Arizona Week 63 - All We Can Do

Hey Everyone,

I have a couple things from this week.

I got sick this week. Monday night we got home and my stomach was a little upset. The next morning wasn't any better. Then throughout that day (Tuesday) I was getting really nauseous and dizzy. I finally threw up. We stayed in that day and Wednesday until dinner. So from Monday night until Wednesday night I did not eat. I'm feeling better now though.

Then, on Saturday the air conditioning (AC) went out. It was very hot, and you can imagine the smell of having 6 Elders in there. It was bad. So, we prayed before going to bed and the AC came back on. That was quite a blessing; a miracle even. We would not have slept well with the 100 degree apartment.

On Saturday I got a call from the first counselor in the bishopric. One of the speakers for that Sunday had cancelled and he asked if I could fill in. I always enjoy opportunities to speak while on a mission. It's a great opportunity to help everyone see the missionaries and hear what we are about.

Also on Sunday, one of the deaf men in the branch spoke, or rather signed, and Elder Riggs spoke for the man as he signed. I also had the opportunity to pass that sacrament.

After Sacrament Meeting we were both asked to speak to the 17 yr old class about how we teach people about marriage. It was a lot to do but we always like being involved in the ward.

I think that is all I have for this week. Hope you all have a good Labor Day weekend.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 62 - Not Much Change

Hello,

I still don't have much to say this week. Not much is happening yet. We've been working closely with our ward mission leader to try and jump-start the ward's missionary work. We've been setting some plans of what we want to do, and we're hoping that something will work.

We've been meeting a lot of the ward members throughout this week. There are a lot of really great families.

This past week we went to a stake dodge-ball activity. Some of the people were getting a little too serious about it. One of the elders accidentally hit a guy on the other team in face with the ball and sent his glasses flying. Well of course that was unfortunate, and I have experienced things like that before. Well, the guy who had been hit was really upset by this and was aiming for this poor elder for the rest of the game. It was a little pathetic. 

We had a couple storms here that were really pretty. I love the lightning in Arizona. Whenever it comes, there is always a lot of it. It's nice when a storm rolls in and cools things down a bit.

Well that was my week. Hope you all have a good one. Take care.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 61 - The Fixer

Hey everyone,

I’m still adjusting to my new assignment. It's going to be a tough one. It turns out that I am a fixer. I am sent to areas that need extra help. This area has no missionary work happening right now; the members have a bad taste in their mouths from previous missionaries and it's my job to change that.

My companion, Elder Riggs, knows American Sign Language (ASL) and is here to interpret the meetings into ASL for the 2 deaf men in the ward. It is already making a big difference in the lives of these two men. They are very happy to have him here and to be able to really learn what is being taught in church.

Our Ward Mission Leader is really awesome. He got back from his mission maybe 2 years ago or so. He was just recently called  to the position of Ward Mission Leader, so together we are going to remake the missionary work in this ward.

I still don't have any funny or inspiring stories; just getting lost a lot, on a bicycle, in the heat. Hopefully we can get things to work out. 

I think that is all I have for this week. Take care everyone.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 60 - 3 of 6

Hey Everyone,

Sad news for me this week: I was transferred out of Cibecue. What a blessing it was to serve there. I loved it, and I loved the people so much. I loved how much we were able to do for them. They have really good missionaries that will be there and working in the branch. There are others in another area that need me now.

I am back in Paradise Valley on a bicycle and it is hot. If you've been taking notes at home then you will remember that this is where I started. I now serve the Greenway Ward. So of the 6 wards in the stake, I have now served in 3 of them.

The ward needs a lot of work to be done. They did not do well with their last missionaries, so we are here to do a little repair work.

It's neat to be back where I started and to see all of the places I used to go. 

I don't have any good or crazy stories yet but I will soon. I also don't have much time left so today's letter will be short.

But I'll attach some pictures.

 

This is a Trading Post that is in the area. You can't tell but there is a giant pit with random items in it behind that stone wall; and the "porch" is a pallet on logs if I remember right.

This is an example of a home in Cibecue.

Love you all

Elder Kirk