Monday, December 19, 2011
Christmas Card 2011
Wow another year has come and gone, it is hard to believe. Yet we have been counting down the days for the past two years. Or should I say counting “fast Sunday’s” a much better way to keep count than days while waiting for our missionary to come home. We have just three fast Sunday’s left!! Yippee! Dalan is doing so good and he has LOVED his mission. He is getting transferred this week and it will be his last area and companion. He will be serving in the Scottsdale & Phoenix area. He is excited to just be a missionary and get to train a brand new missionary from the MTC. Bailey is doing good and enjoying her junior year of high school. She is doing great in school and loves her Family Consumer Science classes. Last summer her and her Grandma took the challenge of making her a formal dress made out of satin camo. It turned out beautiful and she was able to wear it to the formal dance in November. She looked beautiful. She even got to wear her cowboy boots. Stacy and I have been so blessed this year. We had a good grain crop. We have wonderful children and family. We are so thankful for all our wonderful blessings. We are so blessed to live in such a great place and have all our freedoms. We are thankful for this time of year and for our Saviors love for us. We pray you all feel of His love also. May the year 2012 bring more blessings and happiness.
E-Mail 12-19-2011 New Area, New Companion, All is Great. He looks awesome (pictures) and a Baptism
Hello everyone there, wow alot is going on happening there and here both. sounds like you had a good week and got alot of good stuff done. I cannot believe that it is Christmas this week, doesn't seem real, but i guess that it is! :) Glad to hear that you haven't opened your Christmas package yet...and yes Bailey i would know, Holy would come whisper it to me! ;) haha We are excited for Christmas for sure, it will be lots of fun.
Thursday we had a temple trip with half the mission and had a Christmas lunch and we all got to get together and visit. it was so much fun. 10 of my old companions were all there and it was great to get together! :) Eler ricks is in my district down here! so much fun! :)
So this is a lot different that Apache Junction AZ...the people most of all is what i have seen the difference in. but its a good different, i couldn't be happier anywhere else! There are going to be new trials and things we will have to face a deal with that i haven't had to yet on my mission but that's what its all about.
So I love my companion so much, we are having so much fun and doing great. He is from Finland and his name is elder Hyrkas, pronounced like Who-daa-kass. really hard to pronounce but I'm catching on! haha, he has taken English in school for 6 years so he can speak well and can convey his thoughts good. makes it alot easier but still, the change of one word in a sentence makes a big difference! haha, really sweet accent. he is awesome and is making the adjustment really well.
His family sense as far back as you can go is from Finland and his mom has been a member sense she was 12, his dad is still not a member and he is receiving some really cold upset feelings and letters from him because he chose to leave and come on a mission. Due to his dad and respecting him, Elder Hyrkas was baptised when he was 18. it is so great to have a convert companion who can vividly remember and testify of the difference before and after. he has such a solid testimony, it is fun to teach with him and hear his experiences over there and how the church is the same everywhere. we are having so much fun together. crazy that he will be my last companion and i couldn't be more excited about all the changes! :)
Our area is doing really well. They wanted a extra set of elders in the stake so we took one ward from a set of elders and another ward from the other. the work is booming here. i am in the Scottsdale Camelback stake and my area lays from the 101 north to osborn and from the 202 west to 40th street? i think, haha, still trying to figure out where i am! it is crazy tring to get it all straight. Our wards are way awesome, one of our wards has 85%less actives and each of them have only 80-120 people in sacrament on Sundays so there is definitely lots of work to be done! Our area is really big, we cover mostly Scottsdale but in the south west corner we have part of Tempe and Phoenix, we got a ghetto, like straight up ghetto, then we got a older part of Scottsdale where all the homes were built in the 70's and then we got the typical Scottsdale Scottsdale, ridiculously nice! I love it here, Scottsdale was rated the number one most livable city in the US and i can totally agree with that. there is everything you need and more and its somewhat easy to find! :) clean streets in the north and lots of REALLY nice cars. you see cars here that most people only see in magazines! seriously, its crazy.
We had a baptism this weekend. it was an amazing transfer miracle. it was a man named Juan Rodrigez, he has been taught for the past 3month or so and he has been doing awesome things as far as learning and growth in the gospel. in the past 2 weeks he has really got on board with it all and got ready for baptism, we have taught him several times, before and after his baptism and he is solid. the baptism went awesome and the spirit was really strong! we are being so blessed. we also have a baptism coming up in the next two week ends or so. he is 12 years old and name is Caleb. he is progressing and his whole family is coming back to church so that will be exciting!
we have been able to get around and meet all of our investigators, we have set 2 dates sense we have been here and have a awesome week coming, lots of good apts with inv. and also new investigators! :) we are being so blessed
We live with the Spanish elders in a big apt complex. it is in the nicer part of our area so that is nice. kinda small but its perfect for us, the only thing that sucks is that we live on the 3rd floor! haha, no fun but we'll live! :)
For Christmas we are going to be at church at 10:00, they are combining our two wards and then we are going to a families house for lunch and to call! it will be around 1ish, if you get out of church at noon we call some time between then. if you don't answer i will try back later, not a big deal. i will only have 40 mins or so to talk so be sure and have your questions all wrote out and it will be good! :)
Well thanks for all you do and your support, if there is anything i left out or remember i will ask you on Sunday or drop you a letter. hope you have a good week and are blessed in every way! we will talk soon! take care and keep safe!
Love Elder Lerwill
Thursday we had a temple trip with half the mission and had a Christmas lunch and we all got to get together and visit. it was so much fun. 10 of my old companions were all there and it was great to get together! :) Eler ricks is in my district down here! so much fun! :)
So this is a lot different that Apache Junction AZ...the people most of all is what i have seen the difference in. but its a good different, i couldn't be happier anywhere else! There are going to be new trials and things we will have to face a deal with that i haven't had to yet on my mission but that's what its all about.
So I love my companion so much, we are having so much fun and doing great. He is from Finland and his name is elder Hyrkas, pronounced like Who-daa-kass. really hard to pronounce but I'm catching on! haha, he has taken English in school for 6 years so he can speak well and can convey his thoughts good. makes it alot easier but still, the change of one word in a sentence makes a big difference! haha, really sweet accent. he is awesome and is making the adjustment really well.
His family sense as far back as you can go is from Finland and his mom has been a member sense she was 12, his dad is still not a member and he is receiving some really cold upset feelings and letters from him because he chose to leave and come on a mission. Due to his dad and respecting him, Elder Hyrkas was baptised when he was 18. it is so great to have a convert companion who can vividly remember and testify of the difference before and after. he has such a solid testimony, it is fun to teach with him and hear his experiences over there and how the church is the same everywhere. we are having so much fun together. crazy that he will be my last companion and i couldn't be more excited about all the changes! :)
Our area is doing really well. They wanted a extra set of elders in the stake so we took one ward from a set of elders and another ward from the other. the work is booming here. i am in the Scottsdale Camelback stake and my area lays from the 101 north to osborn and from the 202 west to 40th street? i think, haha, still trying to figure out where i am! it is crazy tring to get it all straight. Our wards are way awesome, one of our wards has 85%less actives and each of them have only 80-120 people in sacrament on Sundays so there is definitely lots of work to be done! Our area is really big, we cover mostly Scottsdale but in the south west corner we have part of Tempe and Phoenix, we got a ghetto, like straight up ghetto, then we got a older part of Scottsdale where all the homes were built in the 70's and then we got the typical Scottsdale Scottsdale, ridiculously nice! I love it here, Scottsdale was rated the number one most livable city in the US and i can totally agree with that. there is everything you need and more and its somewhat easy to find! :) clean streets in the north and lots of REALLY nice cars. you see cars here that most people only see in magazines! seriously, its crazy.
We had a baptism this weekend. it was an amazing transfer miracle. it was a man named Juan Rodrigez, he has been taught for the past 3month or so and he has been doing awesome things as far as learning and growth in the gospel. in the past 2 weeks he has really got on board with it all and got ready for baptism, we have taught him several times, before and after his baptism and he is solid. the baptism went awesome and the spirit was really strong! we are being so blessed. we also have a baptism coming up in the next two week ends or so. he is 12 years old and name is Caleb. he is progressing and his whole family is coming back to church so that will be exciting!
we have been able to get around and meet all of our investigators, we have set 2 dates sense we have been here and have a awesome week coming, lots of good apts with inv. and also new investigators! :) we are being so blessed
We live with the Spanish elders in a big apt complex. it is in the nicer part of our area so that is nice. kinda small but its perfect for us, the only thing that sucks is that we live on the 3rd floor! haha, no fun but we'll live! :)
For Christmas we are going to be at church at 10:00, they are combining our two wards and then we are going to a families house for lunch and to call! it will be around 1ish, if you get out of church at noon we call some time between then. if you don't answer i will try back later, not a big deal. i will only have 40 mins or so to talk so be sure and have your questions all wrote out and it will be good! :)
Well thanks for all you do and your support, if there is anything i left out or remember i will ask you on Sunday or drop you a letter. hope you have a good week and are blessed in every way! we will talk soon! take care and keep safe!
Love Elder Lerwill
Count Down from Jeff, Alana, Zack, Peyton, & Jaden. So cool!
Baptism of Juan Rodriqez
Elder Hyrkas from Finland and Elder Lerwill from Idaho. Wow!!
Cool cars, boys will be boys.
Christmas tree from Idaho
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Last Week End Before Christmas
Bailey and I had a great day getting a little more ready for Christmas. She wanted to make suckers to give to her friends. I haven't made suckers for years! Probably since I did it with my mom. Great memories. They turned out pretty good. We got presents all ready for Bailey's friends. She did a great job putting them together. I had also made 3 batches of Cinnamon Jelly for neighborhood gifts yesterday. It is the prettiest jelly for Christmas. We also dyed Bailey's hair. Nothing too dramatic, it looks beautiful. We had a great day together hanging out in the kitchen. We also wrapped presents for Stacy. Hope he is a good boy so he can get them. he he. He is a GOOD BOY. He got me the most awesome Christmas and Anniversary present, but I am not going to blog about it til next week when it is all finished. But it is AWESOME!
We also cooked hot dogs for lunch on Dalan's hot dog cooker. Thinking about you Dalan.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Random pictures and happenings
We made this picture and frame for the wonderful Green Family for Christmas.
Bailey in her cute new boots. Valleywide was having a sale for several hours on Saturday buy one, get one 60 % off. So Stacy got a new pair of boots and Bailey's cost $36. Wow!
Check out this huge double yolker!! I cracked two eggs to get a 3 egg omelet this morning for breakfast.
Monday, December 12, 2011
E-Mail December 12, 2011, Transfer News, New Area Scottsdale/Phoenix,Training new companion more info next week.
Hello everyone, so good to hear from you and read the emails. makes my day to here that you all are doing well and happy. I am doing awesome, i got lots to fill you in on and inform about and not too much time! :) but here we go to start off i will answer and comment on some of the things in the emails you sent me. I am still liking the quick sets and they are working good, so keep doing the normal with those and i will be happy, thanks a ton. I will be refilling my Rx today, they are ready i just need to get them so i will be stocked up for a while! :) Thanks for all you do and making everything possible, appreciated greatly.
Wow you sure know how to make me trunk out...haha. just kidding, i am still focused but it makes me smile that you are setting up some potentials for me for when i get back! haha, I'll need all the help i can get, i am sure ill be a little socially awkward! ;) Hope to hear from them sometime, that would be nice.
So this week has been crazy busy. there has been so much going on in the zone...we have a companionship that makes me feel like i am back in high school again. haha, they are struggling but things are working out. today has been really enjoyable, Brother Hyer took us fishing this morning on the salt river. we caught one little trout and that was all. it was fun to just be outside and not have to be any where or worry about anything. it was really cold and raining but we stuck it out like real fisherman. :) I love the Hyers and their family so much, great people who do so much for the church, he has inspired me and will be a life long friend, I feel blessed.
The zone activity went really well. everyone came and we had a good lunch of BBQ beef sandwiches and just hung out for a while and then we went into the members theater room and we called president last week and he approved for us to watch 17 miracles. it was so awesome. every body was pretty touched by the stories and the spirit that was felt. it was cool and i think that every one really enjoyed it. got zone shirts done and all liked them as well so we cant complain! :)
Saturday night we got transfer news and i am really happy with everything that will be happening. A little stressed for sure but it is exactly what i need to keep motivated and focused and continue to grow like God wants me to. I am getting transferred and will be going to Scottsdale/Phoenix but mostly Scottsdale. I will be white washing a area there and training a new missionary. There is only one elder coming in this transfer so that's kinda crazy that i will be the only one in transfer/trainer meetings. it will be kind of interesting to see how it all plays out. president when he called me told that there were going to be some challenges and one of them was going to be with my companion. when we saw his name on the incoming elder list it is really hard to read and has some different letters, like a "a" with 2 dots above it. Someone told me that it is German or something like that. haha so who knows what i am getting, he very possibly wont know any English, but we'll see on Wed. :) I am really relieved to not be a zone leader any more. when i found out it felt like 1000 lbs that i didn't even know was there was lifted off my shoulders. Feels good and i am happy with the transfer. This will be my last companion. Trainers are with there greenies for 2 transfers now no matter what so he will send me home. really crazy, i never thought i would be doing this, any of it, the whole end thing doesn't even feel possible to me right now. but ready or not... i will be sure and fill you in fully next week when i have things to fill you in on. i know i will be in a car and covering 2 wards! Wow that will be weird, lot less members out there and the area is a lot more spread out. it will be a new adventure, seems like everything on the mission! :)
Not looking forward to packing all my crap but i really don't have that much stuff so it won't be that big of a deal, just a little time. :)
Hope your all doing well and happy and safe. it has been cold and dreary here, hope your getting some of the sun that has left us! Hope you have a great week see lot of sweet things this wonderful time of the year! :) Small acts of service can be someones answered prayer. peoples hearts are softer this time of the year so always extend invitations and warming smiles! you all keep safe and take care, your always in my prayers. please pray for me as i take on this next challenge! Thanks so much for all your love and support!
Love,
Elder Lerwill
Wow you sure know how to make me trunk out...haha. just kidding, i am still focused but it makes me smile that you are setting up some potentials for me for when i get back! haha, I'll need all the help i can get, i am sure ill be a little socially awkward! ;) Hope to hear from them sometime, that would be nice.
So this week has been crazy busy. there has been so much going on in the zone...we have a companionship that makes me feel like i am back in high school again. haha, they are struggling but things are working out. today has been really enjoyable, Brother Hyer took us fishing this morning on the salt river. we caught one little trout and that was all. it was fun to just be outside and not have to be any where or worry about anything. it was really cold and raining but we stuck it out like real fisherman. :) I love the Hyers and their family so much, great people who do so much for the church, he has inspired me and will be a life long friend, I feel blessed.
The zone activity went really well. everyone came and we had a good lunch of BBQ beef sandwiches and just hung out for a while and then we went into the members theater room and we called president last week and he approved for us to watch 17 miracles. it was so awesome. every body was pretty touched by the stories and the spirit that was felt. it was cool and i think that every one really enjoyed it. got zone shirts done and all liked them as well so we cant complain! :)
Saturday night we got transfer news and i am really happy with everything that will be happening. A little stressed for sure but it is exactly what i need to keep motivated and focused and continue to grow like God wants me to. I am getting transferred and will be going to Scottsdale/Phoenix but mostly Scottsdale. I will be white washing a area there and training a new missionary. There is only one elder coming in this transfer so that's kinda crazy that i will be the only one in transfer/trainer meetings. it will be kind of interesting to see how it all plays out. president when he called me told that there were going to be some challenges and one of them was going to be with my companion. when we saw his name on the incoming elder list it is really hard to read and has some different letters, like a "a" with 2 dots above it. Someone told me that it is German or something like that. haha so who knows what i am getting, he very possibly wont know any English, but we'll see on Wed. :) I am really relieved to not be a zone leader any more. when i found out it felt like 1000 lbs that i didn't even know was there was lifted off my shoulders. Feels good and i am happy with the transfer. This will be my last companion. Trainers are with there greenies for 2 transfers now no matter what so he will send me home. really crazy, i never thought i would be doing this, any of it, the whole end thing doesn't even feel possible to me right now. but ready or not... i will be sure and fill you in fully next week when i have things to fill you in on. i know i will be in a car and covering 2 wards! Wow that will be weird, lot less members out there and the area is a lot more spread out. it will be a new adventure, seems like everything on the mission! :)
Not looking forward to packing all my crap but i really don't have that much stuff so it won't be that big of a deal, just a little time. :)
Hope your all doing well and happy and safe. it has been cold and dreary here, hope your getting some of the sun that has left us! Hope you have a great week see lot of sweet things this wonderful time of the year! :) Small acts of service can be someones answered prayer. peoples hearts are softer this time of the year so always extend invitations and warming smiles! you all keep safe and take care, your always in my prayers. please pray for me as i take on this next challenge! Thanks so much for all your love and support!
Love,
Elder Lerwill
Sunday, December 11, 2011
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