I busted my ankle. I'll just get to the point. We were playing basketball on Friday and during the game I jumped for the ball and on the way down I rolled my ankle and partially tore a tendon on my left ankle. There is a doctor in the Kenosha ward who inspected it and he told me that I will need to wear a brace for 3 months, but overall he said that it isn't all too bad. So, President and Sister Cutler rebuked me and asked all the parental questions and I had to assure them that I was going to be fine. Which I am!

Final Ceremonial Tie Burning

Ssshhhh -- might be a tie that my  mom sent me.

My last week: It just doesn't even feel like the end of a mission. It doesn't feel like two years. It doesn't feel like I'm going home. It feels like I'm just getting transferred to a new area to be honest. Church was amazing; it was very sad saying goodbye to the members of the Kenosha ward. Thank goodness for Facebook.

I have loved my mission and I have loved serving under President and Sister Cutler. I love the mighty U.P, I love Sun Prairie, I love Appleton, I love Oshkosh, and I love Kenosha. Yes it was hard, but opposition has only blessed me with a living and prospering testimony. I am grateful for the people who I have had the privilege of serving and teaching the restored Gospel to. I know that our Father in Heaven loves us all, and He sent His son Jesus Christ to atone for us. It is his gospel that we teach and live, and through it we may gain salvation.

See you soon.

Love,
Elder Luymes

What a wanna-be; never gonna beat In-N-Out!

Have Usain Bolt T-shirt, will travel.
Compliments of a Kenosha member.

We biked more than 150 miles this week! Now I know that if you compare that to a bike race or somebody who does 50 milers every other day then 150 miles is nothing. However, when you take into consideration that our goal is to teach lessons, and talk to people and that we have to stay within a specified area of Kenosha, biking over 150 miles is pretty dang impressive.

Looking for Usain Bolt at Lake Michigan.

So without further delay, Elder Norton and I will be releasing an Album named: Miles to Ride

We will be featuring many wonderful songs such as:
"Bicycle" by Queen
"Pioneer Children Sang as They Biked and Biked and Biked" by the Kenosha Ward Primary
"I Biked So Long and Got So Far, But in the End" by Linkin Park
"I Can't Bike" by Lil Wayne
"I Hope They Call Me on a Bike" by the missionaries of the Milwaukee South Stake and
"Misty Bike" by the Hobbits, from The Hobbit
We will continue working on our music video, and it will shortly be released at bicycle stores near you.

In truth, I'm having fun. Biking has gotten my legs in great shape and it expels any extra energy that I might have at the end of the day. I have also been sleeping really well. We had many amazing lessons this week. We met a woman who is a professional figure skater and even competed in the U.S Olympic trials before she had an injury. This same woman has also performed for Disney on ice and Snoopy on ice. I jumped for joy when I told her that I was from LA and that my family faithfully watches the Snoopy on ice show every Christmas Eve. Sure enough, she has been performing for the company for many, many years. So there is no doubt that my entire Luymes family and I have seen this investigator perform. It was super cool. Her boyfriend is also getting drafted to the LA Clippers in the next season or two. Who knew famous people could come from Wisconsin—of course The Great Houdini was born and raised in Appleton WI, and my apartment was only one block away from where he lived. Sweet!

The weather has been decent, but the bugs have been unrelenting. A couple of times the humidity was unbearable and so I'm sure I sweated out all the weight that I might have gained here in Kenosha. The last time I weighed myself I came in at 177 lbs. This is simply not good enough. My goal was to finish my mission 10 pounds heavier than I started my mission that would mean coming home weighting 180. Why can't I gain weight, while others can't lose it? Life just isn't fair.

That's all folks. See yah in some 10 days.

Love,

Yours truly, Elder Norton (S Jordan, UT), Elder Muir (Springfield, UT)
Elder Santos (Phoenix, AZ), Sis Ormsby (UT), Sis Askerlund (UT)

Elder Luymes

Colonial Klink, I found Hogan, but I know nothing of the heroes!

 

The Book of Mormon Musical in Milwaukee

 

For the past 2 weeks, missionaries in the Milwaukee zones have been contacting theater-goers attending The Book of Mormon musical, offering them the real Book of Mormon. They were able to give out a total of 1,861 copies!  The following article about our missionaries was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 28^th .

 

Theater-goers headed into the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts this week don't quite know what to make of the Mormons doling out copies of the Book of Mormon outside "The Book of Mormon."

Some eagerly accept. Others look away and laugh. Some offer a curt "no thank you," and keep on moving.

"A lot of people think we're part of the cast," said Elder Ryan Haueter, 20, of Utah, whose soft, boyish face defies the honorific bestowed on missionaries in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

They are not, in fact, part of the cast. Haueter and his white-shirted friends are Mormon missionaries who see the uproariously blasphemous Tony Award-winning musical as an opportunity to spark discussions about their faith.

"I think the play is great," said 21-year-old Zac Hadlock of New Mexico, as he handed out books, and cards with the LDS mobile apps, outside the Marcus Center on Wednesday night. "Whether it's accurate or inaccurate, people have questions. And it's a great chance for us to tell them what they want to know about the church and about us."

The touring production of "Book of Mormon," by the folks who brought us "South Park" and "Avenue Q," winds up a two-week engagement at the Marcus Center this weekend.

The missionaries have given out so many books — 1,300 in the first week alone, Hadlock said — that they were offering mostly app cards by Wednesday.

None of the young men owned up to seeing the show. They live a Spartan existence as missionaries — no movies, no concerts, no news media — during what is usually a two-year stint.

Except for the few hours set aside for prayer, study and meals, they are out until 9 most nights, knocking on doors in a quest for converts to Joseph Smith's uniquely American faith.

But they know enough about the show from snippets they've seen or heard, and the questions on the minds of theater-goers — "So, what's up with those 'magic' underwear and 'eternal marriage?'" — to know it's an outrageous, often vulgar sendup of Mormon theology and the angst and struggles of earnest young believers like them.

They don't appear to take offense. Though some theater-goers clearly do on their behalf.

"We hear it every day, so it's nothing new to us," said Haueter. "It's American to make parodies of things. And it's from the creators of 'South Park.' So, what do you expect?"

 

The Parable of the White Shirts

1. There once were seven white shirts. Collard, buttoned down, and long sleeved.

2. These white shirts embarked on a journey together along with two short sleeved, buttoned down, collared shirts.
3. These faithful shirts labored with all diligence, obeying the master and worked in the vineyard of da U.P and Wisconsin.
4. Their countenance once shined as white but the adversary and his filth came upon the white shirts.
5. In the 17th month of their journey there was one white shirt that passed, and moved to the waste bucket.
6. And the others wept.
7. And in the 18th month, three more white shirts passed, and moved to the waste bucket.
8. And the remaining long sleeved, buttoned down, collard white shirts that remained made a pact.
9. Their testimonies burned bright as they continued to labor with all diligence, obeying the master in the vineyard.
10. In the 21st month of their journey, another passed, and moved to the waste bucket.
11. And the two that remained wept.
12. In the 23rd month, one long sleeved, buttoned down, collared shirt gave up the ghost, and it too was moved to the waste bucket.
13. And one long sleeved, buttoned down, collared shirt remained, and it felt lonely.
14. And the short sleeve shirts remain and they have no problems.
15. Amen.
(Just in case anyone is curious these were Jos A. Banks, wrinkle resistant, trim fit, Travelers shirts. Apparently they don't hold up to the wear and tear of missionary work but Ted loves them for the office - go figure.)

The lesson to be learned from this most fantastic parable is that one of my shirts ripped yesterday after church. I only have one more long sleeved shirt (that started the mission) I do have 5 shirts, because I had to buy some replacements in Oshkosh. This shirt is the lone survivor and the winner of the White Shirt Hunger Games. Who thinks my last shirt will survive two and a half weeks? Its current condition is in good standings, I would give it a 75% survival rating. What are your guesses?

The only way I can describe this week is as follows: biking! We biked to the north, to the south, to the west and to the east. We biked all over tarnation. When the sun shined, we biked more and when it rained we biked less, but still biked.

The Book of Mormon musical came to Milwaukee. The Elders and Sisters in the city area have been proselyting near the theater for two straight weeks. Attached is an article of the Elders and Sisters doing WORK at the theater. I was not a part of this because Kenosha is too far from Milwaukee. I did however proselyte at the theater in Appleton when the musical came to town. That was very fun.

Looking forward to a reunion with my puppy!

Thank you all so much,

Elder Luymes