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

Hi :)                                                                            November 18, 2013

We had Zone Conference in Green Bay this past week. So on Wednesday night we drove to Escanaba to meet up with them and the Marquette Elders. All six of us piled into Escanaba's six seater truck and drove two hours to GB. Of the six Elders: 1 is 6ft 5in, 1 is 6ft 4in, 3 are 6ft 3 in, and the last one is 6ft even. With six Elders at 6ft or taller and a tiny six seater truck, needless to say we were packed full and having a "bromantic" time. We enjoyed the ride only to arrive at our destinations late and stiff from being so packed in the truck. The Zone Conference itself was pretty good. We put a lot of focus on using the Book of Mormon more to help our investigators progress. We did a role-play and enjoyed a good lunch; then another two hour drive back to Escanaba with the same 6 Elders.

Other than this we had a pretty normal week. The majority of all the men in town have disappeared because deer hunting season started on Friday. Since that day we have seen countless deer riding on the back or on top of cars and trucks; just hitching a ride in preparation to get dressed for the main meal. We have been fed venison twice already, and were pretty sure were getting fed it again tonight. I'm not complaining it’s good.

In regards to our investigators: We have two who are our most likely candidates for baptism right now. One is female and has a 10 year old son. She has been going through a really tough week because her boyfriend is kicking her out of the house because she keeps meeting with us. (We are secretly happy about this because this means that she can get baptized, but now we have to deal with the drama) Our other investigator is a ~75 year old man who runs an antique shop out of his house. He is super cool and is kinda funny. His progression is super slow however. We meet with him two - three times a week since Early August and he is just now getting the idea that he needs to read the Book of Mormon and pray. On the upside, he told us that he knows that the Church is true; he's just waiting for God to tell him that getting baptized is the right thing to do.

Scripture for the week: Alma 37: 44-45

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the Promised Land.

 45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the Promised Land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

Thank you all for your prayers and much love.

Elder Luymes

P.S: I burnt my thumb really bad yesterday, so I iced it on our 2 liter ice cube that we have had for several weeks now.

 

Picked a fight with a curling iron and my thumb
got the brunt of it!

Hello all,                                                                      November 11, 2013

Once again Elder Baird and I have been blessed with a fairly successful week. We had a respectful number of lessons as well as six new investigators that we are more than excited to start teaching this week. One of our investigators came to church for the second time and has expressed interest in being baptized. We are very excited for her but we know that we do need to proceed with caution because issues with her boyfriend have flared up. None the less, the Lords hand is in all things and we have firm faith that if she has a desire to be baptized than God will make the situation right for her to be able to do so.

Not to be boring, but there were honestly no funny moment, or big events that happened this week that would make for a great story. It was just a solid week of missionary work. Elder Baird and I did some tracting in the freezing cold. We had a couple of really great lessons with one key investigator who just radiates spiritual preparedness. I have been working with this investigator for over three months now and the only reason why he hasn’t been baptized yet is because he honestly hasn't identified the fact that he has been prepared by the hand of God. He has great faith in God and Jesus Christ, he just hasn't realized that he believes in everything the LDS church does. It’s frustrating, but there isn't a whole lot we can do about it.

Today is the first time it has snowed this winter; just a feather dusting on the ground and on the cars. A little bit of wind and a weather forecast for snow today and tomorrow. FUN, we are happy.

The scripture for the week is: Galatians 5:22-23:

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We have used this scripture a lot this past week to help members and investigators understand the spirit a little bit better.

Much Love,

Elder Luymes

The first snow dusting of the winter. Brrrrr, it's getting cold.

Proof that my caterpillar eyebrows haven't died
or converged into one uni-caterpillar brow.

From time to time Mission President and Sister Cutler write a list of some of the things they’ve noticed about Wisconsin, here is their latest:

• Frozen custard abounds. A popular chain here is Culver's and their fast food (including custard, of course) is actually quite good. The Butter Burger is their specialty. We ate there for the first time yesterday and I had the Cranberry Bacon Bleu Salad with Grilled Chicken - yummy. We hear there's a Culver's in Orem, Utah now. Try it!
• If I could write a Wisconsin accent, I would. The best example I can think of is that they say "bag" like "beg". Would you like a beg for your groceries? And they say we have Utah accents! What is a Utah accent?
• Unique words: A "bubbler" is a drinking fountain. A "rummage" is a garage sale. I heard from the missionaries that traffic lights are called "stop and go" lights.
• A local brewery, Sprecher's (pronounced Sprekker's), makes really good root beer. It only comes in brown glass bottles and it's fizzier and less sweet than most other root beer. 
• I never realized that it was mostly the Germans and Polish that settled in Wisconsin. A lot of last names are tricky to spell and pronounce. For example, one family that joined the Church and recently went to the temple is named Bartosiewicz. President Cutler's new counselor is President Krehbiel.
• I've seen signs that say "Ski area" but there's not a mountain in sight, not even a bump. They don't exist in Wisconsin.

                                                                       November 4, 2013

My eyebrows mated and gave birth to a mustache!

Happy Halloween -- Eye See You!

 Surprise!!! I'm the new District Leader, and I haven't even hit my fifth month yet! Elder Whicker used to be our DL, but he has been called as the new Green Bay Zone Leader. President Cutler called us on Saturday afternoon and extended the call to me and explained a few minor details about my position and duties and he also mentioned the border change as "happening very soon". To give a more detailed story:

On Saturday morning, Elder Baird and I played a small joke on Elder Whicker, congratulating him on opening up a new area of the mission. We were just joking with him but because he had been so stressed about transfers this week he over reacted to our text in a funny manner and so Elder Baird and I had a good laugh. Then 20 minutes later the transfer text came telling us that Elder Whicker was leaving Marquette, and that Elder Baird and I were staying here in Germfask. The text doesn’t tell us where we are going, only IF we are going somewhere new. Then moving on to afternoon; Elder Baird and I had just finished a lesson with a Seventh Day Adventist, we climbed in the car and got no more than 100ft when the phone rings and its President Cutler. In movie fashion, we jumble the phone, slam on the brakes, pull over and say" Hello". He asks to speak with me, and he then tells me that I will be the new District Leader starting on Wednesday the 6th. We had a brief chat and said goodbye. My mind was racing with things and ideas, and a whole bunch of "what does this mean" and "what just happened" questions. I'm such a young missionary, and my whole district is training new missionaries that arrive tomorrow morning. (Except me because Elder Baird and I will be finishing his training this transfer). This is just so weird, and now I'm getting teased by other missionaries that since I'm a DL at such a young age, they all say that I will be an AP by the time I hit my one year mark.

 



Rats! This is his best suit.

So what else happened this week: well, I got my suit pants ripped by a dog. It was Tuesday and we were out visiting a few potentials.  We parked the car and walked up the long driveway of one family that we had met and had given a Book of Mormon too. I was familiar with their dogs but they had never ever shown any signs of aggression before. We had a very brief chat with the husband and we started to walk back down the long driveway. All of a sudden, one dog goes crazy and started attacking Elder Baird. I continue walking faster in an attempt to avoid the dog myself but it lunged for me got ahold of my left pant leg about mid-calf and ripped a four inch hole into it, as well as a second one inch tear. We climbed in the car, debating about what we should do. I decide to write a letter and stick it in their mailbox. It wasn't a nasty letter of any sorts, but I did ask them to call us and give an apology. The next day he calls and I didn't get the apology I was looking for. He just came up with excuses and said he didn't want us coming back. I gave the suit pants to our neighbor and she sewed it up. It’s an ok fix, but the pants will never be the same.

"We are as the ArMii of Helaman"

While we were doing service we found a Nintendo Wii - Mii shirt. We had fun turning it into an arMii of Helaman shirt. I'll send pictures.

All is still going well for Elder Baird and me. We have had a few investigators coming to church now, and we are getting used to the cold. No snow yet.

Scripture of the week 2 Nephi 2:24

24. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

Love you all,

Elder Luymes