Lynnwood, WA - week 17 (June 30 - July 7)

July 8, 2013

So this past week I was bad and didn't write in both my journals so I will be just emailing this weeks stuff to you.

This week has been pretty crazy. Monday was the 1st which was the day the mission president changed AND the mission. My area is now the lowest part of our mission now. CRAZY!!

So I had a dream 6 or 7 weeks ago that I was to start involving the youth more by playing some sport or activity once a week and have them invite their friends. Well it wasn't too good the first two weeks but this week it took off. We played volleyball at the church and had multiple people there. It was a TON of fun too! We are having good success with it especially when the same people that came to volleyball on Tuesday were at the Decker's on Thursday for the 4th! They now understand what we really do. We don't just go try and shove our religion down people's throats. We go and invite others to come UNTO Christ. Not just come closer but come UNTO. Reading the bible or praying or anything spiritual like that can bring people closer to Christ but our purpose is not that. We can help people learn ways to do that but WE as missionaries are called by God to go somewhere and serve him and be a disciple of his Son, to invite people to come unto him. We Invite, Teach and Baptize.

Wednesday was pretty AWESOME! We went on a mini exchange with Mays Pond Elders and while we were on the mini exchange we had a lesson with Clayton who is scheduled to get baptized on July 13th. He is SUCH a smart kid! That night we helped Brother Perry with his yard....NEVER WEAR SHORTS WHEN YOU WEED-WHACK SOMEONES BACKYARD WITH ROCKS IN IT!!! It hurt so bad, haha!  Picture to come of my leg. I got pelted with rocks as I was weed-whacking the weeds and what not.  Today was the 4th and most of it was spent at the Decker's because if we wanted to be out past 6pm, we had to be with a member. I found this quote that I have heard before but I really do love it and it hit me different this time. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away." If you look in your everyday life and see where God has played a role, I promise you will be grateful for those things he gives you and it, at least for me, takes my breath away.

Not much today but had an AMAZING dinner with Willy, Odis and Eric! They always make sure we are tired when we leave their house. If you notice I did not say full when we leave! That night we went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders. I went with Elder Holt to their HUGE area. Its only HUGE because they cover the Zone which is a bunch of areas where missionaries are serving combined. We had a great day. Visited a lot of people and actually got a new investigator! We had dinner with one of our members, The Larson Family. Okay, so both Brother and Sister Larson are cooks. It was sooooo good!! We had Copper River salmon and a type of potato salad thing and for desert....SIN!!! hahaha Now before you think anything too crazy let me tell you what this "Sin" is. 1st of all, I had heard of it since I have been here and finally got it. Sin is a layer of graham cracker, then a layer of vanilla pudding thing, then a layer of chocolate pudding, then a layer of whipped cream and it was not solid but not all pudding-y. It was SOOO delicious!! My arteries were screaming "Stop clogging me!!" haha! I love that family! Yesterday was Sunday and it was a good church meeting. We went to class with the youth and then to senior primary. Let me tell you this one thing: if you want to feel good and peaceful and love from a child than go to that part of church. When the children were singing, angels from heaven are singing with them. The spirit was SO strong as they were singing We'll Bring the World his Truth and to end they sang Praise to the Man....just remarkable. I wish I could go in there every week. That evening we went over the the Decker's again and spent time with their family and some of their sons' friends. 

By the way, at church we had a member of the Quorum of the Seventy there. After church he came up to us and said, "These are the guys I was looking for." Luckily instead of scolding or rebuking us he shook our hand and embraced us. The Spirit of the Lord was with that man. 

Now I will end with this quote. "A coincidence is just a small miracle God doesn't get credit for." Things happen for a reason. God has a plan for everyone of us and KNOWS US BY NAME. In the Bible he talks about how we (his children) are as numberless as the sands on the beach or the stars in the night sky. BUT he STILL knows us by name. He knows you. He knows what you are going through and is always willing to help you but we must choose to. Yes, bad things do happen. Welcome to the world where there is opposition. But when we trust in God and do HIS will, the trials we face will be easier to accomplish and when we do overcome it, we come out with a knowledge of that thing, NOT just a faith or belief in it. I know this to be true and that's why I do this work and service for my Father in Heaven. Have an awesome week and look for God's hand in your life and when a trial or struggle comes, reach out to your Father in Heaven in prayer and in reading scriptures. He will strengthen you. I know it. I say this in the name of our Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

July 21, 2013 -
I received a second SD card in a package this week.  The photos are from this time frame!  Here's the link to view:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200977415269589.1073741831.1592776047&type=1&l=aa52229920
Reminder:  you do not need facebook to view the photos!

Lynnwood, WA - weeks 13 through 16 (June 3 - June 30)

July 8, 2013
Well, I FINALLY received a box from Chris that he'd been promising to send.  I know, I know...he's busy.  That's what Tom kept telling me when I frantically (ok, not really frantically, but...) checked the mail.  Of course, Murphy's Law...the package arrived on Saturday, July 6, which is when Katy & I were out of town.  BUT...it arrived, nonetheless!  So, rather than post every day's updates (which will take me hours to type, and take you almost as long to read), I'm going to summarize and share some of the big highlights.  

We also received about 30 photos, some of which made us laugh pretty hard, so we hope you enjoy them.  And, bonus: three personalized videos which will not be posted, but what a HUGE treat for Tom, Katy and I!!  It was so great to see his face and hear his voice.  I am so grateful for technology, and SD Cards.

Same disclaimers as all other posts...anything in italics? my comments.  Everything else...directly from Chris, including the descriptions of the photos.  Full facebook photo album link is at the very bottom of the blog.  You do not have to have facebook to see the album.

A quick thank you to those who keep Chris in your thoughts and prayers.  He mentioned in a note this week that he cannot believe he's been gone 4 months and how the time is going to fast.  Too fast?!  For him, maybe.  HA!  In all seriousness, we are grateful for each of you who thinks of him, sends him positive thoughts, cards, letters and prayers.  And we are so grateful Chris's attitude and sensational desire to serve others.  Lastly, we are bless to have a loving God who cares about him to keep him safe. 
-karen


July 15 update:
Katy and I have been traveling for a week, and I was without a computer to update.  As of today, Chris was transferred from Lynnwood, and I know that he is bummed about it.  He had several people on track for baptism, and I'm sure he wanted to be there to see them through, however, he accepts that his Mission President has plans and inspiration so he will persevere and do well wherever he goes, as long as he maintains that positive attitude and is obedient.  I received a short email from him today that simply said "Lakewood B", Elder Young, Elder Udall" and "I meet him today, wish me luck".  So for those of you reading...please add a prayer for Chris in the next part of his adventure.

Last District Meeting with Elder Frandsen
l. to r. Elder Udall, Elder Campbell, Elder Petersen, Elder Frandsen, Sister Olsen, Sister Lisonbee

Here's the update from June 3 - July 7 (summarized)

June 3 - June 9, 2013
Chris got a new companion, Elder McRae.  He was happy to have another transfer in Lynnwood.  Aaron (the man who had been baptized the week Chris arrived in WA) is now a ward missionary, so he gets to work with the full-time missionaries.
Ward Missionary:
The bishopric and the ward mission leader determine how many ward missionaries are needed in the ward. Ward Missionaries serve under their direction. Priesthood holders, sisters, and married couples may serve as ward missionaries. They need not have assigned companions, but they should not go alone when visiting in homes. Ward missionaries are called to a specified term of service.  They normally do not have other Church responsibilities, except for assignments as home teachers or visiting teachers, preferably to part-member or less-active families. They do not wear name tags. Ward missionaries find and prepare people for the full-time missionaries to teach. They also assist in fellowshipping and teaching investigators. Ward missionaries visit members' homes to encourage members to seek missionary experiences, identify people the missionaries could teach, and prepare people to be taught.
June 5: Chris met with an investigator and read "The WHOLE Book of Enos.  The whole book of Enos is only a chapter long but it talks a lot about faith and prayer.  You should definitely read it and find something that you can apply in your life.  Try it.  :-)"
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/enos/1?lang=eng
June 6: GREAT day!  They had several lessons during the day and evening, and shared that Angelianna and Christianna are on date for June 23rd baptism.  He and his companion were able to attend the orchestra concert for the high school since there were several members and investigators participating.
June 7: Had a great lesson with Ken and he accepted to be baptized on August 3, and said that if he learns all the lessons before then, then he will be baptized sooner.  He is such a good man!  They went to the Root Beer store, which I'm still sure is his favorite spot in Lynnwood!  :-)
June 8: Crazy filled day.  We started the day with service for Sheryl and then for the Bishop by mowing their lawns.  We visited some people and had a lesson with Troy. We had Kepler's baptism interview and then a lesson with Kepler, Clayton and Aaron and watched Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration.  It's an hour long, but everyone should watch it.  Watch with your family!  It is so good.  The church not only has a great spirit about it but it makes sense if you look back from times of old to today's era.
This is one of my favorite LDS Church films.  I love the story of Joseph Smith, and have been where he was when he asked Heavenly Father about which church to join.  I'm grateful for his fortitude and commitment to his Heavenly Father!  Enjoy this flick! http://www.mormonchannel.org/joseph
 
June 10 - 16
June 10: haircuts and usual laundry, shopping and emails.  We had a great lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Sam & Heather consisting of Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End.
June 11: Lessons today, and a great time at the Decker's home to go over their family mission plan, which are goals for their family to share the gospel by inviting people to things.
June 12: SUBWAY FOR LUNCH!  (Oh my...he eats there OFTEN!)  Had lessons with a family they have been trying to reach for 2 months
June 13: LOTS of lessons!  Finished the Plan of Salvation with Ken.  He remember it too!  Ken is trying to memorize everything...he is such a sponge!  He just soaks it all in!  We also had a great lesson with Devin and he wants to get baptized.  No set date but we have a commitment to do it.  We then had a lesson with The Paul family and then we went on exchanges.

Exchange with Elder Campbell

June 14:  Had a great lesson with Reed.  We talked about the scripture Alma 32: 42-43.  
June 15: Today, as we were knocking on doors, we found a family of hockey players!!!  The dad has 3 kids and they all play!  I met the youngest, Matthew!  he's 11 or 12!  I got SO EXCITED when I saw the hockey net on the side of the house.  We also saw some other potentials, had a great dinner with the Sutton family, and then had a lesson with Kepler and Clayton.  Kepler was supposed to be baptized on the 14th (yesterday), but Kepler was being Kepler and broke his arm!  Baptism postponed.
June 16: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  We had a mini-lesson with Ken, and he is giving up coffee.  Just like that.  No ifs, ands or buts.  There was a why, but when he heard about the reason to give it up, he said he would.  Dinner with another family in the ward and got their Family Mission Plan going. 
We believe in a revelation known as The Word of Wisdom. This is why Ken was willing to give up coffee.  Read it here: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng and you can find a good explanation here: https://www.lds.org/topics/word-of-wisdom?lang=eng

So crazy experience:  if you want to see God's hand in someone's life here it is...Almost a month ago Elder Frandsen & I knocked on a door and this older woman answered, and she was from Philly and visiting her family.  So we asked if her family that does live here would like us to stop by to see if they are interested and she said yes.  Well, jump ahead a month to today.  We were walking towards another house near that one and there was a man walking his dog. So of course we stopped and talked to him. So Elder McRae was having a hard time talking to him, so I started talking to him and he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. He wants to pray and learn about it, and when I asked where he lived so we could stop back in a week or so he gave me the house number. As we were walking to it to see where it was...it was him! It was her son!  Just think, if we didn't open our mouths and talk to him he would never have heard the gospel AND I would have felt so guilty later.  It was a miracle to end our day!

Photo taken in June with the following caption:
"Uh, this is katy's jacket I brought, not dad's."
(Me: HAHAHAHA!)

June 17 - 23
The evening (Monday) we had a lesson with the Shaw family and read Alma 39 & 40. Now something stuck out to me in verse 6 at the end.  It says, "it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness..."  It is not that our Father in Heaven doesn't want to forgive us, OR that it will be too hard for him to forgive us but that the obtaining forgiveness is something that WE will have to do. And the second thing is in verse 8. We can not hide our sins from God. He knows ALL and asks us to do is give up those sins, through repentance and come closer to him.  God's hand is there for us ALWAYS!  How often do you take a hold of it?  Tuesday - we met with Tim again and had a great lesson with Ken. We watched a video called Faith in Christ. We also got to do something that I have wanted to do for 13 weeks and that is have a sports day with the youth!  I wanted to set up going out to a field and play a sport, or to the church gym and play ball, or any activity where the youth can come and bring friends and get some exercise and have fun!  (Chris mentioned that he'd had a dream several weeks ago that the missionaries needed to set this up so the youth could invite others out.)
Wednesday and Thursday were filled with lessons!  One Thursday night, Angelianna and Christiana had their baptism interviews and are ready to be baptized on Sunday (the 23rd).  Now if someone would just ask me if I am ready to baptize them, I would say, uh, nope!  Just kidding, but I am nervous.  

June 23: Ken came to church which was awesome!  He was nervous, but I think he liked it.  Afterwards, we had a special conference at the church which I truly enjoyed and learned a lot from.  Then, we had a baptism!  Angeliana and Christiana were baptized.  These two women just made the choice of taking upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ and made a covenant with their Heavenly Father to live his commandments!  I got to see their face as they came out of the water, and truthfully it was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had in my life.  I have only had a few times where I remembered feeling the Spirit SO strong!  This is one of them.  I know without a doubt that the baptisms were accepted by God. I could feel Heavenly beings there.  I know that I have said this multiple times before but this church cannot be wrong.  If you will read a simply 500 page book, and pray with real intent and a sincere heart, you will come to the knowledge of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  I know it to be true and say it in the name of our Savior, our Messiah, Jesus Christ, Amen.

June 24 - 30
The week was weird because we had a trip to the Seattle Temple on Wednesday, so our p-day was changed.  We did a TON of service this week, and our exciting news was that Gale came back!  She called again, and we met up today!  We met with the Paul family and hung out with them.  We got fresh eggs and cherries from a family in the ward today, and we met with some investigators (I think this is Tuesday).  I have loved seeing how the Gospel works in people's lives who are not the same culture as me.  The Paul family are from the Marshall Islands and have many different traditions and approaches to life yet the same happiness and joy the come from the Gospel are seen in them as others.  I love that family so much!  Wednesday was spent at the temple, and pictures will be coming!  Later in the week we had an appointment with Devin and he accepted the challenge to be baptized on July 27!  So good!!  June 29 was Siobahn's baptism.  What a great experience to have three baptisms in one week!  We had lots of people at church on the 30th and had 3 confirmations, plus I gave a talk! 

I asked Chris to share some things that he has learned so far:
1. This is NOT easy!  Sometimes I actually feel like I am in a dream, but I love what I am doing.
2. If you look closely at a situation or, well, I don't really know how to explain it, but I guess it's best to say that I've learned that everything starts with a choice. Even a thought starts with a choice to think it, or to take a step, etc.  It's all about choice.
3. Focus on the positive, always.  The second you think about the negative, you've lost.  I think of a diagram with your name in a circle and arrows (like sun rays) shooting out pointing away from the circle.  Then a second circle, with your name in the middle and the arrows pointing inward. If a person is focused on himself (or herself), everything will get smaller and smaller and inward, but following the arrows out and thinking of others and of the positive only spreads those good feelings around.

Elder Frandsen, Eric and Elder Udall

Moli family with Elder Udall and Elder Frandsen

So fun to see pics of Chris being Chris...with Betty Boop!

ALL photos sent in this month's SD card can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200910706121902.1073741830.1592776047&type=1&l=180536a346
You do not need to have facebook to view the photos!