Season’s greetings everyone!!!                                                                December 30, 2013

I hope your Christmas was all well and that you have some fun plans for the New Year.

My Christmas was great. We were well fed all day, we played a few games with the Sun Prairie Elders and Skyping with my family was a lot of fun (it helps to have a good internet connection. J  We ate breakfast with a recent convert family and they gave us a few gifts, then our day was mostly spent with the SP Elders just having a fun time. Then we went and ate dinner with a great family who has a missionary of their own serving in Oregon. The dinner was a full five coarse meal and we four Elders enjoyed a filling meal that was made fit for a king. The same family gave each Elder a stocking that had huge chocolate bars in them, body wash, paper airplanes, wool socks, and more. They really treated us like royalty, I felt spoiled after opening up the stocking.

Giant PB Cups - Fit for a king!!!!

Sun Prairie Missionaries

 Since last Sunday (the one before Christmas) was canceled because of a snow storm, this past Sunday (yesterday) was my first Sunday meeting the ward and seeing everybody. The ward here is mostly young families who have seemingly 3-8 kids per family, all of them. It’s a young ward, with very few older couples, the primary is huge and the youth groups are decently large. The Choir Christmas program was yesterday as well and due to a lack of attendance, all six missionaries were kind of forced into doing it. So I sang on Sunday :) it wasn't too bad, I made sure though that everybody present was aware that I’m tone deaf. One thing that's really fun about this ward is that we have three sets of missionaries. So we sometimes compete on little things such as: who can get the most dinner appointments in a month. I am pleased to announce that for the month of January, the DeForest Elders have twice as many dinner appointments as the Sisters do (which has never ever happened) Its fun and its great having an enthusiastic Bishopric who in anxious to get the work here rolling.

I met our top investigator on Thursday, He lives outside DeForest and has a baptismal date set for April 5th. He is currently on parole right now but his testimony is on fire. He has already read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, cover to cover. He is super excited to get baptized in April, and when the rest of the family gets off parole in 2016, he will be able to baptize all four of his family members, and maybe even his mom (which would make five) He is awesome, and we have some really great lessons with him.

Festive décor in town

Scripture for the week: 1 Nephi 1:1

1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

Thank you all for your love and Christmas wishes, have a happy New Year.

Elder Luymes

 

Dear Family and friends – we had a 1 hour skype session with Andrew on Christmas Day and he is very well and very happy.  He said he lost 10lbs at the beginning of his mission and has finally gained it back.  Now that he is in an area with a real Ward we expect a few more dinner appointments will tip the scale further.  He says the weather is tolerable and with many layers he keeps warm.  He and his new companion seem to have a good camaraderie between them. Elder Ferney’s family lives in Nanjing China where his father is the director of quality control for a seat belt and airbag manufacturing company. Andrew further enjoyed bragging about the brand new, 2014 Subaru Legacy with All-Wheel drive that they have for transportation.  This not only consoled Ted’s nerves but made him jealous.  When asked what he remembers with fondness about his previous area he replied, “The people there are real characters”. Andrew’s improved maturity is greatly evident as is his commitment to doing the Lord’s work.  He has learned a great deal about what his priorities should be already on his mission thanks in part to the work and also from the companions/fellow missionaries that he has worked with.

-Annette

Merry Christmas,                                                                              Dec 23, 2013

So the Libraries in Wisconsin are up to date, which means fancy cards, login info and a lot of stuff that is not working. As of now, I have killed 30+ minutes trying to get mine and Elder Ferney's cards and stuff to work. Don't hate if this ends up not working out this week.

My new mailing address is:

529 Seminole Way
DeForest, WI 53532

Elder Ferney from Ogden UT, standing at 6'5", my new homie!

I'm in the Sun Prairie Ward, but we live in DeForest. The Ward here has 200 active members and has three sets of missionaries, 2 sets of Elders and 1 set of Sisters. Things here are nice and I am enjoying myself so far. My companion is Elder Ferney. He stands 6'5'' and has been out on his mission 3 months. He is from Ogden Utah and is 18 years old. He was "born" here in DeForest and was trained by one of my MTC friends. The weather here is a tad bit warmer than Manistique and has less snow, but you wouldn't know that because we just got hit with a massive storm that dumped approx. 10-14 inches. It was really crazy. So much so that we had to cancel church yesterday. So Elder Ferney and I had our own sacrament meeting and stuff, it was kind of nice. Later on that day we got fed by the Bishops family and enjoyed a very nice and large dinner. J

My transfer went all right. Things were mostly smooth, they just took forever. I haven't discovered anything missing so far.

Things in DeForest are pretty good. We have few investigators and a decent amount of potentials. So were in a finding mode right now. One thing that is really nice about DeForest is that the area got opened up earlier this year, so the town had not been tracted out yet. Unlike Manistique where the whole town had been tracted out 4 or 5 times already. This means that few people have had interaction with the missionaries, making them more open to talking to us.

Christmas is exciting. We will be having a few meals with members that day as well as Christmas Eve. As for doing anything special, not really for us, just enjoying a chill day.

Tracting shoe nailed to the wall of my new apartment,
this is a motivator to work hard. Notice the sole, but not
the soul, is missing.

A shirt nailed to the wall of my new apartment,
all the DeForest/Sun Prairie elders who serve
here started signing it when they transfer out.

Scripture for the week: 2 Nephi 26:24

 24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

Love

Elder Luymes

 

Andrew as moved, and his new address is:

529 Seminole Way,
DeForest,  WI 53532

We suspect he is sharing a residence with other missionaries in DeForest and will travel to his area in  Sun Prairie each day to serve there.

 

I'm getting transferred!!!!                                                             Dec 16, 2013

 

…..to Sun Prairie Wisconsin as a new District Leader for that District. Out of the 8 missionaries in my new district (which includes me) I only know one other missionary, a sister that was at the MTC with me. We came out to the field at the same time and it will be fun to see her again. At first I was really dreading the idea of packing, moving, and not knowing if I was going to be a DL or not. But the Lord has taught me a few lessons these past two days and my attitude and optimism have changed, it will be a great transfer in Sun Prairie because I'm going to make it a great transfer. I'll be able to give my new mailing address next week and also tell you who my new companion is. I should have a Ward too, which will be an interesting change from having only a small group in the entire Northern area of the whole mission. This past Sunday we had 14 people at church in Germfask (the weather kept a few people home and we still have members recovering from surgery). With the prospect of having a ward, all of a sudden Chapter 13 of Preach My Gospel now has relevance to me as well as a few other things listed in PMG. It will be a fun experience. As for Germfask and Manistique, Elder Baird will stay and hold the fort with an experienced Elder who will be the new District Leader. I taught Elder Baird all the ropes I know; now we will see if he can continue the Germfask Legacy...Oh Yeah, Eh!

 

I also hit my 6 month mark this past Thursday. What I got unexpectedly was one of those "That was fast, and now it feels almost over" type of feelings. As I reflect on my six months in Manistique I realize that missions do go by fast, and so therefore we need to make every day count. Also, how awesome it is to be in an area for so long. You really get to know the people and develop a better relationship with them; it’s a lot of fun. How can I ever forget da U.P. and Manistique, I'll forever have a map of this place, and all the streets I tracted, and the investigators, and the members...engraved into my head. Awe, good times!

One quarter of my mission done,
time to burn a tie!

For fun, we had dinner with one of our member families, they had a big fire that night because they had trash to burn (yup, they do that in da UP; everyone has a burn barrel). So, I ripped off my tie and threw it in, keeping up with mission tradition for the 6 month mark.  J

 

I'm not sure what else to say, we went to Marquette on Friday to partake in the Marquette Ward Christmas party, we had a wonderful time and we were given permission from President Cutler to also spend the night with the Elders there. So we had a missionary sleep over. J

All I want for Christmas is two warm feet!

Scripture for the week: Alma 34:32

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

 

Please don't send any letters or packages to Manistique, I leave Tuesday night, I will get you the Sun Prairie mailing address next week.

 

Thank you all, much Love

Elder Luymes

My last sunrise in Manistique.

 

                                                                             December   9, 2013

Another solid week has passed. We had another exchange with the Marquette Elders and then we had some good missionary work going on Thursday and Friday. Life has treated us well, and Elder Baird and I are only in the beginning phase of getting into the Christmas spirit.

Germfask District

After District meeting on Tuesday I stayed in Marquette with Elder Baldwin, while Elder Crandall went to Manistique with Elder Baird. Elder Baldwin and I spent Tuesday visiting a few potentials and then having a lesson with an investigator who got baptized on Saturday. On Wednesday Elder Baldwin and I went tracting in something like 5 degree weather and snow. Later on we went to the investigators place that was getting baptized on Saturday. Something that District Leaders do is they interview the baptismal candidates from the missionaries of their district. So I interviewed this investigator and was amazed as he told his story of how we went from Atheism to feeling the spirit and being scared at what the Holy Ghost was to developing a strong testimony of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon. This was my first baptismal interview as a District leader.  At first things were a little weird, but I think I got the gist of how to conduct an interview now and for future reference. We exchanged back on Wednesday night, but not without a really bad winter storm. There was a lot of ice on the road, and what normally takes 30 minutes took an hour to get too our exchange point.

Overall, this week was very cold. Our weather was in the teens and sometimes windy. It was super un-fun, but we are managing and surviving. Our schedule keeps us busy and mostly out of the cold. We do have to tract however. This morning we woke up to a fresh five inches of snow.

We did a service project for one of our investigators on Saturday. She asked us to help her paint here new room. So we did and we had a great time painting the entire room purple. When we asked if she had any music we forgot that she probably wouldn’t have anything that we would be allowed to listen to. So she goes digging in a few boxes and pulls out a Christian rock CD. We put in in the CD player and it was mostly ok; there were a few songs that were on the borderline.

What color is this? Purple, hyacinth,
lavender, orchid, or grape? Either way
I might have a headache.

Guess what got announce on Sunday at church.... New BOARDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boo-to-the-Yah!!! We are super, super thrilled. We have no idea what new towns are now included in the Germfask group, or how far the boarders have been pushed east. Some members think that it only goes to Newberry. Others think that it might go as far as Highway 123, either way, it’s a very big deal, and we will be road tripping with our group leader this week to go visit all the large towns that now reside in our boarders. I'm so Happy!!!

We also got a Christmas tree from a member this past week.



Oooooh! Mood lighting!



Merry Grinchmas!

 

Please remember: Transfers are on December 18th, I MIGHT GET TRANSFERED!!! So please do not send any Christmas letters or packages until after I know if I’m getting transferred or not. Right now it is a 50/50 chance.

Scripture for the week, 3 Nephi 1:13 (words of Nephi, the son of Helaman, on the night of Christ’s birth):

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

Merry Christmas <<<--

Thank you and much love,

Elder Luymes

                                                                                          December 2, 2013

Wow, what a Thanksgiving week this was... there is so much to share, let’s get started...

I spent more time outside of Manistique this week than I did in Manistique. On Tuesday we had District meeting in Marquette, then after the district meeting I went on exchanges with Elder Lino. Exchanges are a 24 hour companion switch where one companion goes with another missionary to a different area. The purpose of exchanges is to learn new techniques from another companion, they also allow me, the District Leader to help missionaries who may be going through a tough time or are having companion issues. From Marquette to Houghton is a two hour drive through the forest that was breathtaking and snowcapped. It was stunning to see Houghton at this time of year. Elder Lino and I had a wonderful exchange, we taught a couple of really good lessons and we had a really good lunch on Wednesday that had a view of the bridge and the river. Exchanges with the Houghton Elders took a full 24 hours and a little more because of how much driving we had to do. Elder Baird and I got back home Wednesday night at 9:30pm, we quickly planned our thanksgiving day and we crashed in bed. Thanksgiving Day was wonderful; I'll go into more detail in the next paragraph. On Friday morning we woke up and I had to quickly pack because we were going on Exchanges with the GB zone leaders. We drove to Escanaba and did a very brief black Friday shopping. From Escanaba to Manitowoc is a three hour drive, so Elder Palmer and I had a good long time to talk and rest from our thanksgiving feasts. In Manitowoc Elder Palmer and I tracted and also played volleyball with the ward. I had three very impressive spikes over my 5ft 7in Zone Leader who took it like a man. It was a really fun night that also included an excellent dinner with a member family. On Saturday we did our studies and then drove back up to Escanaba. Saturday night, Elder Baird and I rushed to go have three lessons with some members and then we had dinner with our group leader. On Sunday we had eight people at church and decided that for Sunday school we would just go through our group directory and talk about the less active members that Elder Baird and I had no idea about. Needless to say, our week was extremely packed and we did something like 660 miles.

660 Miles in one day between Manistique and Houghton and back!

Driving in the snow to Houghton - don't tell
my mom and dad the roads look like this!

Snow tires anyone?

 

Thanksgiving: I was more impressed with how empty the town was than with the snow. We saw five people all day and hardly saw a single car being driven. Our one lesson planned for that day got dropped, so Elder Baird and I did "service" for ourselves and shoveled snow in the empty parking lot for 1 1/2 hours. We went to our dinner appointment with the only members in town. (All the other members that actually live in town were all gone.) We had a five star dinner with this member family and we enjoyed a spiritual thought accompanied by Mo Tab. They gave us a lot of leftovers. Elder Baird and I for most part spent Thanksgiving together, just the two of us, talking, having fun walking around town in the snow. The GB Packers and the Detroit Lions played their big rivalry game and it snowed about 4 inches all day.

Our jam packed week is to be followed by another. This coming week I have one more exchange with the Marquette Elders and then our Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are all booked up. I love weeks like these, but I'm behind in my sleep. All these exchanges are exhausting.

The scripture for the week is: 2 Nephi 9:18

18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

Thank you all for your love and support, Please note: TRANSFERS ARE DECEMBER 18TH!!! I might be transferred on this day which is one week before Christmas. Please do now send any Christmas packages or letters until I know if I am being transferred or not.

Elder Luymes

 

The computer shut down on me again...so I think it's cursed.

                                                                                    November 25, 2013

Honest officer, we didn't mean to!

Hello! J We had a good week up here in da U.P, the snow came, and more deer have been cited for joy riding on cars.

To get things started, I had my fist District meeting last Tuesday. As a District leader we do teaching meetings every Tuesday for 1 1/2 hours. Topics are assigned to us and then we prepare a lesson based on the needs of the District. I am very happy with how the lesson went last Tuesday. We talked about how we can use the Book of Mormon more effectively in our area. We talked about and expanded on topics such as reading with investigators and less-actives, teaching specific principles using the pictures and a short scripture found in the Book of Mormon, and also about the power of conversion that comes from daily reading from the Book of Mormon. The lesson was very good and I was happy with how things turned out.

Yesterday (Sunday) was a bit of a shocker. We had 4 people at church; Elder Baird, myself, our group leader, and one other male member. That's it! We watched the Sunday church broadcast from Marquette, and then when sacrament meeting was over we all went home. So where was everyone? Two of our members are recovering from surgery, one whole family of 9 was sick, three families were out of town and one member was snowed in. It was very interesting and very quiet as we all talked about the members who weren't with us that day, and how this won't look good when we report the number to Marquette and to the Stake President. Our little group up here is just special this way.

Yesterday also we decided to re-arrange our apartment. So we moved our recliner chairs into our study room and then moved the couch and squeezed it in between our beds. We also put our coffee table in the kitchen and put the big kitchen table in the living room. And our study chairs (which have wheels) are now in the kitchen so that we can roll around on the tile. There is no reason for why we did this other than because we will be going on exchanges with the Houghton Elders and the Zone Leaders this week. So we thought we could mix things up just for them.

Dang! My chair won't recline!

 

For this week we will be doing a lot of driving. With P-day today, District meeting in Marquette tomorrow and then exchanges with the Houghton Elders Tuesday and Wednesday, then Thanksgiving Thursday, then exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Friday and Saturday, then Church in Germfask on Sunday. That adds up to 660 miles in just one week. I know this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to you, but just note that this is going to be a very busy week with a ton of driving.

Our collection of pamphlets left behind
by the JW's on other's doorsteps
is getting bigger.

 

Scripture for the week: Alma 13: 27-30 (mental relapse, I might have used these same verses before)

 27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;

 28 But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;

 29 Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.

 30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death.

Thank you all and have a most wonderful Thanksgiving,

Love,

Elder Luymes

 

Andrew wrote us a letter bragging about how much money he was able to save on his missionary card this past month and of course Mom and Dad immediately wrote him letters separately telling him how he needs to spend a little extra to eat good food, not Top Ramen Noodles, so he can stay healthy. The following letter came to us in the mail in reply. What can we say -- the kid has a sense of humor:

Chp 1

1)      In the beginning was the lesser food, and the higher food. And the lesser food was not good for it was lesser.
2)      And in the beginning was the mother, and the mother taketh no part in the lesser food, for it      [1]stinketh like unto the father.
3)      And the mother raise up her kin on the higher food.
4)      And they partook of the higher food, and did rejoice for it was [2]exceedingly fine.
5)      And this was, and is the beginning. Amen

Chp 2

1)      For this cause that the mother did raise up her kin on the higher food, that they may leave and continually rejoice together in the higher food.
2)      Verily, thus sayeth the son; I shall continually  partake of the higher food. For I know that the lesser food doth stinketh like unto the [3]father.
3)      And I know like unto the mother that the lesser food is not for the [4]belly.
4)      Verily, verily these things hath the son said, and he also sayeth: For  the lesser food is for the tossing of the [5]swine, and I shall partake only of the higher food, and [6]rejoice thereof.
5)      And it came to pass that the lesser food took no part in the son’s kitchen, for he did surround himself only with the higher food.
6)      And the son did eat all the day of the higher food, such as: rice, potatoes, pasta
7)      Chicken breast, wings, fresh [7]fruit, yea, even all manner of green things.
8)      But the lesser food was not found.
9)      And the son prayeth both night and day that he may rejoice [8]with the mother over the higher food, but yea, she must remember the beginning.[9]

---

[1] 1Nephi 2:15

[2] 1Nehi 8:10-12

[3] Genesis 12:8

[4] D&C 89: 7-9

[5] JST – into the trash

[6] D&C 89: 18-21

[7] 1Nephi 8:1

[8] 1Nephi 8:13-16

[9] Made in the year of our Lord A.D. November 10, 2013