We Sure Love Ya, North Carolina!

     Wo, it has been a wild ride getting here and all, but I'm doing fantastic! North Carolina is absolutely beautiful, especially since it's spring and EVERYTHING is blooming and bright Green. My favorite Color!!! Haha, it was funny. When I walked off the plane and into the Charlotte airport, I got this big old blast of thick air. It is pretty humid here, but that's okay, I actually really like it. But seriously, everywhere you turn there is nothing but green. There is not a place that you can go. Oh, and I'm have been assigned the Gate  City  Branch here in Greensboro. :) My little branch is so itty bitty, I was really not use to it. I'm used to lots of people at church and really active members that know what they are doing. But Hispanics definitely have their own way of running things, that's for sure!

     So I'm actually with 2 Elders. We make a trio. Their names are E l d e r s   W o o d  s   &   S h u p e. They are pretty cool. They definitely aren't like   E l d e r   E n g e b r e t s e n ,  but at least they aren't crazy guys that don't want to work, right? In fact, this last week, with me in tow, we led the zone in numbers! That means lessons and baptisms and all that. And our zone is Spanish and English missionaries, so yeah, we have been working our tails off this week. Spanish is pretty difficult. It was crazy, the first day I got here, we went to an investigators house and I'm not even joking, most of what he was saying was so fast, I couldn't even tell! Haha! "Oh I'm in trouble, that ain't the language they taught me in the M T C". haha!  But seriously though, that really went through my mind. But I was able to challenge him to read the Book of Mormon more closely and pray to know for himself through faith. We have taught a lot and my companions try to get me involved. We have gone tracting numerous times actually. We can tell if they are hispanic just by the way the house looks and if they have a Dish  500 outside (Spanish channels) and we find a lot of success! On the off chance that it is a white or black person that speaks English I blank. Haha, I'm so used to Spanish that English is foreign and I forget how to teach in English.

      We actually had a baptism this last Saturday. She is about 11 and she is pretty cool. I had the chance to teach her one lesson before she got baptized. It's a powerful experience, but I think it's more than that. Baptism isn't all. Like it will feel great to baptize, but seeing the person change is the greatest reward. The thing that brings the most spiritual experiences. Speaking of Hispanics... They are REALLY NICE. haha, we have had a few white people slam the door on us, but I kid you not, every house that is hispanic, will always talk to you and usually let you in and offer you a soda and stuff. It's really awesome and I'm really glad I'm a Spanish missionary here.

      I think that the field is ten times better than the M T C. It's harder, but you are out on your own changing lives! It's a great thing. Haha, And we actually have quite a few members that like to feed us so we aren't going hungry. And I'm a mac and cheese and grilled cheese master so I'm all SET! It's funny cuz the president was all talking about South Food and how it will be different and ALL, that all I have had since I've been here is Rice, Beans, Chicken, Enchiladas and all this mexican food. HAHAHA! And I'm lovin' it up! AND! I stopped by Taco Bell and indulged myself on a 5-layer burrito... or 2.... or 3. ;)

      So the other day we got into a home and teaching this lady and her kids and it was going really well (aside from my dreadful Spanish) and we ended with a prayer and all that and stood up. Then... I felt something crawling up my neck... It was a nasty green looking worm... Hahaha, only in North Carolina. There are caterpillars all over the place, and my worst enemy and greatest fear... Ticks. Lots of 'em. Hate it...

      Anyways, other than that, I'm basically living the dream. I got really fat in the M T C and lost it really, really fast here. I seriously broke like... 150 while I was at the M T C. That has never happened. Then I came here and we work out every morning. I like the lower altitude and thicker air. We run 2 miles every other day and my lungs nor shins have bothered me. Aside from that we do weights and stuff, so yeah, that's helped me feel good.

       I've learned a lot about love while I've been out here. Weird huh? Specifically charity, the True love of Christ. We are to love him with all our mind, body, soul, and might. But that's not just some emotional love. That is serving him and being charitable to others. That's how you demonstrate your love for the Savior. Do you love him? I want you guys to read "The  First  Great  Commandment" by Jeffrey  R.  Holland. It's pretty awesome and I think it will really help you. Also, a quote that really helped me was "Do not give up what you want MOST for what you want NOW" -Gordon  B.  Hinckley. AS a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ, this has stuck with me ever since I read it. Don't tarnish your dreams and what you truly want for what you want now. It's not worth it. I testify that when we USE the atonement and become clean we will feel better. Build your foundation upon the Rock of our Redeemer and we shall NEVER fall away (Helaman  12 : 5). :) I know that prayer without charity, will availeth you nothing. Cry unto him! "Not everyone who yells Lord, Lord will inherit the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does his will" or something like that. When we truly treasure up what we have learned in our minds and in our hearts, we will wax strong in confidence and patience. Virtue is important. Feeling bad is a choice. Don't ever bring yourself down to Lucifer's level. You are Sons and Daughters OF GOD! How awesome!!!!

     Btw, the guy that plays the boy Joseph  Smith in the movie "Joseph  Smith"? He's in my mission... We are cool friends... Just so you all know. ;)

Anyways, gotta blast! Love ya all! Don't worry about me, promise! Mom.... ;)

Let  the  Lower  Lights  be  Burning!

"Since when,  Kip you have the worst reflexes of all time!"

Oh, and Bless Jasper's little heart. Love that guy. Wherever he is...

Jasper

My First Baptism!

 Elders from Zone 27 in the Provo MTC

"Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy"

(Let the Lower Lights be Burning)

A Spanish-Speaking Area!

Your son has been assigned an outstanding companion to help him grow and develop as a missionary. The people of North Carolina are wonderful and the members of the church love the missionaries. We will work hard as a mission to assist him to become a successful servant of our Heavenly Father.

He will be serving in the  Gate  City  Branch  (Spanish) area in Greensboro, North Carolina.

We love your son and look forward to serving with him.

Sincerely,

P r e s i d e n t   C r a v e n

I'm here!

Your son arrived safely in our mission today. We are grateful for the sacrifice and hard work that has brought your missionary to help serve the Lord in our mission.

Pictures will be taken at the mission offices and a copy of those pictures, along with the name of their trainer companion and apartment address will be emailed to you within the next two weeks.

With love,

Mission Office Staff

And the Verdict is...

Helloooo family and friends and what not! :) This week has been one wild ride! Okay, I have to get this off my chest or I won't be able to write anything else. I have been re-assigned, and I am going to... North  Carolina  Charlotte  Mission, and I leave Monday! Pretty Wild, no!? Haha, My companion is been re-assigned to the Los  Angeles  Mission. Lucky duck... But North Carolina is perfect for the time being. I know it. :)

Okay... Jeez I can't even think straight! So Conference. It is seriously the equivalent of the Super Bowl here, but better! Everyone was just dying leading up to it. Usually during Conference, I have the hardest time staying awake and focusing on what they are saying, but this time I couldn't stop writing notes! The sessions would go by so fast that it would be over and I felt like it had just started! It was definitely VERY special this go around and I had a lot of questions answered. I will touch on some of the topics later. :) On Tuesday, all the Argentine missionaries hopped on a bus and went to Salt Lake City. It felt soooooo good to get out of here for a little bit and just live the missionary dream out there. Anyways, we went to the Church office building and then moved to the Joseph smith memorial building for the consulate meeting. Some argentine guy talked to us about Argentina and stuff like that and then we all did these fingerprints and stuff. It took forever. Haha. So my companion and I found the Nauvoo  Cafe and seriously... after 43 days of MTC food those sandwiches tasted like there was a slice of love and celestial glory added to it. :D The sisters in our district are already gone. They are in Texas and Peru so the 4 remaining elders are here just livin' it learning Spanish and the gospel doctrines and teaching skills. We are loving it, but not for long! MONDAYYYY!!!! I'm so excited to go and serve the Lord and obviously, I need to go to North  Carolina  Charlotte. The home of the Bobcats! haha and the tarheels! ;) Wait, this is a question for Freddie: Is Duke in Charlotte or what? That would be so dope!

So I think I told you guys about the little basketball hoop in our room. but if you haven't then I kinda got a story. Not really. It's just funny... Okay so we have this basketball hoop and one of the elders in my room loves basketball and gets serious about our games of pig on our wind down time at night. But I am on this 4 game win streak and he is getting SOOOO upset! hahaha! I have this shot in this one spot that he can never get and he gets so mad. I call it "The Crouching Tiger" [Spanish: El Tigre Agachado].  Haha, I'll let your imagination picture that bad boy. Anyways we make it a big deal and everyone on the floor watches us play each other. It's funny. :D

Oh. Okay so I have this riddle for you guys. I'm not giving any hints. I'm just gonna give you these sentence and you guys have to figure out the significance. They are all related in one way, k ready?
1. The wet dog sighs in the Dry Fire.
2. The moose walks backwards in the Rain.
3. The cat licks its paw that isn't there.
4. The kid shoots the gun without a bullet.
5. The clock works with no battery.
6. The snow falls in a sunlit room.

The words mean everything! Maybe it will help to right them out or something. Idk... Anyways. You can send me your thoughts during my mission. It's pretty obvious though...

Oh! Okay, so I totally forgot! We had vocal point come and perform for us on Sunday night! So stinkin' awesome! We were like front row seats too and they sounded so good. They would like share missionary experiences and spiritual thoughts between each song and they had some pretty sweet set ups. I'm basically falling in love with hymns. I never ever thought I would say that but it's true! Yeah it was pretty sweet and I really felt the spirit that night. But really everyday this place is full of the spirit. It's amazing. I feel a lot of peace. And I bet my life will be turned upside down... AGAIN.... on Monday. :D LOVE IT!

I have learned quite a bit of stuff during my stay here in the MTC. or the Empty Sea. ;) So many things. I may just start rattling stuff off and junk... HUMILITY! It is so important to humble yourself and recognize the weaknesses we have. Then, and only then, can we receive the strength we need. When I am weak, then am I strong. I've learned that it's important to soften your heart. If it isn't softened the spirit has no room to work its magic. We need to let the Lord into our hearts. The spirit is still because you don't hear it, you feel it. It is this way because that way our agency is protected. Emotions and the Spirit are closely linked. If we aren't careful, we can confuse one for the other and then doing something irrational. For example, some kid felt that he was gonna marry this girl. He thought it was revelation but once the girl found out she dumped him and married someone else. He confused the spirit with his own emotions. I'm still learning about this subject but I find it very important.

I absolutely loved the talk of D.  Todd  Christofferson in General Conference. Redemption. What a powerful word. I really liked the movie Les Mis (No, not because I went to see it with a pretty girl, quit asking) and the message it sent. So when he used it in my talk it really made me think. Jean was redeemed. He was given that second chance by the Priest, a second chance he probably didn't deserve, and he used it! He CHANGED! Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have this opportunity. We get to be SPIRITUALLY Reborn. Without Christ, ye can do nothing. Which reminds me some guy at the Joseph  Smith  Memorial  Building was playing a Les  Miserable song on the piano and I loved it! haha, I wanted to burst in the room and be like "Number 24601!!!!!!!" Oh man, that movie is probably on DVD now, huh? Luckies... Count your blessings. I know I am.

I'm not just merely "going on a mission". The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something. So what is that "something" and how do we get there? That's something only you can answer personally through studying AND LIVING the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Where I am is not a coincidence. I was born in this time to this wonderful family and serving my mission at this time for a purpose. I know that this mission is and will change my life. And, when I return home, I will come back to good old  I d a h o, but I will not have left the mission field. This Gospel is who I am and I am going to stand by and in my savior, permanently, unyieldingly and steadfastly.

I know that sometimes we are torn and brought down by the ways of the world. I know that sometimes we are shattered into broken pieces and we are certain that we cannot put those pieces back together. That the damage is too bad and the aftermath too great. But, I promise and testify by all that I have, and all that I AM that He can heals us. He is our Savior and our Mediator. He died for us. On that Friday, a loooong time ago, he suffered and everything fell apart. THE WORLD FELL APART! The Lamb of God was slain... But, on that Sunday, he was risen. He. Did. It. We will all have those Fridays. Those days when everything seems to be falling apart, but I promise, Sunday is coming. The darkness will surely fade. I looooove this gospel and I love this Church. :)

Anyways. :) I miss all of you greatly and think of you often. I heard that Louisville won the Basketball Championship? That's pretty chill. So my companion has been saying some of the funniest quotes. Haha, Like I was eating some food in the cafeteria and I found this gross hair in my mashed potatoes and he leaned over and was all "Take courage, Merry" (LOTR) Hahaha, I seriously love him and am going to miss him more than ANYTHING! He is my best friend. I hope my trainer is chill. I wanna call him Capitan! Spanish for Captain. I think... heehee. Oh and I've never heard him yell, but the other night I was playing basketball in my residence on the little hoop and out of nowhere, he flies in and jumps and smacks the ball as hard as he could and yelled "GET THAT CORN OUT OF MY FACE!!!" Bahaha, it was so stinkin' hilarious... Basically enjoyed a great bromance for the last month and a half. :)

Uhh... yeah. :)

Okay I just looked up my mission in North Carolina and... It's soooo green! Haha, DREAM COME TRUE! I found my church building even. :)

Anywho, I gotta write all of y'all my personal letters, so Chow!

P.S. I will prolly send you my address for N.C. later either on here or letters. Love you guys!

Quote of the Day: "I feel like I'm back at the Green  Dragon, after a hard day's work" "Only, you've never had a hard day's work, Pippin"  :D  Teehee!

Viviendo la Suena

Familia! Como estan!?

Oh man, 5 weeks! How is everybody doing!? Pretty good? I really hope so. I pray for you guys like erryday! It's crazy sauce. I got lots to tell y'all so let's get started, or as  E l d e r  E n g e b r e t s e n  and I like to say "Lets boogy!". haha.

Entonces... Easter was basically da Bomb! In the morning, we all gathered together for this devotional and we all got the sacrament there. Over 3,000 people in like 20 minutes. It was insane but I don't think I have ever felt the spirit so strongly during a sacrament meeting than then. During the sacrament, they had these pictures of Christ's resurrection and they had my all time favorite one on there too. I cried. haha. I don't think it's an actual picture, it was like a still shot from a movie but you can find it in the Mormon message "Reclaimed" at I think around 2 minutes 30 seconds. It's when Christ is in all white facing the camera, Mary is facing away in black, and He has just the sweetest face of love and compassion. I absolutely love all pictures of him in his white robes. I learned quite a bit that day. I felt the spirit and all that. I learned quite a bit of stuff I'd like to share with you too...

1. I've learned it's important for me to be true to what I know. I don't like when someone will say, "The church just isn't true now that I think about it." I say, "No, you aren't being true to your church. BIG DIFFERENCE!" I love my Savior. I know that all I WANT doesn't come at once. That miracles and the things of the Lord come only after the trial of my faith. Sometimes you have to propose things to the Lord. Like Ether and the stones. He had the faith, but what did the Lord say? Basically, what do you propose I do? We have to ask. We have to have that faith. Often times we get stuck in this cookie monster mode. "I WANT COOKIE NOW!" "I WANT BAPTISMS NOW!" "I WANT ANSWERS NOW!" "I WANT AN EASIER WAY NOW!" We need to open like the Savior. Don't satisfy your own appetite and turn inward. When the Lord was tempted by Satan to demonstrate his power (idk where the story is in the scrips) and he was in a time of hardship and warded off Satan's enticings, he didn't say, "Look at me, have pity on me". Instead, he sent angels to go and comfort John. Let us open outwards. :)

2. There are 3 major things that Satan likes to impose on us. Firstly, he wants to confuse us of who the Savior is. Second, he tries to confuse us about who we, ourselves, are. And thirdly, he tries to confuse us on what is revelation and promptings from the spirit, and what is not. Family and friends... The Savior has come to save us. He isn't our last chance; he is our only chance. Through him we can overcome fear, become free of sin, deal with Satan, dissolve hatred and envy, grow hope and joy, and become as he is. We have the choice to be on the winning side. We know who is gonna win this fight. This dispensation will NOT end in apostasy!

3. You will never find yourself when you are looking for yourself. It is only when you lose yourself and think of others, that you will truly find yourselves. There was a reason Nephi was sent back to get the plates first before he went back to get a wife. He needed a sure foundation. A foundation of love and charity and spiritual maturity. That's what I'm doing. I know when I focus only on things that I can influence, the things that can't influence will fall into place down the road and after my mission i.e. college, job, wifey. ;) I want to be the missionary that the natives are crying because of my departure. I want them to know not only of my love for them but the love of Padre Celestial tambien. I want to be changed. When people ask me after my mission, "How are you adjusting?" I want to say "I don't need to adjust!" This mission is molding me into a spiritual warrior of God if I let it. :)

Okay now for me stuff. ;) !!!

Tuesday, some visa people came and got my fingerprints. On Tuesday next week, I meet with the consulate in Salt Lake, but so is like 40 other people (all going to Argentina). I doubt they will be dishing out that many visas at once. Everyone is getting re-assigned. It's crazy. I should know within the next week. Definitely by next Wednesday. "So look for my coming at the first light on the fifth day". ;) I will probably be staying in the MTC an extra week. OH JOY! Woot! More like Noot! Ah, it's all good. I'm growing and it's great. I'm praying I get assigned to the San Diego mission or something like that. That would be so chill!

Okay... Funny story. So, my companion and I were in this little room studying and preparing to teach our final lesson for one of our progressing investigators and we had these soft candies that we were throwing into each other's mouths. I have this huge mouth so he likes to try to make candy into it without me moving. Anyways, he threw one, it hit my lip, and I had this searing pain! My companion thought I was faking it till he saw my mouth full of blood! haha! So, he hit my canker sore and since the gums around it were tender it just split open and it was crazy. I thought it was pretty funny, and has healed actually quite nicely.

I got to host once again this last Wednesday and it was great. It's sad to see all these crying moms. It's a good thing my mom didn't cry when she dropped me off... ;) Cough, Cough. But yeah it was nice. The guys I hosted were going to France and Mozambique! Pretty Crazy, Right?! They got it easy; their first weekend is all just General Conference. They don't get to enjoy the crazy tear down that usually happens your first weekend. Teehee. So, I'm pumped for General Conference. I have a few questions going into it and I can't wait to hear what the apostles of the Lord have to say! :) Especially about missionary work. I'll be a part of the statistics this year! We got a new district and they are really chill. They are intermediate Spanish; so they are good.

Okay, I know you guys will appreciate this... My companion will always leave these "Love Notes" in places I will find them. The other day I was feeling kinda down... So, I was just sitting there in this devotional and I open my scriptures and I found this little note. It said Elder H. on the outside, and on the inside it said, "And they call it a mine.... A MINE!" -Gimli Bahahahaha!!! So flippin' hilarious! I am so happy I have him as my companion. My trainer has some big shoes to fill, de la verdad. 

I love the crap out of you guys! This is gonna be a crazy adventure! I hope all is well.

"You just mind your P's and Q's busta!" -Ferris Buehlers day off

"There is something that we have in this fight that Voldemort doesn't."

"What's that, Harry?"

"Something worth fighting for."

Oh, and I can't remember lyrics of songs anymore! It's flippin' ridiculous!

Matthew 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake,
shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Elder and Elderer

"The sunrise I get to see erryday"