of hope he lets me recover some more. I am not feeling like a real missionary just yet. The ward mission leader seems to agree with me, but we never know what's going through the mission president's head.

We have a lunch appointment and a dinner appointment for Thanksgiving. We aren't supposed to proselyte that day, but it looks like we will have members to hang out with most of the day. The ward has been taking extra good care of us since they found out about my surgery,. It's so nice to be loved. It's actually kind of hard for me to accept all the free stuff that people want to give us, but I'm learning to swallow my pride. I should accept their kindness so they can be blessed as well.

My blood has thinned out significantly from the hot sunny summer I just endured. It's not even that cold, but I always wake up freezing. Maybe I'll invest in some thermal underwear.

I'm so excited that "T" got baptized! Although her family is being really mean to her now. She spent the night with her friends because her family was giving her grief and stressing her out. And there were two different people that gave her quad scriptures at her baptism, but her parents hid them from her while she was asleep. I think it's so sad how people can be so against the church! I hope that things work out for her soon.

I love you all, and am looking forward to seeing you again someday! Keep your covenants and you will be blessed.

I did it! - 11/13/12

Since last Monday was Tyler's surgery, we did not receive an e-mail from him.  Here is the latest about his surgery straight from his mouth:

I had my surgery and I'm alive enough to email at the library a week later. Fun stuff!

Today I had my follow-up visit with the surgeon, and it seems that all the symptoms that I worried about were perfectly normal. For example, nobody told me that my pain meds would make me constipated. But with the help of a lot of fiber, I am having bowel movements almost like normal again! The pain and swelling in my abdomen are still present, but at least I know that they are on the decline. I was also given another prescription for some more pain medication, so I will be a little bit loopy for another week. Hopefully I will be functional as a missionary by the end of this week!

The actual surgery last week was pretty miraculous. Even though it took the poor nurse two tries to get an IV stuck in my arm, I was brave and didn't cry, pass out, or throw up (all three were things I was scared of doing). After the IV was in my arm it was all fun and games. Elder Alvarez and I did our best to joke about everything that went on pre-operation, including my backless gown, the wheels on my bed, and the classy blue shower cap that I was wearing. One of the nurses said I could have one of the caps to take home, but I never found one in my stuff when it was time to go home. Sad day.

I remember being wheeled into the operating room and hearing the surgeon's music playing. I asked the anesthesiologist if he was going to give me something to relax, and that's the last thing I remember seeing, was him talking to me while he put medication into my IV. I don't remember being asked to count backwards or anything; I was out like a light.

My first memory after the surgery is of greeting my companion with a very goofy salutation. I didn't recognize the mission nurse at first, but when I did, I pulled my gown off to show her my incisions. My companion turned bright red at that point. But Sister Van Vleet has been a nurse for 40 years, I am sure she's seen it all before.

Details that I found out today: my polypropylene surgical mesh will be with me forever. The tacks and the suture that they used to attach it to me and seal me up will biodegrade and be absorbed by my body. The three little incisions under my bellybutton were glued together with cyanocrylate adhesive. I actually had a small hernia on the right side of my groin in addition to the left, so Dr. Hou patched me up on both sides. I must be one hard-working missionary to get two hernias in the first six months of my mission!

I haven't really done a whole lot of work this week, though. I got to leave the house only a couple of times last week. Instead, Elder Wolf and Elder Coleman, our two mini-missionaries from Yucaipa, have been going out with Elder Alvarez to talk to everybody. Our new tracting approach, shared with us at our multizone conference on Friday, is to announce to people that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that we've come to leave a blessing on their home. Hopefully we get in the door, write down the names of their families and friends, their trials, and then bless them and their homes through the priesthood. Then we ask if they want to be baptized, if we can teach them, and if we can come back to follow up on the blessing. It seems really cool, and has brought lots of success to other missions.

Well I love you all tons! Thanks for your prayers and support. I'm going to go lay down and take a nap now.

The flood - 10/29/12

I have been flooded with well wishes recently! But first things first: my surgery will be at Riverside Community Hospital on 5 November 2012. I'm still not sure if it's Dr. Hou, Dr. Lara, or Dr. Nurick that will actually be cutting on me, but it's somebody from their office. The surgery will be done laproscopically, which means I'll have a few small incisions on my stomach for them to insert their little cameras and instruments inside of me instead of one big cut. I won't be staying overnight, but I will be recovering in bed for a week or two, most likely. The ward has offered lots of help to keep me comfortable and to help Elder "A" continue working while I'm lying in bed all day long. I'm sure we would go completely crazy if both of us had to stay in the apartment watching the bugs crawl around and the paint peel off the walls.

Now our friend that we just baptized used to be a RN and is now working on becoming a nurse anesthetist, so she has been filling me in on every gruesome detail of what's going to happen to me. For a laproscopic surgery, my stomach will be inflated with air in order for them to have a space to work their little robotic arms in. That sometimes results in a diffuse pain in the shoulders after they deflate me and I wake up, so I shouldn't mistake that feeling for a heart attack. My throat will be sore from being intubated. That's just common to any general anesthesia, because they have to make sure I keep breathing. The whole point of general anesthesia is to get me as close to dead as possible and then bring me back to normal. My heart rate and blood pressure need to be low, my breathing will be much slower, and the drugs are designed to keep me from remembering anything, even if I happen to wake up in the middle of it.

Oh, and they'll be putting a mesh inside of me to patch up the inside of my abdominal wall. Sometimes people strain hard enough to pop through those things, so there is a small chance of the hernia recurring. There's an even smaller chance that they could nick something vital on accident and I would go from having two functional testes to only one. But that's not a super big deal, because as long as I've got one I can still have kids and function as normal.

Sorry if that's a little gruesome, but I find these things fascinating. In any case, I'm sure everything will work out exactly the way God planned for them to work out. I'm still stoked that I get to stay here in the mission and not have to interrupt my service with a long flight to South Carolina and the distractions that would come along with that sort of recovery. But y'know, it all comes down to your faith in the end. I have faith that despite my fears, God's love and the power of Jesus' infinite and eternal sacrifice will be enough for my misgivings and weaknesses.

I think the highest compliment that I've received recently came in a letter from a friend at home who heard about my medical misadventures. She said: "I know that you know the power of the Atonement because you have strengthened my testimony with yours many times. Rely on it now. And as always  you are in my prayers." I look up to this person as a returned missionary and a spiritual strength, so hearing that from her made me feel very special indeed.

The letters finally came, and it was so glorious to see a stack of letters after two weeks of no mail. Now I have over a dozen people that I need to write letters to, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to do so in the not-too-distant future. I don't know what I'll read. Maybe I will start the Old Testament. I'm probably going to finish the Book of Mormon before the surgery, and I've already read Jesus the Christ, Our Search For Happiness, Our Heritage, and True to the Faith since being on the mission.

Well everybody, keep on sending me your prayers and good vibes. I'm going to keep on relying on the Lord's promises and smiling and testifying while I have the strength to stand. Don't forget to look for the rainbows in life. God has promised us that he will never destroy everything when he sends the rain.

Elder Hansen

The herniated - 10/22/12

Another wonderful week has come and gone! I'm hoping that tomorrow I get some good news. I have gotten a grand total of one message from the outside world in the past two weeks. That's to be expected, because the mission office holds our mail during the last week of the transfer and the first week of the transfer until they are sure they know where to send everything. When my companion and I stopped by the office on Wednesday, they told us to expect our letters in the mail on Monday. Well, we didn't get anything today. I will be patient and enjoy the bounteous blessings of the mailbox tomorrow. Or soon. At least they got me my packages today. My mom and friends back home sent me a bunch of food and useful little goodies, for which I am very grateful.  

I'm also hoping to hear from the surgeon tomorrow. I am still not sure why I ended up seeing Dr. Hou when I made an appointment to see Dr. Lara, but I was told on the phone by Sister Van Vleet, the mission nurse, that Missionary Medical has fixed the situation and that I'm cleared for the surgery. Their office told me to expect a phone call "early next week, probably Monday". It's past 5:00 now and still no phone call. So I'm still waiting to know exactly when my surgery will be.

I'm not sure how I got this hernia, but it seems to me like the swelling has been present since before my mission. How I managed to slip that by my doctor that gave me my pre-mission physical, I don't know. I'm not in a ton of pain. It does hurt every now and then, but the intense pain that keeps me up at night has only happened a couple of times. The ward here and my mission president are both working to get me the best possible care, including having other priesthood holders help out my companion so that the missionary work here doesn't stop completely while I'm recovering. I know I would go crazy if I had to sit around and watch the paint peeling in our apartment for two weeks.

The work is progressing and it's so cool to watch it! I'm sure the Lord has kept me here for so long because he needs me here for a fifth transfer. But seriously, we have some really great investigators in addition to the frustrating ones. "K" is doing so well when we visit with her, and I think she's willing to get married in order to get baptized. "D" made it to church this week and impressed all of the Relief Society with her enthusiasm! She told them all that she has lots of questions for us now. That's always good for us to hear! I can't wait to meet with her again, hopefully tomorrow evening.

We also got to baptize the anesthesiologist.  Her boyfriend drove up from Orange County to perform the ordinances of baptism and confirmation. He and his parents and some family from the Westminster ward all came and supported her in typical Mormon-family fashion, complete with little kids running around everywhere. It was so cool. They were sure to point out to me and my companion that we were the first missionaries that really clicked with her. She told them that she sincerely thought that we knew the answers to all her questions and cared about her as more than a baptismal statistic. They said that if nothing else, the Lord needed us in this area in order to finish her conversion. I never really felt like we did an awful lot with her, because she knew so much of the doctrine already, but it's good to hear that we made such an impact in her life. I definitely feel like I've made another forever friend.

I want to talk about the Sword of Laban. Laban was a pretty bad guy, with command over at least fifty soldiers, and he threatened to stop the work of the Lord with that power. So God had Nephi chop off his head with his own sword. From then on, it became a legend that was wielded in defense of liberty and truth by the prophets of the Lord, and was revealed to Joseph Smith in the latter days. (Jacob 1:10, WoM 1:13)

In the epic stories that we love so much, the heroes are the ones we adore, but a truly extraordinary weapon is not forgotten. Remember Narsil and how it fit into the LotR story arc, or the Elder wand. They didn't do anything of their own free will, but when wielded by a hero, they became legendary as well. I want to be an instrument in the Lord's hands that does mighty things for Him. I want to swing as an extension of his will and bring glory and honor to his name.

Love you tons, guys. Keep the mail coming, I should have plenty of time to respond.

Stranger than Fiction - 10/15/12

Okay, so apparently my message last week didn't get to everyone, but hopefully that's sorted out now. Long story short: I loved conference. I loved the temple. And I found out that I need surgery to correct my inguinal hernia.

 

Speaking of which, I will be seeing Dr. Gustavo Lara on Thursday of this week to see what needs to be done. I told the ward mission leader and the bishop about my surgery, and now everybody at church knows about it. They are going to try and get meals brought to the apartment, and as many team-ups as possible so that we can go on splits. I feel bad for whomever has to sit around and babysit me while Elder Alvarez goes out and does missionary work, but that option is far more productive than both of us missionaries sitting around doing nothing while I heal. I'll try not to go crazy while I'm cooped up inside.

This week was a ridiculously productive week compared to most weeks. Our anesthesiologist is getting baptized this Saturday, and we taught her a lot with her newfound friends the McCooks, who moved into the ward about a month ago and have been excellent team-ups. Both of them served missions, and they are great at helping us out when we need it. Seeing her progress has been so satisfying! Although it kind of feels like we are reaping the work of the past elders and her LDS boyfriend, because she knows an awful lot already without us having to explain it. Her questions are about things like the lost tribes, or how to tithe your time as well as your money, or what the missionary work in spirit prison will be like.

Oh yeah, Elder "A" and I worked our little butts off this week and God poured out blessings like you wouldn't believe! The standards of excellence for our mission are a baptism a month, 20 lessons a week, 7 lessons to investigators with a member present, 4 investigators at sacrament meeting, and 20 contacts every day, even p-day and Sunday. Well, Elder "A" and I set our sights on those numbers, and we actually got there this week, just barely. We were scrambling at 8:30 pm last night to find our last lesson, and ended up teaching a recent convert lesson about Nephi 3:7. God definitely provided a way for us to do what we haven't been able to accomplish ourselves.

Investigators attending sacrament meeting is a classic problem for us, because we can't force anyone to come to church and they frequently find excuses not to. We were feeling pretty good, though, because we committed 9 people to attend church. Only 3 of them actually showed up! But then, we saw Sister "D" come in with her husband, who has been a message for a couple years now. We had taught them earlier in the week, but didn't invite her to church for some reason. She surprised us and showed up on her own, and we were able to hit the standard of excellence because of it.

Your prayers about my surgery are definitely appreciated. I will do my best to have faith and be strong! I know you guys all love me and are thinking about me, and it makes me smile. A lot. God is great! And I love all of you.

Five-day suit week - Written 10/08/12

Elder Hansen's big e-mail did not come through the week of 10/08/12.  We received this e-mail on 10/15/12.

It (the e-mail) didn't go through, probably because I tried to attach too many pictures to it. Here's what I wrote last week, minus the temple pics.

 

"I got to wear my suit five times this week: temple trip, interviews with the mission president, zone meeting, and two sessions of conference. I've got some pictures to send you guys if you like.

Conference was amazing! We all gasped at the announcement about missionary age being reduced, and I laughed at the prospect of possibly training someone 8 years younger than me, at the end of my mission. I really enjoyed spending time with my zone. There are some great elders here who have offered me some very good advice and support.

So the reason I need that support, in part anyways, is the news I got from the doctor this week. I have an inguinal hernia. It's non-retractable and nonconstricted. I will need surgery to correct it. I'm not in a whole lot of pain but I still have to live with the knowledge that there is something terribly wrong with me that needs to be fixed. I see the surgeon in a week or so and we will see how things go from there.

Conference has inspired me to try and be more like the exhortation of Omni: And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

I think my favorite talks were Holland, Bednar, Shayne M. Bowen, Nelson, and Anderson. So much good stuff! Can't wait to get the Ensign and go over it all again.

I don't know how well you know me, but I'm deathly afraid of hospitals and needles, so any prayers you can offer in my behalf would be appreciated. I have faith that no matter what God's plan is, it will be for my good. I will pray for strength and peace during this trial, for I know that God doesn't give us trials to break us, but to strengthen us. God forsakes no one, and there is nothing we can't do together.

Another one of my favorite quotes from this conference: One sees clearly only with the heart. All things essential are invisible to the eyes.

I'm sure you all have your favorite parts of conference. Feel free to send them to me in your letters and emails. I love you all and miss you... but not a whole lot. My investigators are doing awesome, and I may end up leaving this area better than I found it! We have a lady on date for October 20 and another for November 3 (a lady from our apartment complex). I can see the faith and repentance changing their lives already!

God bless you all, and may you continue to grow in faith until I see you again."

Hanging on still - 10/09/12

Short and sweet this week:

Know that I love you. How grateful I am that our loving Heavenly Father allows us to love so deeply and eternally! He has blessed me with parents that love me, and I am so grateful to have your love and support as I do missionary work, and throughout the rest of my life.

Temple Time - 10/01/12

Tomorrow I get to go to the Redlands temple again, and I'm super excited about that! It's also conference week, so I get to listen to a prophet's voice. I'm sure it will be a bit weird, because last time I attended a conference session, I was home in South Carolina. Have I really been gone that long?

Our anesthesiologist investigator continues to impress us with her dedication. She's planning on getting baptized in October. We pieced together that she is dating a member of the church that lives in Orange County, and that he's the guy that gave her the Preach My Gospel. We saw pictures of her at the LA temple with him and his family from last Christmas. So yeah, that makes a little bit more sense.

We saw "K" and "C" at church this week! And we put "D" from our apartment complex on date to be baptized. Wonderful things are happening here, for sure! It's pretty cool. I'm especially impressed with how much work got done while we were on exchanges. I drew a lot of inspiration and strength from being with my DL for a day, and I'm pretty sure Elder "A" was excited at how much work got done in our area with the splits.

I made Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies this week, which just so happen to be the favorite cookie of Brother "Y". This week was totally the week of gifts. I received a pullup bar, a Smith and Wesson pocketknife, and a 30 oz bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips from the ward members since the last time I emailed. How blessed am I? Pretty darn.

I learned a little bit about the second coming this week in my studies. I'm not particularly scared, but I do want to go home and buy my food storage when I'm off my mission. Men's hearts shall fail them. But the righteous will have nothing to fear, if we put our trust in the Lord.

Keep on thinking happy thoughts for me. I can feel the strength of your prayers.

Insert subject here - 09/24/12

This week was high in many regards and low in others. I guess life will continue to be a rollercoaster.

I try not to pay much attention to the numbers game but it's discouraging when we don't teach many lessons and then we have to go report those numbers to someone else. President Monson said that when performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates. Well, all it's gotten me so far is a sinking feeling that I'm not living up to my potential. We are going to keep on working hard this week to make up for last week and continue to seek the blessings and inspiration of the Lord.

What few lessons we taught were pretty good. Our anesthesiologist friend continues to impress us with the depth of her curiosity and understanding. She told us over Five Guys that she didn't like it when the other Elders kept trying to get her to commit to a baptismal date, but that she would probably want to get baptized in October. Considering she's on constant rotations at the hospital, I think that's good enough for us to work with. We will let her pick a date and rejoice in the fact that she is our most impressive investigator both in terms of knowledge and commitment. She attended church for the third week in a row yesterday, even though she only got three hours of sleep! But she knows she's working a twelve-hour shift next Sunday, and she really doesn't want to miss two weeks in a row. This woman is dedicated. I love it.

The family of four that was our miracle find last week didn't show up to church for the second week running. Neither did Kim and Charlie, and I'm pretty sure they fixed their car because they told us they would make it this Sunday. The 20-year-old that has a baptismal date, "JB", continues to flake out on us and not answer his phone and not show up to appointments. I don't know if he's holding himself back or his Mom is, but either way, I'm starting to wonder if we'll need to move his date back a bit. We only have three more Sundays between now and October 20, and he has yet to show up for church.

 

Speaking of three more Sundays, I'm going on week 4 of my fourth transfer in Jurupa 1st ward. Chances are pretty good that I'll be transferred on October 15th. I'm not quite sure what to think about that, honestly, because I love it here so much, but I'm sure it'll be good for me to dig in and start working elsewhere. I just know that I'll miss all my ward friends and investigators here that I've grown to know and love so very much.

Like I said, what few lessons we taught this week were really high quality lessons, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. I guess you appreciate them more when you don't have as many as you'd like. Elder "A" and I had an investigator tell us that we work really well together. And I wholeheartedly agree. He is very knowledgeable and explains all kinds of truths very well, and I am very personable and relate to people and testify with sincerity. So we have the teaching skills, but no investigators that show up to appointments to be taught. Now I guess we need to cultivate the faith that we will be diligent enough to find people to teach. And then I'll get transferred before anything really takes off. I'm kind of hoping I stick around for another transfer just so I can feel like Elder "A" and I lived up to our potential. I feel like we spent the entirety of our time together learning to get along and getting over our various sicknesses and finding the willpower to work hard. But I guess whoever is next in this area can reap whatever benefits they can from our efforts.

Also on a high note: I got a lot of quality letters this week. I about peed myself in my excitement over a few of them. Thank you so much to those friends who make my life a little more exciting when we open the mailbox at lunchtime. And to any who may have just started writing me five months into my mission, thanks for remembering me.

Has anyone read the new For Strength of Youth and compared it to the old one? Elder "A" and I have come to the conclusion that it's mostly the same, but written on a slightly higher comprehension level. Like the last one was simple enough for a barely-literate 12-year-old, while this new one was supposed to connect to 16-year-olds while still fulfilling the purpose of the For Strength of Youth.  I like a lot of the new wordings and new sentences that they've added in the new one. There's even a brand new section titled Work and Self-Reliance - a principle I wish I'd learned sooner! "Remember that God has a great work for you to do. He will bless you in your efforts to accomplish that work." D&C 58:26-27

 

Another fun scripture for today: 1 Corinthians 11:14 says men shouldn't have long hair. Verse 6 talks about how women should shave their legs. True story!

 

Love you tons. Have a wonderful week!

Seen better days - 09/17/12

I've seen better days. But, it's important to note that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all that exercise faith.

 

On Monday, I was sick, but Elder "A" still hit the streets and talked to 20 people. Typically our daily goal is for each of us to talk to 10 people, but because my voice was crackly and croaky, he did almost all of the talking. And so, we were obedient and got our 20 OYMs even on a P-day, which has been difficult for us in the past. On Tuesday, I got my companion sick. So we stayed inside and were miserable for most of the rest of the week. Oddly enough, I was sick for over a week with this sore throat and cold that wouldn't go away, but Elder "A" caught it and got over it in only three days. Lucky him.

 

Well, we felt pretty bad about how we started the week with such diligence, and then were kept from achieving it by our health problems. But the Lord knew the desires of our hearts, and blessed us with five new investigators even though we only taught 3 lessons to investigators this entire week. My favorite new investigator is "L.A.", an anesthesiologist with a good friend in Orange County that is a member of the church. The Jurupa 2nd Ward elders found her at the store and she asked them to be taught. So we got that referral, called her, and she showed up to church the next day. On Wednesday, she took us out to eat and asked to be taught "Lesson 1 in Chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel". Yeah, our investigator bought herself a Preach My Gospel. How cool is that? Whoever this friend of hers in Orange County is, he is the best member missionary ever.

Our other new additions to the teaching pool came from some elders in Norco ("R.G."). She cleans the church buildings there, and she wants to get her and her family involved in church. We taught her, a 17-year-old daughter, a 16-year-old son, and a 8-year-old daughter on Saturday and they all teared up at the First Vision story and committed to baptism. Can't wait to teach them again!

I also thoroughly enjoyed teaching "C.H.", a child of record in a recently divorced home. She has a severe auditory handicap, and even with her hearing aid in, it's hard for her to hear unless she can read our lips as well. But she's very smart, and very excited about getting baptized if her Dad will let her. We're still waiting to hear about the custody battle. Oh, and "J.B." is on date for baptism now. That was our third investigator lesson this week.

I also had the distinct pleasure of going to a mission conference this week and learning at the feet of a General Authority, Paul B. Pieper. He stressed the importance of understanding the doctrines of the gospel and the associated principles, which explain the "what" and "why" of what we do in missionary work, while the application of those principles are the "how". The way we do missionary work can change based on who we're teaching and what their needs are, but the truths we teach and the standards of the church never change.

I had a lot of time to contemplate and ponder while sitting at home sick as a dog this week. I've come to really appreciate the love of my family and friends that pushed me to keep moving forward and not give up on myself. You guys are great for believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself. I am honored and amazed at the love Jesus proffers me, and at the priceless opportunity that I have to serve a mission for the Lord's church.

 

Have a great week guys!

Stuffy and sick - 09/11/12

A day late but here you go:

Sorry for being a day late! Due to poor planning and not understanding the library schedule, we didn't get our email time yesterday. So I hope you'll forgive me for being a day late.

 

I got pretty darn sick this week. Sore throat, cough, stuffy head, the works. When it got so bad that I couldn't sleep at night, I called the mission nurse. She told the doctor, who then told me to just wait a while and see if the symptoms go away. I wasn't very happy with that answer. But it seems that I am finally getting better. So hopefully, I will be getting over it soon.

I wonder how Mom and Dad are feeling about the nest being so empty these days. I know that it will be harder to find a babysitter from here on out. I bet Tanner is having fun at college. And it's good that Jared is back at school as an old married man.

Today marks five months that I've been a missionary. How cool is that? Doesn't seem that long. Just another 19 months and you'll be seeing me in person again. Hopefully I'll be a lot more mature and wise by that point. I'm still working on becoming the kind of person that Christ wants me to be. But bit by bit, I'm finding my way there.

 

Songs of hope - 09/04/12

Here is the latest from Tyler:

I rewatched the Mormon Message entitled "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them," and I really liked it. I'm particularly impressed by the statement that God does not expect perfection in this life, only improvement and progression. Elder "A" and I had a rough six weeks together. Looking back, we could have tried so much harder. So we are setting goals for the upcoming transfer to make our companionship more efficient and more obedient so that we can competently do our work and continue to grow individually.

This week, we were particularly treated to start teaching a very inquisitive woman in a very inactive part-member family. She has lots of great questions and absolutely no religious knowledge to cloud her perceptions of what we teach. Last night, we were both struck by how much sense the gospel makes, even to someone who hasn't been taught anything about Jesus Christ previously. She has lots of faith in our abilities as missionaries, which is very humbling, actually.

We also had a potential investigator take us out to dinner at a nice Italian place for our very first lesson with him. While it was only 4 miles away from where we live, it just so happened to be out of our zone, so we had to ask the APs for permission. But, the fact that this guy is so earnestly trying to understand what we believe, and that he had very strong convictions to fulfill what he had promised his former coworker that he would listen to the missionaries, made it a relatively easy thing to ask permission for. And we thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and the conversation that we were able to have. This man is going to be an excellent member of the church someday. He has an immense strength of character and recognizes a lot of the good that comes from our church, even if the doctrines are foreign to him.

 

I also really enjoyed listening to the Jeffrey R. Holland talk "Safety for the Soul", right after an opportunity I had to bear my testimony to the world. I looked in the eyes of an antagonistic heckler on the street this past week, and for a split second I saw in him the pain and confusion of a spirit child of God that has been led astray and hurt. I wasn't perfectly dignified when I first responded to his comments, but at that moment, I changed. I was able to look him in the eye and tell him that I know the church is true, and there was absolutely no fear, no doubt, and no reservation in any part of my soul as I said it. He may never change his views, but I have witnessed to him through my testimony that no matter how misguided or brainwashed he thinks I am, I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know this Church is God's church. God lives, he loves us, and I cannot deny Him or his power, for he knows that I know it.

 

I also memorized 2 Nephi 33:10-12 and shared the verse with someone at their doorstep this week. I pray the Father in the name of Christ that most of us, if not all, may be saved in the Kingdom of God in that great and last day.

Reunion Letters - 08/27/12

Elder "A" and I taught a decent number of lessons this week, but fell short on OYMs. We will keep trying to be better. My goal is to hit the standard of excellence in all of the key indicators by the end of next transfer. But I guess that may change if I get transferred. I still feel like there's so much to do here in Jurupa Valley! But the work will go on without me, I'm sure.

 

At the moment, I feel like I was meant to break through with "BC", and we haven't quite hooked her yet. She has a testimony of the truthfulness of the things we teach her, and we can see the progress that she's making in terms of her personal conversion. But she always backs away from us when she gets too close. I thought for sure that we had convinced her of the importance of coming to church. But on Saturday, she told us she wouldn't be coming, and that she'd talk to us about it later. I was so hurt. I know it's hard for her to change, and that sometimes things happen, but it's so hard for me to watch her stumble.

 

"BC" has a testimony of the adversary now - of her own doing, actually. She told us that it hit her when she was siphoning water out of her broken washing machine: she didn't do anything to keep herself from reading what we assigned her (Alma 32), but between her sister being hospitalized and her washer breaking and her friend staying over, she was distracted. She believes now that Satan exists, and puts roadblocks in her path to keep her from the truth. But I can't help things when she's the one stopping her progression.

Oh, and get this: at Ellis Island, her family didn't speak very good English. When they asked for his family name, he thought they were asking for his profession. "I'm a cooper," he said - someone who makes barrels. "Welcome to America, Mr. Cooper," they said. Before that, their last name was Cohen. Her family taught her that she was directly descended from Aaron. So, when she gets baptized, I'm very anxious to see what her Patriarchal blessing tells her. How cool would that be if I was friends with a literal descendant of Aaron?

I've started to really appreciate all the lessons I'm learning from my fellow missionaries. I learned an awful lot on exchanges this past week, and from a few evenings where Elder "A" and I weren't on the same page. But that just gives me more opportunities to learn how to be more Christlike. Christlike perfection is such a lofty goal. But I was reminded this week by a Mormon message that God doesn't expect perfection from us in this life. That meant a lot to me.

Another thing that meant an awful lot to me: getting a boxful of notes from my family! Everybody wrote me letters at the Tuckett Reunion and I just got a box full of them. I don't think I'll be able to respond to them all individually but I'll give a big thank-you to everybody right here and answer as many general things as I can in a big email. But it looks like I'm running out of time, so that will have to wait until next week.

I finished Jesus The Christ this week and I think I'm starting on the Old Testament and the Bible Dictionary next. I love my Savior so much and I love learning more about the scriptures and how I can apply eternal principles to my life today. Philippians 4:13. And remember to smile and remember that God loves each and every one of us!

Happier Days - 08/20/12

I haven't been sleeping very well lately. It seems that God has a lot to tell me, and he waits until I'm asleep. I got the message very clearly last night and the night before, but not so much the two nights before then. At that point I couldn't tell if I was being inspired or just dreaming about video games. But whoever told me that the Holy Ghost went to bed at midnight was lying. Last night and the night before, I had thoughts enter my head unbidden on what I should do. I then wrote those things down as completely as I could, prayed in thanks for what I had received, and asked if there was any more. I can't remember where I learned that, but it's a powerful practice for receiving revelation.

On Sunday, I got to perform the ordinance of confirmation for "O". We also achieved our goal of 140 contacts for this week during the last two hours of the proselyting day on Sunday. It was pretty miraculous. I failed to mention last week that we had a car inspection at multizones, and Elder "A" and I won the cleanest car award. I also failed to mention the story of tracting into the Good Samaritan. We had terrible luck tracting in a certain neighborhood. We talked to eleven people, and all of them were short with us or outright rude. The twelfth was at a house with beer cans and cigarettes all over the front yard. The man who answered the door was heavily inked and pierced, and admitted to us that he had a hangover and little faith in God. But he treated us with more kindness and humanity than any of the other people on the street, especially those that professed to be religious. We told him that for all his roughness, he was the kindest person we had talked to that day. We were profoundly grateful that God had seen fit to show us that kindness and opportunity to learn. Some would say that you can't judge a book by its cover, but I prefer the following in Spanish: caras vemos, corazones no sabemos.

My heart was changed this week. I couldn't tell you when it happened, but some precious truths seem to have distilled upon my soul as the dews from heaven. The greatest of those truths is this: happiness is a choice.

Many of us place conditions on our happiness. I've often said to myself that I will be happier once I get married. Some people think they will be happy once they have a better job, or once they finish school, or once the kids move out of the house. We shouldn't place such limitations on our ability to find joy. Lasting happiness is not to be found in material things. It can be found no matter what our circumstances in life are. It all comes down to your attitude about things, and that is your choice.

 

Make it a great day or not, the choice is yours. You can be among those who allow their circumstances to change their attitude and bring them down or you can overcome your circumstances. You can blame everything and everyone else or you can take control of the only thing that is truly yours: yourself and your ability to choose. Choose your attitude. Choose your path. Choose happiness.

 

It's important to note that there is a significant difference between temporary pleasure and lasting happiness. I drink root beer because it's fun. If I were to drink too much at one time, it would make me sick. If I drank root beer all the time, I would become malnourished. It's fun, but it doesn't bring lasting happiness. The same principle works for that new car that you will be paying for long after the new car smell wears off and any other thing that is described in the scriptures as treasure of the earth where moths corrupt and robbers steal. It goes away. The satisfaction of a job well done, the joy of growth and development, and the happiness of serving others, does not fade away, but gives us blessings in heaven.

I'm running out of time. Perhaps next week I will finish up my thoughts on the eternal plan of happiness. :D

Four Months - 08/13/12

I've been a missionary for four months now. Does it feel like that long to you?

Well, we had a lot of interesting little stories this week. I guess the most pertinent is "O" finally got baptized! She's been meeting with missionaries for years. She remembers them knocking on her door three or four years ago. Granted, we haven't been in constant contact with her since then, but she's met a lot of missionaries over that time, for sure. I think what made the difference for her was watching the April General Conference talks (all of them!) and gaining a testimony that our church is the one true church that is led by a living prophet right now. For the longest time, she's been insisting that there is virtually no difference between what Mormons believe and what she personally believes (even things like temple worship and degrees of glory, that nobody else teaches), and that her baptism into the Methodist church as a child was good enough to show her devotion to God. But after watching the entirety of the Conference DVD, she started to change her tune a little bit, and once we got her some good fellowshipping friends in the ward, she decided to get baptized the proper way.

"O" spent most of her working life as a secretary in the local school systems, so she has a love of children. She also knows a lot of families in the ward, because she interacted with their kids growing up. For her baptismal service, we organized a Primary Children Ensemble to sing primary songs for her as a special musical number. It brought her to tears. I knew it would be a good idea. I'm so glad she enjoyed it, and that her grandson and his girlfriend came to the service. Hopefully they will want to pay a little more attention to the missionary discussions now. We can hope so, anyways.

At approximately 9:35 AM on Wednesday the 8th of August, Elder "A" and I experienced our first earthquake! It felt like the whole apartment was shaking. I mean, it shakes a little bit from the apartment downstairs, and from cars flying by the street right outside our window, but this was definitely an Earthquake. Some members told us how strong it was and how far away the epicenter was, but I've forgotten. That was also a good day for us because I baked lots of cranberry white chocolate cookies and delivered them to families in the ward. I realized a little too late that baking cookies in a hot apartment in the hottest part of the day would only make it hotter. But the people loved their cookies, and I enjoyed baking!

Two of the families we gave cookies to ended up getting priesthood blessings for the school year. That was a very special thing for us. One family has a non-member dad and one family is my precious recent convert family that has never had priesthood blessings before either (The "N"s). I was so glad that we were able to render that service for them.

Well, God is great, and his work moves forward! Love you guys tons and hope to hear from you soon. May the Holy Ghost instruct you more perfectly this week and this school year! D&C 42:61, 88:78, 130:18.

Grace - 08/6/12

Grace. A word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

There's a pattern amongst the Book of Mormon prophets in the following passages: 1 Nephi 7:17, Mosiah 24:14-15, Alma 14:26-28, Alma 31:31-33. They all prayed for strength to overcome their afflictions. They understood that we were created as agents to act for ourselves, not objects to be acted upon. Our ability to choose right from wrong and learn good from evil was a crucial part of God's plan. They understood that God gives us trials for the divine purpose of developing strength and maturity by stretching ourselves to overcome. And they understood that it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do. So they prayed for the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ to give them strength to overcome their afflictions, instead of asking for God to remove the afflictions.

 Alma 31:38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith.
 
 This week, I learned a little bit about exercising faith. Some of our investigators fell by the wayside. At the time that we held our weekly planning session, it seemed that our investigator pool was shriveling up into nothing. All six of the potential investigators that we visited on Tuesday stiffed us. We spent several days confined to the apartment this week, too. Elder "AV" was struggling with a very pernicious stomach virus that would not let him proselyte, so we had to take a few sick days. In spite of all that, and the discouragement of having our dear investigators that were on date to be baptize disappear from our view, we still pressed forward and found the strength to move forward. God is surely watching over us.

In the days after weekly planning, we found several more potential investigators, through our relationships with the ward members, and from media referrals. The work is moving forward, and will continue to move forward, God willing. Till we meet again...

Elder Hansen

Goodbye Elder "G" - 07/23/12

Hello? 

Elder "A" will be my new companion, starting around 11:30 tomorrow morning. Until then, I have to hang out with some other Elders. Elder "A" started his mission about ten months ago, but had to go home to Utah due to medical reasons. Now that his back problems are fixed, he's coming back to Riverside Mission, and I'm going to be his first companion during this phase of his mission. So it's not like I'm actually training, but it will probably take a little bit of adjustment for him to get back in the swing of things. I'll do my best to get him back up to speed.

"SK" got baptized on Tuesday, July 17! She's been working at this since February with Elder "G", and we are so pleased that she finally got her special day. I would send you a picture, but there are a few technical difficulties with our library situation right now. "SK" and "S" are both going to be excellent ward missionaries. In fact, they taught Gospel Essentials as a team last week and did really well. They were also the last family to say goodbye to Elder "G". They mean an awful lot to him. They exchanged some gifts, and took pictures, and shed a few tears. I know that the end of my mission will be here before I know it.

 

In fact, that very thought started to scare me a little bit last night. I have just a few quick months to teach and serve, and then it's back to the dream world I came from before. I'm not sure I like that ... and when I was busy worrying about this, I decided to pray for help. And at that moment, I realized that nothing is set in stone yet because there are still so many options out there for me to choose from. The decisions of the future can be made in the future, after my work here is done. God will provide a way. I am of more value than many sparrows.

 

Well, Elder "G" tried his best to baptize our entire investigator pool so that I wouldn't have anything to do when he left, but I think I've outsmarted him! We now have two investigators on date to be baptized in August. "OW" is an octogenarian that has been visiting with missionaries for a very long time, but finally fell off the fence when we brought in some ward members closer to her age to push her along. "AG" is married to a less-active member that we found while running errands for the bishop. Believe it or not, she actually put herself on date. She asked what she would need to do to join the church, and then asked if she could be ready in a month's time. We sometimes try to put people on date in the first lesson, but it's never supposed to be that easy!

 

"BC" keeps on amazing me. She came to church and found her new best friends in the Relief Society Presidency but ended up sitting with a woman that she met at the grocery store once. Then she answered some questions in Gospel Essentials and impressed all the regulars with her level of faith and understanding. She's going to be an awesome Mormon someday. I just know it.

 

My life has gotten a little bit more organized recently. I inherited some of Elder "G"s' stuff, including the crates that he used to organize his stuff, a small fan, and a CD player. If anyone wants to send me some good missionary music, I could use some. Cleaning the apartment is actually kind of fun, but I still hate dishes. We'll see how my new companion feels about cleanliness. Today as I was cleaning, I realized how foolish I was to ask Mom to send me one of my cookbooks. I never cook anything. I usually have a pretty simple breakfast, and leftovers from previous dinner appointments for lunch. I haven't even made a sandwich in weeks. I bought a 12-pack of ramen my second week in the field that is still completely untouched. I would say this is ludicrous, but I guess it's a huge blessing that everybody is always feeding me.

 

Well I love you all dearly. I'm off to see the "Y"s and the "N"s say goodbye to Elder "G". I love them to pieces, by the way. "HN" had a lot of fun at Girls Camp and on her first temple trip. The "Y" family may be giving me an old bike of theirs... we shall see. Godspeed, brethren.

A new era - 07/16/12

Changes are on the way.

Another week. Another seven dinner appointments. I've always felt like my perception of time was different from the perception of most other people, but the passage of time on the mission enters a different paradigm entirely. I was warned that mission time is like prison time: the days feel like weeks, but the weeks feel like days. I'm not sure I like the idea of comparing the mission to incarceration, but it's the best analogy I can bring to mind right now. I can't make up my mind as to whether it feels like I've been on my mission a long time or no time at all.

Strictly speaking, I've been an Elder for three months. Simple enough.

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to push two different broken-down cars. One of them was a Domino's delivery guy, who told us he would get us free pizza sometime. I'm more stoked about the fact that one of our potential investigators saw us pushing this car. I think he'll be more likely to listen to our message now that he's seen us getting our hands dirty for the benefit of other people in need.

This week was my week to act as the senior companion, as part of the 12-week training program. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I did what I needed to do, and I fulfilled my responsibilities without fear of what would happen. I wish I could be a little bit more decisive when it comes to making the most of our time. There were a couple of times where I didn't make a decision about our backup plans as quickly and efficiently as I would like. It's easier to make plans in advance rather than in the moment, and when our original plan falls through and there are multiple options added to our original backup plan, I get bogged down.

I'm never going to be satisfied with my ability to teach everybody exactly what they need. But I guess that's a good thing. 

We taught a great lesson to our friend "BC", the Jewish lady. We explained the Atonement and testified of the divinity and love of Jesus Christ, and we all felt the spirit for most of the two hours we were with her. It was a very sacred experience. Of course, then she called us up a couple days later and said that she had prayed and decided not to continue her studies. I'm used to her filling our hearts with the Holy Ghost, and then avoiding us for a few weeks, but this was an especially high upswing and a very abrupt downswing. We invited her to a fellowship dinner and got her some friends - namely the entire Relief Society presidency - who I'm sure will fellowship her back into sincere investigation eventually. I just have to keep on loving her and hope that she comes back to us with a desire to be baptized.

Elder "G" has prepared a new suit, new shirt, new shoes, and new belt to wear home. I don't know if I'll really care to look good at the end of my mission. He's still far from packed, so next P-day will be a bit hectic, I'm sure. He managed to lose his memory card for his camera, so I let him borrow my extra for the time being. He's lost two cameras already on his mission, so perhaps I won't see that memory card again. But that's okay, I'm sure God will provide a way. 

I am loving my mission and the people that I've met! Soon I will have to learn a new companion, and perhaps a new area, and that's both exciting and a bit sad. But I'm looking forward to whatever comes next.

Mother and son baptized - 07/09/12

I definitely understand the value of planning out my time now. My goals and measures of success will be different in my post-mission life, for sure, but I hope to be a bit more organized in my lifestyle moving forward.

Facebook has ruined me. I just realized that I used shift-enter to insert a break, which is completely unnecessary in anything remotely resembling a word processor, but not the chat function on Facebook. Curse you, Facebook chat.

 

Today I'm going to be teaching a FHE lesson concerning prayer at the "Y" home with the "N"s there. That should be pretty fun. The "N" situation is still slightly complicated. I was warned by the Ward Mission Leader that this area might be whitewashed to keep them from becoming too dependent upon our missionary visits. While I hope that doesn't happen, I can see how President Smart might think that way. The twins go crazy and beg us to stay every time we leave a lesson, "H" cried one time because she didn't want us to go. It's a tough spot to be in. But Elder "G" and I just do our job, and our job is to save souls and preach the word.

Yes, I could recite my purpose. But we do that just about every meeting, and it's kind of boring.

The mailbox has been especially good to me this week. Sister Hillary Smith wrote me back! As did Amy Jo, Kristen, Tom, Lori, Ruth, and Morgan. I don't know how many letters I'll get around to writing today, but hopefully the majority of them. There's always next p-day.

This week was highly unusual in that I saw the other elders in my district every day except one. On P-day, we ate dinner together and ended up going on exchanges in the evening. Tuesday, my companion had to drive Elder "F" to a doctor's appointment, so we exchanged again. Wednesday, we spent the whole 4th of July together, starting with a service project at 8 a.m. wherein we were fed breakfast, District Development Meeting, studies and proselyting for a couple hours, dinner appointment, and a multizone activity since we can't proselyte after 6 p.m. on holidays. I was surprised to see Sister missionaries in t-shirts at this activity.  I totally ignored them and played board games with some Elders.

On Thursday, we would have had baptismal interviews, but the "L"s canceled their baptism on us via a text message at 2 a.m.  Don't worry, we got them back on track in time for their baptism on Sunday. Friday was our zone temple day. I love the Redlands temple! It was so fun to do a session and walk around the temple grounds. Then Saturday, Elder "F" had another doctor's appointment, so we exchanged again. All in all, a very strange week full of lots of distractions. But we still filled the font!

"CL" and her son "E" have been talking to missionaries for a year and a half. Somehow, they overcame all of their hurdles while "G" and I taught them, and they finally took the plunge this Sunday. The husband did the actual ordinance. It's so good to see families coming together! I'm so proud of them.

Next week, "SK" gets wet! And if anything gets in her way, she will kick butts and snap necks. Can't wait to see it happen!

Happy Fourth of July - 07/02/12

Happy 4th of July to everybody! I'm enjoying the mission still.

It seems I'm still not completely living in the present. It hit me that I will have to leave this area eventually, and I probably won't see the friends I've made here ever again. That really bums me out. It also hurts a little bit to see Elder Gowers packing up stuff to send home so it will be there when he gets there. I think I'm pretty well trained already, but it's weird to think of doing missionary work without him. I joke about how I've used all my good-companion-points already, and the rest of my companions won't measure up.

It's surprising to me the close friendships I've made out here. I really, really love a lot of the ward members that I work with on a regular basis. I know that the Lord has put me in a good place. He truly knows me.

It's also a bit surprising who I haven't heard from since I've been out here. The people that have written me are pretty faithful, and they have my gratitude.

I know I shouldn't be thinking as much about life after mission, but it's hard not to daydream about visiting California after the mission. I try not to worry about how I'll get a job and get my education after my name tag is removed, but I do think about it sometimes.

I had a pretty cool thought in Sacrament meeting yesterday. In Ezekiel 10, we learn about how the Savior will be coming from the East to enter into his house. This is why the angel Moroni points east on all of the temples except Nauvoo, which points towards Salt Lake. But even on the Nauvoo temple, the ceremonial entrance, which says HOLINESS TO THE LORD, THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, is pointing east. Jesus Christ will enter his house through that door. When he comes, we may be sitting in the temple wearing white. White, because our garments will be pure through the blood of the lamb, as mentioned in Alma 12. But Christ will not be wearing white in his temple. He will be wearing red, as told in Isaiah 63. How wonderfully symbolic and meaningful those little details are.

I love you guys, and hope you have fun at the reunion without me. Love you tons! All of you!

Another week in paradise - 06/25/12

 And the work continues:

Well, this has been a pretty fun week. I got a really cool care package from YSA friends at home! They sent me pictures and ties, both of which were really appreciated. I'm surprised that I haven't received more pictures from home, to be honest. I did get a lot of mail, though. Funny story: I didn't get any mail at all the week between the Nielson's baptism and confirmation. I blame the fact that I didn't write any letters that p-day, because we were too busy running around all day long. I wrote a lot of letters last p-day, and the mail just poured in this past week. Funny how that works, huh?

Our finding efforts have been much more productive this week. In fact, after weeks and weeks of not finding any new investigators, we found five yesterday. One came about from a media referral from Salt Lake. The other four we picked up while street contacting on Sunday night. Well, more accurately, we were walking home from street contacting, and just a block away from our apartment, we found a woman that invited us to teach her and her three daughters on her porch. Seems familiar. It seems like I've been teaching a lot of 15-year-old girls. Surely there's a joke in there somewhere about how God has been preparing all the teenage girls for my coming, but I'm way too tired to make it.

I've been a missionary since April 11, 2012. I had forgotten how long it was until I checked my ministerial certificate. I will be sending Elder Gowers home on an airplane in a month and getting a new companion. I don't know how I feel about that. Gowers has been a great companion, and I'm kind of scared that I've used up all my points for good companions and I'll be stuck with silly ones or lazy ones from here on out. The rest of the Elders in my zone joke about how as the son of Gowers, I am destined for greatness and every leadership opportunity in the mission will be mine shortly. We'll see... but I don't know what President Smart has in store for me.

I got to help chop down a tree this week. We also spent a lot of time at Walgreens putting together a CD of the wedding reception pictures for Sister Johansen. That was a bit of a headache. But the work rolls on! We have lessons to teach. The pure in heart are out there!

Hello there - 06/18/12

Looks like a lot of service projects this week.

 

Being a missionary is pretty darn cool. That's pretty much all I have to say.

This week has been pretty poor in terms of numbers of lessons taught, but we worked pretty hard. We had a service project every day this week, and three of them on Saturday. Monday, our P-day, we ended up moving some people out of a Motel 6. Tuesday, unloading a storage unit for a less-active member. Wednesday, yard work and horse chores for a less-active family whose father was out of town. Thursday, we helped clean house for a woman who needed to box up her ex-husbands old stuff. Friday, we unloaded a packed U-Haul for a friend of a member who recently got divorced. Saturday, we helped one of our investigators set up a surprise party for her husband's 40th birthday (he asked for a white shirt and scriptures!), we helped move more boxes of ex-husband's stuff, and did more horse chores. I felt pretty blessed, actually, that we got to help so many people. In the future, we may have to ask the Elder's Quorum to help out so we're not doing service all day long instead of teaching. But that's just how the cards fell this week.

 

We seem to have been blessed for our diligence in service opportunities, because the media referrals have been pouring in this week. I think we got 8 media referrals, more than I've seen in the rest of my mission combined. In my mind, that's the Lord's way of giving us teaching opportunities to make up for the ones we missed while unloading moving trucks and such all week.

Going on exchanges again was way more fun because I got to stay in my area and stay with my car. Eventually I need to buy my bike. But leaving my investigators and working in someone else's area feels like leaving my children with someone else for the day.

I got to meet a very sweet deaf girl this week while tracting. I would have referred her to the ASL missionaries, but she actually lives in DC and is just visiting here for vacation. Her name is Alice and we wrote notes in my study journal back and forth. I felt very blessed to meet her.

I've found little simple things to keep me happy when the days are discouraging. Elder Gowers doesn't really understand them, but they make me happy anyways. I always pay attention to all the plants in people's front yards and try to identify them if I can. I wave at passing cars and see if I can get the people inside the car to wave back. (That one always makes me grin!) I talk about dorky sciencey things all the time. And I make it a point to always find something to smile about.

I've been guilty of focusing too much on our numbers, being poor and not enough on the quality of our work. God has truly blessed us in some amazing ways! Being able to confirm the whole Nielson family on Father's Day was a huge blessing. Finding them a place to stay with the Yeske family was also great.

Oh, and Stephani Klamm got clearance from the First Presidency to be baptized!

Fruits of our Labors - 06/11/12

Surprises all around.

 

I have survived a full six weeks of being a full-time missionary. Transfer calls came and went, and Elder Gowers gets to spend his last six weeks training me. No surprises there. The rest of the week was full of surprises. The biggest being that I got to baptize four people in one day!

I have a little ministerial certificate that sits in the back of my Missionary Handbook. It bears Thomas S. Monson's signature, and certifies that I am "a duly ordained minister of the gospel and as such has authority to preach the principles of the gospel and to administer the ordinances thereof." Elder Gowers and I got to put that to use on Friday night. Sister Johansen, a kindhearted sister in our ward, asked us to attend her son's wedding reception and serve hors d'oevres. She claimed it could be a good opportunity to talk about the gospel with lots of people. We saw it as more of a service project. What we didn't know is that none of her extended family is LDS. That's why they planned to have a ring ceremony of sorts at the reception, so that all of the family could feel included, even though the temple wedding had already happened a week prior.

Well, the person that was assigned to do the ring ceremony didn't show up, so at the last minute, my companion Elder Gowers found himself standing as a minister before a bride and groom. We giggled a bit at the peculiar circumstance, and everybody asked us afterwards if we were really ministers. I was quick to pull out my certificate and read it to Elder Gowers. Granted, we are not allowed to perform weddings without the Mission President's approval, but this wasn't a wedding at all. But we are ministers. That was a fun night.

We also got surprised when one of our good friends in the ward got called to be our very first Ward Missionary. They also called one of our recent converts to be in charge of the meal calendars for the missionaries. She messed it up the first week, though, and we got double-booked for a few nights. The ward mission leader managed to get it straightened out eventually. And I think she's got a system worked out so she isn't printing out a new calendar every week and redoing it.

The Nielsons also surprised us a lot. I figured that I would baptize two of them, and my companion would baptize the other two. Sharing is caring, right? Well, what the Nielsons wanted was for me to baptize all four of them, and Gowers to confirm all four of them. So I got to baptize them all. It was an overwhelmingly spiritual experience!

Getting there was not easy, though. On Tuesday, we had their baptismal interviews, and were surprised to find out that Jody needed a second interview. So we scrambled to get that taken care of and stressed about it all night. In the end, we ended up having Jody talk to President Smart right after he interviewed Stephani Klamm on Thursday, which worked out just fine. We really shouldn't have worried so much. 

 

I mentioned earlier that the Nielsons were living with Jody's father and stepfather. Well, on Wednesday, while Jody was out at an employment class, looking for a job, the grandfather got fed up with his kids and their Mormon activities and told them they couldn't live with him anymore if they were going to insist on going to Activity Days and Mutual and church every single week.

 

So the Nielson family found themselves homeless. Grandpa cursed about it, but they knew that getting baptized was the most important thing they could do right now, and they were willing to call us and ask for help rather than just give up on baptism. The bishop and ward mission leader came to their rescue while we tried to teach the rest of our lessons that day. They were still living out of a Motel 6 when they got baptized on Sunday. Bishop is still looking for a better housing solution.

So, with no job, no car, and no place to live, they still let us teach them on the sidewalk of the Motel 6, and we prepared them for baptism. And let me tell you, it was the best baptism I have ever attended. I think more people came to the Nielson's baptism than my baptism. One of our eternal investigators, the lifelong Jew with Mormon beliefs, Barbara Cooper, actually showed up with a huge smile on her face. Our mission president and his wife showed up. Our zone leaders showed up with one of their investigators. And it felt like half the ward came because they had all fallen in love with this family in just a few short weeks. We had their friends from the ward, the ones that so patiently gave them rides and let us teach them in their homes, speak on baptism and the holy ghost. Elder Gowers sang a duet with another Elder, a piece of music that he actually wrote. I almost cried. You could palpably feel the spirit as he and Elder Cook sang a duet about a child asking his Savior for forgiveness. It was so powerful.

Then I got to walk down in the water and baptize them all in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Have you ever gotten tunnel vision in the middle of something exciting or terrifying? I was calm as could be, but I didn't see anything outside of the font and the precious souls that walked in it. I looked at the girls the whole time, and didn't even notice the witnesses or the roomful of smiling people behind the glass. It was an amazing experience. Apparently, I'm a natural, because more than one priesthood leader commented on how I dunked them so well. We had forgotten to tell the girls to tie their hair back, and so with Jody, it looked like her hair wouldn't go all the way under for a split second. I quickly fixed that situation. No stumbling over the words, no struggles to get them all the way under. Practicing helped, and I'm sure I was helped by the spirit, as well.

 

Several of the ward members brought them gifts, which was so great. Elder Gowers and I made an order from LDS distribution for them. That was another surprise with our week - we had to make a trip out to the mission office because it wasn't going to be forwarded to our apartment in time for the baptism. But they got their hardcover scriptures, the Book of Mormon Stories and New Testament Stories books, and YW pendant from us, with testimonies and letters stuck in them. We are so stinking proud of these girls! They overcame so much to do this, and they are so strongly convinced that they are doing the right thing. They also read the Book of Mormon a lot. I'm sure those two things are related.

Barbara Cooper, the Jewish investigator, had a great time at the baptism, too. She met with the Ward Mission leader from the other ward, Brother Harris, who was the first Jew in his family to convert to the true church. The two of them had a wonderful conversation, partially in Hebrew, that made her smile even bigger than I've ever seen her smile before. You could tell they were speaking spirit to spirit. Hopefully we'll be able to get her in the water before I leave the area. We'll be praying hard for her, for sure!

We aren't done with the Nielsons yet, though. They still need a place to live, and they need to be confirmed on Sunday. The work of the Lord goes on!

I've learned more about being a parent from six weeks of missionary work than the rest of my life combined. Every day, I get to see families interacting in their natural state, and you can learn a lot of what works and what doesn't work. People are always willing to give their advice on things, too. Spending a day away from my area on exchanges felt like an eternity away from my children. I'm sure the missionary work will go on just fine without my personal influence. But that doesn't mean I don't miss my investigators when I'm gone. I had to call the Nielsons in their motel room after I got back from exchanges. At that very moment, I understood a little bit of why my Mom always asks me to call her when I'm gone. It's something that can't really be explained, but I felt that parental state of mind in that instant. I hope I'm a good dad someday. God will have to keep preparing me for that over the next two years. I can't wait.

Worth Waiting For - 06/04/12

This just in from Elder Tyler:

House rules: E L E. Everybody Love Everybody.

It's not always easy. But I'm trying my hardest to love everybody. My trainer says I'm being a little too hard on myself sometimes. I just want to be the best missionary I can be.

Our mission president has set the following standard of excellence that everybody should be striving to achieve:

Weekly:
7 lessons with a member present

4 investigators attending sacrament meeting

140 contacts (OYM)
And 1 baptism per month. 

Only a couple of companionships per week actually hit the goal in all three categories. But last week, Elder G and I got them all except for the OYMs, and the week before that, we got all of them except for the lessons. I probably shouldn't care as much about the numbers as I do, but it's nice to know that I'm reaching for the standards of excellence.

I saw some cool things happen as the result of bearing testimony through text message. Apparently our texts are inspiring enough to pull families out of the former investigators pile and put them back on date for baptism. That was a pretty cool experience. The family seems to be moving in the right direction, after visiting them with a member of the Elder's Quorum presidency.

That's another thing that's been working very well. When we get members involved in the missionary work, amazing things happen. We've been having trouble with a certain part-member family because the mother is always very closed off. Well, a member went over and brought cookies and talked to her for a few hours, and now they're friends. The next time we went over, the mother paid us more attention than she ever has before, and it seems like she's found a place in her heart for the lessons that we missionaries have been trying to teach her.

Preparing lessons has become a bit more effective recently. I really enjoy planning now. My favorite lesson plans this past week: teaching an atheist science teacher about the apostasy and the restoration, followed by teaching an 8-year-old about the law of chastity the same day. I had fun studying that morning!

The theme of the local youth conference was "Worth Waiting For". I got to bear my testimony during part of it about how serving a mission was worth waiting for. I know that I'm enjoying this mission a lot, but I'm also growing a lot and helping the people at least a little bit. There's nowhere else I'd rather be.

A friend of mine wrote me and talked about how being a missionary is kind of like being a surrogate parent to a bunch of wayward children. I definitely spend a lot of time worrying about my investigators and praying and hoping that they make good decisions. I think about them and plan for their lessons all the time - when I'm eating, when we're driving, when I'm in the bathroom... you name it. My greatest joy is in seeing them progress towards baptism and eternal life with their families. Now I try to imagine what it's like to actually be a parent to these people. Seeing them come back to their Savior must be overwhelming.

Serving a mission was worth waiting for. But returning to my Heavenly Father a better person, knowing that I tried my hardest? That's definitely worth waiting for.

Happy Memorial Day - 05/29/12

He is already learning so much ... and his mission is just beginning.

Happy day after Memorial Day! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Elder G and I are just peachy. Our lessons seem to come and go in spurts. One day we had six lessons scheduled in one day, and four of them canceled on us. But the lessons we did teach were pretty spectacular! My family of four (the Nielson family) is still on date for June 10th. They came to church and the ward just loved them! I knew they would. It seems like they are going to keep their commitments and keep progressing just as wonderfully as anyone could ever ask of them. It hasn't been entirely easy, for sure. The daughter's grandfather, who they live with, is against them joining the church. The mom gave up tobacco but still smokes an electronic cigarette occasionally. They don't have churchy clothing, so they felt a bit underdressed at church. They almost ran out of gas on the way to church. But they came, and they sent us a text message thanking us for teaching them and helping them get there. We just wanted to cry.

Oh, and I don't know anything for sure, but it seems like our friend (S) on parole is finally getting her letter to the First Presidency written. Our mission president called us yesterday about getting her to write down her testimony to include in the letter. Elder G and I were so excited! We just bought her a study journal on Monday, now we have some excellent news to deliver with it.

 

It's amazing to me how the things that I study in Preach My Gospel are immediately applicable to the work at hand. I had questions about finding and using our planning resources, so I looked in Preach My Gospel. The very next week, our training program had us review those same chapters. I started feeling that we needed to work more closely with the ward members. That same week, our training program had us read about working with the ward. Then we attended my first Ward Council, and I think the gears in my head are starting to mesh as I see the big picture.

Bishop L gave a beautiful testimony of our determination to be good missionaries at Ward Council and encouraged everybody present to try harder to focus on helping the missionaries. This is especially odd because this bishop is not very emotional at all, but we had him in tears as he talked about how hard-working we are. I guess that all the tracting we did, including the time he pulled over and talked to us, paid off. Oh, and our Primary President prayed for us and our families at the end of Ward Council. You have been blessed.

I'm starting to understand how kindness is its own reward. Matthew 25:40 helps us put our service in perspective of the Savior. D&C 4 talks about how serving others brings about our own salvation. We are taught from childhood that helping other people brings us happiness and lays up in store treasures in heaven, so we are personally rewarded eternally for helping others on this earth. I see that, but I also see something more.

I told Elder G that being a missionary is the coolest thing, because I get to spend two years making friends. For me, I'm not looking forward to a pat on the back or a bigger inheritance in the kingdom of God. I'm looking forward to meeting these people in the spirit world and being their friend. There are a lot of people that we talk to that I won't baptize. Some of them, I'll probably only see once. But because I have tried my hardest to serve them, I have come to love them, and I hope to take that love with me to the spirit world and beyond. Hearing their story and feeling that connection is more than enough of a reward for me.

Our dinner appointment for Memorial Day forgot they signed up, so they left us money instead. Our first pick of restaurants didn't work out, so we ended up trying a pizza place that we'd never been to before. On the way there, we saw a girl with a sign that said "Homeless and Hungry". I asked Elder G if we could share our pizza with her. So we ended up having a picnic by the side of the road with a homeless person. Her story struck me so deeply, that I could not get her out of my mind that night. I know that we can't baptize a person without a permanent address. Teaching her probably wouldn't yield any measurable key indicators of missionary success. But I felt like we did what Jesus would have done that night. Maybe someday our paths will cross again. But if not, I am looking forward to seeing her again, spirit to spirit.

Perhaps as a result of my two-hour nap that day, I couldn't fall asleep that night, so I got out of bed at 11:20 and started praying for her. I didn't get back in bed until after midnight. My mind poured over all the friends I haven't heard from in years. I want so badly to just bring everybody to a greater knowledge of the truth. Maybe I'll get that opportunity, maybe I won't. But I prayed for the blessings of heaven to be given to them. If nothing else, I feel more at peace now. And the things I learned from the Lord will remain with me forever.

Good luck guys, and God bless.