Bonjour!!! Appleton is great, I'm having lots of fun with Elder Allen and we are already seeing miracles. On Friday we set a baptismal date with a potential investigator, his name is S___. So we are thrilled and excited and the spirit of this companionship is great and very strong.

Elder Allen is from all over Utah. I couldn't possibly begin to name all the places in Utah that he has lived but just assume that he lived there for a brief time or maybe a long time. He did live in four different homes is Spanish Fork. Elder Allen is 6'3'' (same height as I am) and he weighs 320lbs (I still weigh 175; I haven't gone up or down my whole mission). He is a big guy and played football in high school. Between the two of us we are towers and when we play basketball we have to be separated. Elder Allen is a 2013 high school graduate and he worked instead of going to college, however his school of choice is BYU Provo!!! He is fun, he has a great personality and he has a smile on his face all the time so I really think that this will be a great companionship and a fantastic transfer or two together. From what little I have seen of the members so far (Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference so I have met very little of the Ward) the members are nice and they have a good relationship with the missionaries here in the first Ward. I have been told, but have not yet seen that the Appleton first ward has about 180 active members (the same size as the Sun Prairie Ward) and the ward has about 4-5 youth currently preparing to leave on their missions. So we are spending a lot of time with them in helping them prepare for their missions. It’s exciting.

My apartment address is:

Elder Andrew Luymes

317 1/2 E. North St.

Appleton, WI 54911

For our area we use bikes, legs, and buses to get around town. And when we really need help we can call upon the Hmong Elders in our ward for assistance and they can drive us wherever we need to be dropped off. It’s a nice perk but they obviously aren't always available because they are hardworking Elders and they have appointments to get to. The buses are...um...interesting. We get to meet and see a lot of interesting characters. My first buss story comes from Wednesday, my very first day in Appleton, and it wasn't even my first full day because Wednesday was the day that I arrived. We were heading home and an African American man asks us what church we were from. We replied with "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" and then we quickly replied "Do you see Jesus on this bus?” Elder Allen and I took a quick moment to look at each other and then Elder Allen replied "no?" The man then said very loudly "good, because I was about to call the cops, it is that serious!" There was absolute silence until we got off the bus and the same guy approached us again and apologized. He told us that through the course of his life people have worshiped him because they think he is Jesus Christ because of his vast knowledge of the Bible. We had a good laugh; we also missed a buss, so I am getting the full experience. J

With our recent baptismal date, the day was Friday and Elder Allen and I had been tracting for about 2 hours already. Elder Allen wanted to visit this potential investigator - someone that he and his previous companion had tracted into a month ago and had lost contact with. When we knocked on the door on Friday, S___ answered the door and we asked him if he had been reading the Book of Mormon since the Elders last saw him. He told us that he had read a few pages and had liked what we had read. He let us into his home and we began to ask a few questions as well as teach very simply the Restoration. He asked if we had the time to sit down and talk more. We did so and then we began to teach the Restoration is greater detail. S___ then asked us about what our church believes in regards to Heaven and Hell. We pulled out a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and taught him the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how through the Atonement we can be forgiven of sin and be able to enter into God's kingdom if we also accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We did teach the Kingdoms and he then told us that his wife died about 7 months ago. We shared with him our belief in eternal families through the Temple and how baptism is the first step we can take. S___ told us that he was baptized as a baby and doesn't remember any part of it. The spirit prompted very strongly and so we invited him to be baptized on July 12th, and S___ said yes.

Elder Luymes

 

Well hello again, fancy writing you on a bright and beautiful Monday. It seems like only Tuesday that I last wrote you, but perhaps that's because it was last Tuesday that I wrote you, and I sent home many pictures. This week was amazing, terrific, fantastic, exciting, and everything good all rolled up into one. I am also being transferred on Wednesday June 4th. I will be moving to the Appleton first Ward. I'll write about that later, but now on why the week was so good.

Who can pass up a giant puddle?
After a rain storm we had a giant P-day Puddle Party.

We started our week off with exchanges with the Zone Leaders. Elder Gibbs and I were here in DeForest and Elder Pounds and Elder Thompson were in the Madison Second Ward area. Elder Gibbs and I started things off with a bang and it all just continued throughout the week. Elder Gibbs and I had some amazing lessons with a few investigators and while we were tracting we found two new families that we will be starting to teach. When we exchanged back on Thursday the miracles didn't stop. Elder Pounds and I continued to have amazing success in our teaching and finding. We dedicated our whole Friday to visiting an investigator and all the less-actives who live in the farther regions of our area. We visited Poynette, Wyocena, Rio and everything in between (farm land and forest) and we were blessed with the opportunity to meet with some of the less actives that had had zero contact with the church for years. It’s hard to meet with these people regularly because of our monthly limited miles and the lack of availability of the members to help us with the all-day excursions but we were able to meet with some of the less actives twice this month. On Saturday we helped out two member families in their spring projects. One project was organized by the Ward due to the family’s needs. We built them a hand rail to a door that they never ever use. I helped dig the holes, helped in the measuring and cutting and we got it all together. We were at this member’s house from 8am to about 1:30pm. The railing looks really nice and the Bishop was well pleased with how it turned out. We raced on over to the second members home and they fed us lunch. At 2:30 we were outside digging and digging and digging some more. They wanted to build a garden 20ftx20ft. And 16 inches deep so that the rocks and other debris could be removed. It was hard work from 2:30 to 5:30 just digging deep; using the pickax was really fun and helped out a ton to break up the compacted dirt. In the time that we were there we had dug up a pile of dirt that was half my height and 15ft wide. The total area where we had actually reached the 16inch mark was maybe 5ftx4ft. There is a lot more to do. By the end of the day we were extremely exhausted and dirty. They fed us spaghetti :) Sunday was a good day too; I bore my testimony and thanked the ward for all that they had done for me.



Dinner out with a member family at a Mexican restaurant.
Their 19 year old on orders a Burrito Grande and it came on a
cookie sheet.  Too bad I didn't order one for myself.

The transfer text came Saturday morning while we were at the first house building the hand rail. I am being transferred to the Appleton First Ward. I will be serving with an Elder Allen. I don't know him well but what I do know about him is that he came out into the field with Elder Pounds, so he has just finished being trained. I also know that Elder Allen played football in high school. That's about it. The Appleton area is about an hour west of Green Bay and maybe 2 hours north of Sun Prairie. Appleton is the fourth largest "city" in the state of Wisconsin so there will be a lot more people than what I am used to. I say that because Manistique, MI had a summer time population of maybe 5,000 people. DeForest, WI has a population of about 10,000 people. So now I will be in an area that has several thousands of people. I don't know anything about the Ward so I will have much to say next week about the Ward, the area, and my new companion. As for DeForest, the area is in good hands, my trainer - Elder Thompson will be coming here and Elder Pounds will stay here. It’s a multi-generation area with Grandpa and Grandson (missionary families) working together. I have full faith and confidence that these fine Elders will take great care of this area. The members will love them, and the investigators will progress well with them also. I'm ready and excited to serve the people of Appleton. Let us share the gospel with renewed energy and determination to find the Lord's hand and seek after the miracles. And let’s not even think about or talk about my upcoming year mark, I love my mission and I wish to serve with all my heart and passion.

Scripture/video for the week: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/heritage?lang=eng

The video is about 19 minutes long but please make the time and make the effort to watch the video. I know it’s easy to ignore it "just this one time" but please do watch it. The spirit can be felt and it made me have a much renewed passion to read the scriptures with great intensity and with a much greater purpose. Thanks <3

Thank you for your prayers, thank you for your love, and thank you for everything that you do. The Lord loves you for it.

Gospels true!

Elder Luymes

"M" the 9 year old we baptized last month.  He's kind of goofy.

Our most excellent Sun Prairie District.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!!! I'm not too sure what you all did for your Memorial Day but I can tell you what we did: Six hours of gardening, log splitting on a hydraulic log splitter, a couple games of cards to keep an old guy entertained, and lunch...all at a member’s house. Isn't service fun! It rained like crazy for about 10 minutes with thunder and lightning. We were running around trying to cover up the things that we had been using, and trying to hide in the garage to keep dry (even though we were already soaked to the bone in water); it was a fun day and a humid one too. The rest of it was spent visiting investigators and talking to them about their latest Book of Mormon reading or their prayers and also inviting them to the Sun Prairie Ward open house that takes place June 7th (the weekend after I might be leaving DeForest because June 4th is transfer day).

We couldn't go to the party so we brought the
party to our own BBQ -- Bratts anyone?

The rest of the week was a lot of fun. I went on exchanges with Elder Reynolds in the Beaver Dam area. Elder Reynolds goes home at the June 4th transfer so exchanges with him were a little different than normal. We ate dinner with a member, and then had a really great lesson with an investigator family in Beaver Dam. I am very excited for this family in Beaver Dam to be baptized because they will be a really valuable addition to the branch up there. On Wednesday we walked to a dentist and I waited in the lobby while Elder Reynolds got his wisdom teeth checked out. The poor guy has to get his wisdom teeth pulled out the day he arrives home because he has cavities on them. Then we went to another member’s home that has an indoor petting zoo. When I say indoor, I mean in their house the animals just roam free and walk around or hop. It was crazy; they have kangaroos, emus, a lot of bunnies and Guiney-pigs, sheep, and baby chickens. Then at their farm they have a lot more animals that I couldn't even begin to name because we didn't go there. We were only in the house. They are some pretty cool members and hey, they’re active!!!

Our week as a whole was pretty solid. The normal missionary work and such. Since I forgot pictures last week, I will send some more this week that will also tell a story of what I have been up to :)

Scripture for the week: 1 Nephi 16:1-5

 1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

 2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

 3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

 4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.

 5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.

**Please keep in mind that June 4th is transfer day, I do expect that President Cutler will be moving me, so please be aware of this when you send letters or packages. Thank you

Love you all,

Elder Luymes

Emus

Joey

Another Joey snuggling up to me.

Spring has finally come.

Selfie -- working at the Sun Prairie Museum

Time for some new shoes.

 

Elder Pounds and I had another great week. The weather was on the colder side but that's okay. It was still 100 degrees warmer than what it was at the coldest point in the winter. Hurray, thank you Wisconsin! We didn't have anything exciting happen like last week with lightening, or lawn mowing <winky face>, but we did have some good old fashioned Missionary moments.

Last Monday after the lightning strike, and email time, we were out on the street walking to a potential investigator’s home. A woman pulls up in front of us and yells out the window "Are you Jesus people who talk about God and stuff?" We told her we were people of the sorts as she had just described. Then she replied "Oh cool, I love talking about God, why don't you meet me at my house and we can talk." She lived a block away so we followed her car on foot to her house. When we got to the house we met the woman's twin sister. They introduced themselves and then we proceeded to talk and we answered their many questions about God. At first they seemed synchronized in the way they talk and think. I thought for a moment that they were JW's who were trying to throw a fast one on us. But as the conversation unfolded and they told us more about their spiritual history is was obvious that they were not JW. They never once said Jehovah God!!! We exchanged information, gave them a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet and then prayed. Those are some very rare moments when people come up to us like that; it was only the third time and I wish it happened more often.

On Saturday, we were helping out a member replace sections of his wooden fence. We had worked with them the Saturday before but ran out of time to finish the work. So bright and early Saturday morning we headed out to dig holes, and place the wooden beams into the ground. It was a lot of work in the sun, trying to make the beams level, and flush with the rest of the fence. Some of the beams we had to re-dig because they were either too close or too far from the other post and so the fence section wouldn't be able to fit properly. Long story short, it was a lot of work. Just as we were finishing up, putting away the tools and stuff, we received a distress call from a family that is returning to activity. Elder Ferney and I had been working with them closely and now Elder Pounds and I are continuing to work closely with the family to help them keep coming to church, and to help the husband quit smoking. The mother called us and she was in tears, it seemed bad. We raced back to DeForest (the fence re building was in Sun Prairie) and arrived at the members house. There was a lot of crying, yelling, anger, frustration, and confusion. Elder Pounds and I (only 19 and 20 years old) have never known what it’s like to be 60 and financially upside down. We spent a lot of time listening, and then as time ticked away we began to calm the emotions, open up the scriptures, and help them gather themselves - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We spent two hours at their house and by the time we left they were back to working order and feeling 10,000 times better than how we found them. The reason why I'm sharing this is because missionary work is so much more than just finding, teaching, and baptizing. Bringing others unto Christ can take place in many forms, often they are outside of baptism. What a remarkable blessing to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. What a great and tremendous blessing to have a knowledge and an understanding of the atonement, that all wrong can be made right, that all sorrow, suffering of every kind can be comforted through the grace and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives, and I know that He knows each and every one of us and our struggles and day to day activities. Un-measurable comfort and joy can be found in the restored gospel.

Scripture for the week: Mosiah 28:1-3

 1 Now it came to pass that after the sons of Mosiah had done all these things, they took a small number with them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites—

 2 That perhaps they might bring them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and convince them of the iniquity of their fathers; and that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred towards the Nephites, that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land which the Lord their God had given them.

 3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.

Love,

Elder Luymes

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmas, and mother-like figure in my life.  You spread love, joy, and goodness all around the world. We would be lost in darkness if it weren't for God blessing us with so many wonderful mothers, I am very grateful for my mom and the mother figures who have been such a wonderful influence on my life. Thank you. Skyping with my family was fun on Sunday. It’s good to see their tan faces and my cute puppy Dixie. My face of course is still very white but it will get darker as the spring warms up and the summer arrives. Anyway, back to mothers. Sunday was fun, and the Sun Prairie Ward had a potluck for all the Woman age 19 and older. I heard it was very nice and well planned by the Elders quorum, but I wouldn't know because the Elders (missionaries) were not allowed to participate L however the Sister missionaries were able to join in.

Chilliin' with Elder Stephens while others Skype with family.

This week was not normal to say the least. We had planned on doing a lot of contacting, visiting, teaching, and other normal missionary things. What really happened was a barrage of calls from the members asking for help on spring projects. Since spring has kind of come and the sun is out more often the locals have jumped head first into the ground! Literally! There is a never ending sight of gardening going on. And this is what we spent most of our week doing. On Tuesday we did 2 hours at the F___ family - gardening, another 2 hours at the S____ family - gardening. Wednesday we worked another 3 hours with the S___ family - gardening, and 2 hours at the Sun Prairie Museum. Thursday we had an all-day Zone Conference so we spent all day sitting in a cold chapel (it felt really nice to take a break from all the standing and pulling, and the bending over from planting) Friday we worked 2 hours with the F___ family - gardening, and 2 hours at the DeForest Community center - gardening. On Saturday morning we got a last minute call to help out with a fence that was being replaced at a member’s house. On Saturday we did 5 hours of gardening at the S___ family house and 4 hours of fence work at the C___ house. Total hours of service this week: 22, a normal week only has 4 hours. By Saturday night we were exhausted, sore, and grateful that the week was over and that we could rest on Sunday. To add to the fun, I have some important news, super big LA Times front page news, this could be big!!!! On Friday, I mowed a lawn for the first time in my whole life!!!! My companion was shocked when I told him that I had never mowed a lawn before, the members couldn't believe it either, but when you grow up on LA, chances are that your dad pays somebody else to do the work for you. So yes, on Friday May 9th 2014, Elder Luymes touched and used a lawn mower for the first time in his whole life. (The video evidence will have to be released after my mission, but for now you should be satisfied with a simple picture)

First time EVER to mow a lawn! #I'mfromLA

Today, May 12th we had a super awesome thunderstorm. While the six Sun Prairie missionaries were at the church gym playing basketball, frisbee, and other fun games, four of us (me included) decided to go run out in the rain. It was pouring really hard and the temp was perfect for a fun run in the rain. We could see the lightening fill the sky every once in a while and the thunder was loud and epic. Then a flash of lightening hit a nearby electric pole and lit up the sky in our immediate area! It produced this extremely bright light that blinded all 6 of us and the sound was beating against our eardrum. For a few moments the lights in the whole church went out and the basketball hoops began to shake. All four of us missionaries who were outside began sprinting back to the church, one sister screaming the whole time! None of us were hurt, the church lights came back on, but the electric pole that got hit continued to spark for a few minutes after the lightning struck it. The pole was about 250 meters from the church. We all piled back into the gym and kind of just stood there wet and wondering if that had really happened. It’s an exciting day isn't it!?!

Today is my 11 month mark. I entered the MTC 11 months ago today. This means that I have 13 months left of my mission. I shake my head at this because I love my mission so much. Why would I want to resume a "normal" life after having such great experiences with the spirit and developing such a close relationship with my Father in Heaven? The mission is a wonderful place to be.  Everyone who can should serve a mission and feel the spirit mold and mend and teach you so many wonderful things as you learn to rely more and more upon the Lord and his all-encompassing Love and Atoning sacrifice. I am so grateful to be here. The work is amazing; the gospel is pure and perfect. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

In Honor of Mother's Day, scripture of the week: 1 Nephi 11:13-20

 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

 14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

Thank you, enjoy your week!

Elder Luymes

Crayon Phenomenon! It rolled off the table and on to the floor
and landed up like this.  Must be my electro-magnetic personality.

 

Hanging with Elder Pounds at
Appleton Zone Conference.
(compliments of Sis Cutler)

Happy Birthday today to the best dad ever!

 

Aww Yeah! It rained pretty much all week; cloudy skies and everything, including some thunder and lightning. But today we got sunshine in the soul!!! Elder Pounds and I played with the Frisbee for an hour and we also played volleyball with the Sun Prairie Elders and Sisters. It was such a fun and relaxing day in DeForest. And for lunch we cooked brats on our grill, and had some Mexican style sodas and some pasta on the side. Doesn't it just sound like a great day!

Squirrel outside our apartment.
It's so wet here the trees have moss on them.

Our week in-review: On Monday we got yelled at by a less-active. He told us to stop calling him (which I find really funny because we don't have his number) and then he slammed the door in our face faster than I could get a word of hello out of my mouth. On Tuesday, Elder Pounds and I had a really great experience tracting. We decided to change up our approach and instead of jumping into the religion stuff, we thought we should try and just start a conversation based upon what we see in the front yard. We did this, and on the first door the guy comes out and we talk with him for half an hour. As the conversation developed we learned a lot about his spirituality and began to teach parts of the Restoration. He was extremely receptive and agreed to reading the Book or Mormon and to an appointment for this new week. Also on Tuesday we had a really good dinner with the first councilor in the Bishopric and his family.

Wednesday had its ups and downs. As it continued to rain we went out knocking doors on a few old potential investigators (people the missionaries had tracted into many months ago but had never progressed towards investigator status) In one scenario, we knock on the door and have a really great conversation with a woman who is in here mid 40's, we teach the Restoration and she agreed to a return appointment. Not even two minutes later, we get a call from the woman's mother (the person that we had talked to, her mom called us) and said in explicit language "OH NO, I won't have any of this Friday stuff, if you come back here I'm gonna call the Cops" Elder Pounds and I were shocked at what she had said, but also at how fast it happened. It was slightly funny; the worlds fastest dropped investigator (to our knowledge). Late in the day we had a really great lesson with our recent convert M, he's still a goofy kid but he makes the lesson fun.

Thursday and Friday were good days; both were successful and stuff :)

Saturday: We spent all day Saturday visiting active members and in-active members in the far regions of our area, small towns such a Rio, Poynette, and Pardeeville, and all the little house clusters in between. We actually started the day off by visiting an investigator family and helping them move into their house. We spent three hours moving boxes and furniture up 19 steps of stairs (which were also slanted and don't look like they would pass inspection). It was so fun to be with the family though. They are a peculiar pair that would fit in with da Yoopers! Beer bellies, tattoos, a dog that drinks cold coffee, and story after story about moonshine and doing redneck stuff. It may seem hard to believe after this description, but they are actually very serious about the gospel and they are seriously praying about the Church and the Restored Gospel. They are reading the Book of Mormon and they do understand what they read :) As for the rest of Saturday, we spent hours driving and visiting and talking to and finding people, and obtaining information about people that the Bishop didn't have. This has been a big project for Elder Pounds and me. We have spent two weeks preparing this trip with the Bishop and on Sunday night we spent a solid 1 1/2 hours talking with the Bishop about what information we got, who needs home teachers and visiting teachers. Who has asked for help? Whose number is outdated, and what people have moved? The funny thing is, we spent all Saturday doing this, and we aren't even done yet. There are still a group of members (all in-active) that we didn't have time to visit yet. The journey continues...

Sunday was great! We were blessed to have found a new family to start teaching. Elder Pounds and I were going to contact a referral that was given to us by the Madison Hmong Elders. When we got to the house, there was no Bob who lived there. After attempting to strike up a good conversation with the resident we left. We then knocked on a door that Elder Ferney and I had tracted into back in early February. We met with the family after settling the discussion of: are you Cops, FBI, or CIA? We were invited into the home and had an excellent lesson with them. We talked about soccer for a short while (FIFA!!!) then set up a return appointment.

Elder Pounds and I really enjoyed this week. The Lord has blessed us beyond our imagination and comprehension. Things clicked really well and we were able to accomplish all that we had set out to do. Since Sunday was fast Sunday, I went up and shared my testimony about the Mission of Jesus Christ. I read 3 Nephi 27:14 to the congregation and shared my thoughts and feelings about the first part: Christ coming here to do the Father's will and be raised on the cross and the second part: AFTER, to draw all men unto me. I shared my Testimony on missionary work and how missionary work is Christ's mission, and His mission continues as we serve a long side him and share the gospel with all of God's children.

Land of the Prairie Dogs

Scripture for the week: 1 Nephi 1:19-20

19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

 20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there. The world would not be the same without you. Thank you for your love, sacrifice, service, and devotion. J

Elder Luymes

Beautiful bird nest we found out tracting one day.