Arizona Week 20 - Fire

Hey there everyone,

It's been a really good week. We had a mission tour where a General Authority of the Church came to instruct us. We were blessed to have Elder Teh visit us and it was an amazing experience. Everyone was able to receive revelation during the meetings and it was great to feel the spirit that was there. Afterward, he interviewed a few missionaries (I don't know if it was random or if they were selected for him or if he decided who we wanted to talk to), but I was the first one. It's a little nerve racking to speak one on one with a General Authority but he is such an inspired man and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to meet him.

The other day, Elder Davis made eggs in the morning and it kind of got all over the place (the pan was too small for the amount of eggs he was cooking). So later I was cooking some rice, and we to the fridge to get something when Elder Watson said calmly, "Elder, there's a fire." I turn about to see flames encircling the pot I was using and reaching about 8 inches over the top of the pot. "Oh." I say equally calm as I reach to move the pot away from the burner, "How about you get that rag wet." And as Elder Watson soaked the rag, I blew out the fire. It turns out that some cooking oil had spilled under the burner. We decided later that we should have reacted more violently and awakened the other Elders to get them to flee from the apartment but, oh well.

So, Elder Watson wanted some ranch for his pizza one afternoon and searched the fridge diligently but found none. We referenced back to a previous joke that said if he had enough faith he could command the mayonnaise to be ranch. He replied that his faith wasn't that strong. So, Elder Van Meeteren walked over and, looked straight at us said, "I have faith!" He then reached into the refrigerator still looking directly at us, and pulled out a bottle of ranch dressing. We of course all freaked out and were astonished at the "miracle." It was one of the funniest things ever.

The neatest experience I had this week was at a care facility for the mentally impaired (mostly memory). This facility is within our ward boundaries. We were asked to assist in the Sacrament meeting held there on Sunday. It was a wonderful experience. There were not very many people but they, even with their health difficulties, could recognize the spirit and wanted to feel it whenever they could. It was wonderful to see their dedication and desire to take the Sacrament each week. Elder Watson and I blessed and passed the Sacrament and spoke in the meeting. I feel that I have a stronger appreciation for the blessings I have, but I feel blessed to have been able to help the wonderful brothers and sisters at the facility renew their covenants. I hope that I get to visit there again.

I can tell you all that I am doing better than ever before and I know that I have grown much in the past week. I'm so grateful for your prayers and I pray for you all as well. I hope that all is well.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 19 - Poor in Heart

Hey everyone,

Little bit of a crazy week. My companion and I came in knowing nothing about the area (white-washing) and so we had to learn quickly. We've met a lot of people in the area, and we LOVE the ward. They are great people and very close knit (probably because most can see 3-4 other member's houses from their front doors). They are very excited to have a set of missionaries assigned only to their ward. We have a woman that has decided to be baptized in November, so we will be preparing her for that. Her husband is nearing the decision to be baptized as well, so we're very excited for them. 

A bit of a change of pace for me training a new missionary and being a new District Leader, but I'm adjusting. My new companion is doing really good and learning a lot. I'm getting to know my District a little better and seeing their strengths. I had a District Leader Orientation with the other new District Leader and the Zone Leaders. They are awesome, and I'm so excited to work with them. 

You may remember me telling stories of the other District Leader, Elder Van Meeteren. He is the missionary that I took to the hospital for the broken hand. Also, he was one of the Spanish missionaries that we helped with putting that washing machine on top of the truck a while back. I'm so excited to be working with him. 

I can't think of any funny stories from this week, but I got to speak for a few minutes in church yesterday, and I'd like to share with you what I shared with them. We were asked to speak on faith and to base our talks around Alma, chapter 32 in the Book of Mormon. In this chapter, Alma is teaching a group of people when a second group approaches him. This second group is comprised of humble people in poverty that have been cast out from the synagogue because of their poverty. He begins to teach them about how to exercise and develop strong faith. I decided to focus more on the way the people were described. A few times, the chapter referenced them as they "whom were poor in heart". Things struck me and I started to explore what it is to be poor in heart (or poor in spirit as the footnote suggests). I decided that it was a feeling a hopelessness. They didn't feel like they had worth or that they could be accepted by man or by God. Later in the chapter, faith is described as a "hope for things which are not seen, which are true." So, if one does not have hope, they do not have faith (or at least not strong faith). There is a definite connection between the two. I also discovered in the Bible Dictionary that an effect of true faith is "an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing is acceptable to the Lord". These people, lacking in hope and therefore lacking in faith did not have the knowledge that God accepts them or what they do. I feel that we sometimes experience moments of being poor in heart or poor in spirit. In these times, we need to hold to our faith and do what we can to strengthen it. The rest of Alma chapter 32 explains how to do this. If you fear that the way you are currently living your life is not acceptable to the Lord, I would invite you to take the time to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ so that you can gain this knowledge and a hope for the future. I love you all and I pray for your safety and well being.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 18 - The Phone Call

Hello everyone,

This week was transfer week. But I would like to start with a phone call that I received on this past Saturday:

I answered the phone, "Hello this is Elder Kirk"
"Elder Kirk. This is President Sweeney. How are you?"
"I'm doing just fine, President."
"Well I'm about to change that" and after some silence.. "for the better I'm hoping"
Some relief...
President, says to me, "We're going to transfer you to the Papago Zone, and we have a new companion for you. He will be arriving from the MTC on Monday, and you will be responsible for training him. Also, we are going to ask that you serve as a District Leader there. Would you be alright with doing these things?"
A little in shock but trusting the inspiration President Sweeney receives I replied with a yes. 

Interestingly, I am replacing a District Leader here, and he will still be in my District. President Sweeney explained that they do not do that very often but that is what needs to happen. He said he wasn't even sure the purposes behind this transfer, but he feels very strongly that this is the will of the Lord. He anticipates that this will begin to make sense in the long run. 

Regardless, I am now serving in the Mesa 20th Ward with my new companion, Elder Watson, who is now in his second day in the mission field. Elder Watson is from North Carolina and is fresh out of high school ready to take on the world. I have to keep explaining that we don't do door-to-door "tracting" anymore. He is just so excited to be a missionary that he wants to knock on every door to tell them that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of God have been restored. I can tell that we are going to have a great time working together.

The transfer meeting went well. We were able to show another video that we had made and people really enjoyed it. It is hoped that Elder Clark and I will continue working on these things but it seems like it won't be nearly as much as before. No matter, I had a great time doing all of those extra things, but I am grateful to be able to focus myself on teaching people about the church. 

We walked the ward boundaries last night. Yes, I said "walked." From one end to the other, it takes about 25 minutes on foot. It's a very small ward but there are around 300 members of the church in the few square mile area of the ward. We met a few of the members last night, and they are wonderful people. 

It was difficult to say goodbye to the many people that I grew close to, but I know that the Lord has need of me in this new place. I am looking forward to the things that I will do here and the growth that I will have. I love you all and I hope the best for you.

Elder Kirk

PS congratulations to Megan and Sophia on your mission calls. I know that you will be wonderful missionaries and that you will love the work you will do. Best of luck to you both.

Arizona Week 17 - Just Stopping By

Hey everyone,

This week has been a little crazy. We received a text from the Mission President and then from his wife asking, "Will there be a video to show at the Transfer meeting?" which, being interpreted is, "I hope you have a video ready for the transfer meeting because we expect one to be shown." So, we've been scrambling to put together some things that we've been working on. This week, will be even crazier because we have until Saturday. But we'll get something together in time, I'm sure.

Tomorrow we will be going to a recording studio to get the music done for our ASL video. Once we get that done, we will be able to post it on the blog so that you all can see it.

The coolest thing that happened this week was a few nights ago. We had written down in our plans to stop by the house of a family in the Ward. We weren't sure why we were going to stop by because it's a good family, and they are doing well. So, we stop by and it turns out they were having dinner with some company: a man and his wife and son. We were invited in to visit for a while. The man that was visiting stood up, walked over, and with a big smile gave a firm handshake to us and boldly proclaimed to both, "Hi, I'm Jim. I'm a Catholic, and I'm proud of it." At that moment I knew that it would be a fun night. We spent the next bit of time eating and answering many questions about missionaries and missionary work. The conversation took a turn to more doctrinal matters and it was at that point the members answered most of the questions and bore their testimonies of the church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was amazing to see that this conversation continued for a half hour or more. Feelings weren't hurt, no one was offended, and no one was rude or pushy. It was a pleasant Gospel conversation between friends that we just happened to be there for to unintentionally start. The visitors left at the end of the night and the members were very grateful that we just happened to show up.

I would encourage you all to seek for opportunities to speak about the gospel with others; especially speak with your friends. They trust you and if it is done with love and kindness they will not be offended.

I pray for you all. I hope that all is well.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 16 - The Right Place

Hello Everyone,

It's been an interesting week. We had a Zone Conference and the Mission President and his wife revealed the exciting news they learned at the seminar in Texas. 

Remember, they were at a Mission President Seminar in San Antonio, Texas with all the Mission Presidents in the Southwest Region and their wives along with some General and Local Authorities of the Church including Elder Anderson and Elder Callister. They learned many things and heard some exciting news. They returned on Sunday. Elder Clark and I went to the Office on Tuesday to work on the blog and the training videos. They were very excited but said they couldn't tell us why for another hour. During that hour, they called all the zone leaders to tell them the news. After which, Sister Sweeney came in to tell us all of it. So there are 50 missions in the United Sates selected to be a part of the FIRST wave of iPad missions. 10 of those 50 are in the Southwest. 1 of those 10 is the Arizona Scottsdale Mission. They will be fazing them in, and we will have them by no later than February. There were a few other things but that was the really exciting one.

There is a woman that has been learning about the church for over a year, and she is very close now to being baptized. She has made huge progress this week and has been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon. Previously, she would use the Index to find a verse of two that talked about how she was feeling or what she thought she needed. She is now reading entire chapters and even multiple chapters on her own. She has gained a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and she knows that Joseph Smith is a Prophet. It's very exciting to see her get to the point she is at now. We even invited her to share the Book of Mormon and her testimony of it with her mom. After many attempts (we had only expected her to try once or twice) she has now decided to get her grandmother involved in the church so that the two of them can work together to share it with her mom. It's amazing to see the faith that she has and the desire that she shows in sharing this with others that she cares about. I suspect that she will make the decision to be baptized in the coming month.

So on Thursday, the family that was having us over for dinner wasn't able to so they dropped food off for us at the apartment. While we ate we heard a noise that we couldn't identify. We quieted down and listen more closely. It was a woman's screams. I walked over to look out the window and Elder Clark looked through the peephole. I couldn't see anything in the courtyard so I figured it must be next door. All of a sudden, Elder Clark saw quick movement towards the door followed instantly by loud pounding. It startled us so bad that I fell off the bed I was on and he ran into the next room. I finally gathered my senses and looked through the peephole to see our neighbor and what I assumed to be her boyfriend that she lives with arguing on the door step, and he shoved her back and slammed the door. We stepped out to see if we could help, but she was so much in shock that there was no hope of getting any information from her. The door to her apartment opened again, and she walked in so we went back into ours. We felt that we should not yet leave. This was about 7:00 PM now. We then began to alternate looking through the peephole and listening in at the shared wall for the following 45 minutes. We could hear argument and yelling for a while but most of that time was filled with silence and no visible activity outside of the apartment. At last the door reopened and she emerged with a garbage bag, a backpack, and a duffel bag. We waited a minute and went out to find her sitting on the stairs (she said she sat there waiting for us because she knew that we were men of God that could help her). She expressed the need for a place to stay and immediately we thought of one of the people we teach. This man is so generous and serves others every day. We knew that he would sympathize with her situation and that he would be able to assist her. We called him, and he of course, wanted to help. The three of us walked out to the front of the complex to wait. We tried to figure out how we could get all of us over to the man's house (he's married and has 3 kids, by the way). It was now a little after 8PM. We waited a long time for him to come get us (not remembering that he didn't have a license, and he didn't mention that until way later). When he did finally mention that he couldn't drive, we called another set of missionaries to see if they knew of a member of the church nearby that could drive us to the man's home. This was at 9:20PM. We finally made it up to his house, and he agreed to shelter her for the night and to get her to the airport or bus stop in the morning. So we travelled back home and prepared for bed. It was now 10:20PM. The next day, we went by the home to see if everything went ok. They said that everything went fine and that a friend had come and picked her up and taken her down to Tempe. She plans and heading back to live with her parents in Northern California. It is such a blessing to be used by the Lord to help another person in need. Although we were exhausted from all the effort and prayers we had put in, we felt very good about what we had done for this young woman.

I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of each of us and knows how to help us. I invite each of you to look at you life and try to recognize the many times that the Lord helps you and blesses you. I love you all and I'll talk to you again next week.

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 15 - Fort

Hello Everyone,

 

It was a good week. I don't remember everything that happened but it was good. 

Elder Clark and I have continued doing work for the Mission President including a training video and being sort of administrators of the blog. We recently redesigned the layout a bit if you haven't seen it; I'd go check it out. 

President and Sister Sweeney went to a conference or seminar of sorts in Texas with the other Mission Presidents in the Southwest to receive instruction and counsel from Elder Anderson. Many of them commented on our mission's blog and were very impressed to hear that 2 Elders in the mission were running it (I'm one of those if you didn't know). Many of them have decided to start their own blog. They learned of things that will be coming to our mission and new ways to share the gospel being implemented. We went to the office to work, and they were obviously very excited about what they were told. But, they said, they couldn't tell us for another hour (they had to tell the zone leaders first). But right after they told them, Sister Sweeney came to the mission home and told all haha. Unfortunately, our zone leaders have not made it known to everyone just yet so I still have to keep it a secret since I'm technically not supposed to know. But I will reveal it next week.

 

I've had some good fun this week. I showed Elder Harris a trick where I made a quarter disappear. He kind of freaked out and wouldn't relax until he found it, so we starting messing with him a little to see where we could get him to check (one of which being the room on the opposite end of the apartment. He finally figured it out when he felt my tie and found the quarter inside but Elder Clark recorded it with my camera so it's documented.

 

On Friday morning, an Elder came up from the office to deliver a dresser that we asked for. We spent quite a bit of time figuring out where to put it. We finally rearranged the beds a bit by rotating Elder Clark's and putting it against the wall. The dresser was placed at the foot of his bed with the drawers facing him if he were lying on the bed (so we can't use the bottom three drawers (they're broken anyway)). 

This caused the head half of my bed to be enclosed on three sides by 2 walls and the back of the dresser. 

After a comment by Elder Clark that I was closed off the idea came to use that extra blanket we have to build a fort around my bed. 

Missionaries can have fun too.

The Spanish missionaries contacted me the other day to inform me that I am to speak about the Holy Ghost at one of their baptisms. The woman being baptized asked for me by name (in a way). I have only met her once but, due to my glasses, she thought I looked like Clark Kent. So, forever more she refers to me as "Superman". And, when asked who she would like to speak on the Holy Ghost, she replied, "I want Superman to do it." And here we are. They have now told me that the service will, of course, be in Spanish. This woman does understand English but I have yet to decide which language I will speak.

 

A woman that we are teaching is nearing baptism. Previously, she would almost cringe at the word because previous missionaries would push it so much. She is now able to not only say the word "baptism" but knows that she needs to do it. We're helping her to understand more about what it will require and that it is not meant to destroy her English heritage (she holds to tea for the culture aspect we think). Also, the woman with the fear of churches, went to an activity at the church and walked around with a Sister in the ward that she has grown close to. So, a lot of exciting things are happening here, and we anticipate that it will continue.

 

I love you all and I pray that all is well in your lives. Take care.

 

Elder Kirk

Arizona Week 14 - The Price of a Soul

Hello Everyone,

It's been an exciting week. We have been continuing work on our ASL video. We need to get original music so that we have no risk of lawsuit if we ever post it online. So we've been asking around for pianists. The name of a member in our stake came up, so we gave him a call. He was happy to help us, and we set an appointment to come to his house. We received a call the night before from one of the Spanish Elders saying that he needed to get his bike fixed at the shop. Fortunate for him, the shop was on the way to this man's house.

So the next morning, we got to the shop, and they started looking at the bike while we browsed the shop. The bike guy comes over and starts talking about how they really need to train us about basic bike maintenance and repair before they send us into the field. "You guys destroy bikes!" was his forceful statement. And it was met by hysterical laughter from all of us (except the one with the broken bike). This poor Elder is a regular at this shop. He has been in there for more repairs than, I would say, the rest of us combined. The guy began to explain that the front derailleur is demolished. Upon discovering that he couldn't even describe it well enough, he decided to show this missionary. He took the missionary behind the counter to another bike that they were tinkering with to show him "what the front derailleur is supposed to look like". He then stated, "Let’s go look at yours. This piece should be on the other side of the chain. I don't even know how it could have gotten to be like this...this is all supposed to be one piece of metal. Yours is two..." The whole while this is happening, the other three of us are dying of laughter. Especially because the guy pointed out that the missionary had only had this bike for a month.

Anyway, we continued on to the man's house, excuse me, mansion. What the man had that told us about his piano skills completely undersold him. This man was beyond fantastic. He was able to do exactly what we had imagined from the begging of planning this video (and with these types of things; that never happens). Even better, he called on friend of his that has a recording studio (we learned later that this place normally costs around $42,000. to rent for an hour). Anyway, he tells the friend that he has a bunch of young missionaries from the Church that need some help recording. In his words, "You can either join the Mormon Church by letting these boys baptize you, or you can let us use your studio." So we will get to use his studio but we'll work towards the other option as well. We may even be blessed to have a violinist that studied at Julliard and performed with the New York Philharmonic. She's a member in a different stake. Oh, and did I mention that her violin is over 400 years old? I feel like the video itself is going to pale in comparison to the music within it but we are so excited.

One of the coolest things that happened this week was on Saturday. We didn't have anyone signed up to feed us, so we called one of the families that said they wouldn't mind having us over on short notice. But he was out of town and she was sick. We didn't; however, feel the urge to call anyone else. So dinner time came, and we drove around looking for a place to eat. We found "The Pizza Buffet and much, much more". The name of the establishment alone would have turned me away in a different situation, but we felt like we should eat here. We went inside and paid for the buffet (which came out to about $8 each) and started to look for a place to sit. My companion felt like we needed to sit all the way at the back kind of close to the arcade so we did. The food was bad; really bad but while we were eating, Elder Clark looked back into the kitchen area that was only visible from where we were sitting. He saw some cabinets and there was just a little space between the tops and the ceiling. In that little space, he could see a picture frame that contained a portrait of Jesus, the same one that we give out to people. This sparked our interest and we began to see why we needed to be sitting where we were. Before leaving, we asked the manager about the picture. She replied that it had been there since they first opened 8 years ago. We explained to her that it was the picture that we receive from the church to give to people. Then everything clicked together. She remembered that her grandmother had 2 missionaries come and bless the restaurant before they opened and that they had given the picture to them. We asked if she would like to know more about the church and she expressed that she knew very little and was willing to learn about it. So, we spent a total of $16 for food that was not kind to me later that night but It was very much worth it to me to be able to find this young woman who is seeking the truth. As it is said in the scriptures, "the worth of souls is great..."

I can tell you that we, as missionaries, are guided daily to find those who want to know more. I can also tell you that you can receive the same experience if you ask for it and as you look for opportunities to share what you know to be true.

I love you all and I miss you dearly. May God bless each of you.

 

Elder Kirk