Antelope and fish

I finally got the antelope I was after on Friday. I went with a friend from the ward and we had lots of fun. Saturday morning I went to Yuba Lake with Jenine to get pictures for an article for Cabelas.

Taekwondo Tournament

We attended our first Taekwondo tournament today. We are still newbies so we learned a lot from watching what everyone else did. Mariana did well in her free sparring competition. You can see her scoring a point with a kick in the picture. Isaac enjoyed the breaking competition.

Samuel's Mission E-mail September 22, 2008

Everyone:
Well, I'm now officially in what may be my last area. It's called Malaga Cove. If you have a map of LA, it covers the southern part of Redondo Beach, Torrance, and Lomita, with a little bit of Rolling Hills Estates thrown in. So, some of it is kind of rich. My companion is Elder Mijares, from Colorado (His ancestry is from Spain, though). He actually goes home in December, and he's a district leader, so I'm junior again. There's not really much Spanish in our area (I did speak Spanish with one guy yesterday), so I guess they figure I don't need to work on my Spanish or something (or maybe they've just despaired of it ever being good, haha).
As for our week, on Tuesday we tracted and got ready for transfers. On Wednesday I transfered over here with Elder Mijares, and we tracted.
On Thursday, Elder Mijares had a meeting, so I took Elder Fliton (who's being trained this transfer) tracting for a bit, and then we had weekly planning, Elder Mijares did a baptismal interview, and Elder Mijares took me to meet a couple important people in the ward.
On Friday, we had our Zone meeting (Have I mentioned our mission goal this transfer? Our goal is to increase the number of investigators we have at church by 50%), we tracted, and we worked on contacting a list of people that Sister Alexander, a counselor in the Relief Society, gave to us, and found out that a lot of them had moved.
On Saturday, Elder Mijares had another meeting, so I took Elders Webb and Fliton (the other district leaders' companions) and we helped clean the Malaga Cove ward building. After the meeting, we tracted and worked on the list some more.
On Sunday, we had our church meetings, so I got to meet Brother Madrid, our Ward Mission Leader, and various other members. We also tracted and spoke briefly with some less-actives that the ward had asked us to visit.
Today, we played some kickball with the zone.
Well, I think that's it. Hopefully we'll find some investigators here soon. Given that this is probably my last area, it's about time for me to try some different things for working here. We'll have to see what we can do.
Elder Samuel Stephens
The time is far spent; there is little remaining to publish glad tidings by sea and by land
Then hasten, ye heralds; go forward proclaiming: Repent for the kingdom of heaven's at hand
--Hymn #266

Update

Dear family,

I guess we need to update our life for you. It doesn't seem like we have anything significant to tell you. Ruth is busy teaching the neighbor girt to sew and to design her own clothes. I just try to keep busy. My latest project is to prepare a history of mom and dad's life in Star Valley for the Star Valley Independent news paper. They are trying to compile a history of the early days in Star Valley. I will send copies to the paper, the library in Afton and the mayor of Alpine when I get it completed. In working on the history I've discovered that two of the brothers that we work with at the temple (the Weeks') are cousins.

We are still enjoying beautiful weather. The garden is almost done for this year. We had lots of peaches, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. I've been keeping the neighborhood supplied with goodies this summer. It will all come to and end pretty soon. I'm sure we will get a killing frost fairly soon now. Our butternut squash is the size of pumpkins.

Mom here, We were over to visit Grandpa K. last Friday. He is about the same, not anything major wrong. He would like to be out on his own but realizes that is not possible. He is using a wheelchair to get around. He moves it with his feet because he can't stand for very long. His hearing is getting worse as is his eyes so it makes it harder and harder to communicate with him.
He went out with Dee a couple weeks ago to get a sub sandwich and drive around in Dee's truck. We can never get him to go out with us.

We will be down to Harvey's sealing. Just hope it doesn't get postponed again. We love you all and wish we could afford to visit more often.

Dad and mom

No hurricane damage in Utah

I feel a little left out because we have been having a beautiful fall. We've had a little rain and wind, but nothing that would constitute a significant storm. We are glad the Texans are okay and I am impressed that Newel's family could go a week without power. I'm sure that would be a huge challenge.

We are just plugging along. Creed is working full time now at the car dealership and also playing soccer several times a week. It is quite different now that he is playing at an adult level. There are some big strong bodies and some major collisions.

The past two Saturday's I've left right after his morning games to drive to
Wyoming to hunt antelope. My area is near Evanston so it is only a two-hour drive. I haven't shot one yet because I am looking for a really big one. I hope I get lucky soon. Anette went with me last Saturday and it rained on us much of the time so we did not see as many antelope as usual.

Jenine and Brandon are now living in their own apartment in north Orem. We added one more person to our household though. Parker Edwards' family used to live in our neighborhood but moved to Washington two years ago. Now they are trying to relocate back to Utah. Parker is living with us so he could go to school here and not have to switch. Parker has been a friend of Creed's for many years.

We are all looking forward to Harvey's sealing in a few weeks. He was with us much of yesterday. He is a happy boy and I think he must be powered by Energizer batteries that never run down. He knows how to tease and I think Anette is going to be a frequent victim.

Thanks for the birthday cards and wishes. I'm feeling old a lot lately--especially after moving hay or digging holes.

We're glad everyone survived the storms.

We're Fine

Well, after a huge build-up, with the forecasters telling us how bad it was going to be, and to be prepared for high winds and power outages, we got next to nothing! We've had much worse just from thunderstorms. It was kind of disappointing actually! It went just east of us. We got lots of rain, but not even any flash flooding.

We've had beautiful weather all week. Sunshine and temperatures in the high 70's, low 80's. And cool enough at night to need a quilt on the bed. It's like fall!

I haven't been able to post because our week has just been extremely hectic. We had our normal school routine, plus a girl's activity day that I was in charge of, plus a little birthday get-together with Lynette's friends. I even forgot to send Newel a birthday card. Then the day before his birthday I figured I would just call, but I never had a chance! I was busy with teaching 11 kids in a co-op class at my house in the morning, then I had an emergency preparedness dinner at my house in the evening. So, I hope you had a good birthday, Newel, (once the power was back on)!

Oh, the kitten's name is Jet. We tried Stormy for several days, but it just didn't seem to work. She and Devon get along fine, but Devon still gets a little too excited, so we still have to watch them pretty closely.


LaDawn

Samuel's Mission E-mail September 15, 2008

Everyone:
Well, this transfer ends on Wednesday, so I may be in a new area and almost certainly with a new companion come next e-mail time. Depending on where I go, it may also be a Wednesday the next time I get to e-mail.
So, as for this week, on Thursday we had our normal weekly planning, and then we had a car-free day, so we had to walk over to my old apartment (which fortunately is not far from my current apartment) and pick up my bike. Before we did that, though, we got a call from some Spanish speakers who were visiting a relative of theirs in the Downey hospital that wanted a blessing, so we walked over there (also not a large distance) and gave him a blessing. After we picked up my bike, we tracted and had dinner.
On Friday, we had our normal zone meeting, and then we had Downey 3rd correlation. Then Elder Brixius went tracting with Alex Grow of the Downey 1st ward while Elder Monita and I worked on the programs for the fireside. On Saturday, we had Santa Fe Springs correlation, we practiced for the fireside, we tracted, and we visited a couple people we had invited to the fireside to see if they were coming.
On Sunday, we had church, and then in the evening we had the fireside. It went really well--the choir that sang was formed of missionaries and stake members, and they did a really good job. Elder Harper, one of our zone leaders, is very talented in the musical field, and he did a great job of organizing and practicing with the choir and everything. My part, the visuals from some of the church movies that were timed to coincide with parts of the songs, went pretty well. There were parts that were still rough, but that's just because we had to make do with what we had.
Well, we'll see what this next transfer brings. It's crazy that I've only got three more transfers here on the mission. Hopefully I'll be able to show that I've learned something.
Elder Samuel Stephens

Happy Birthday Flint!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Flint! I would have sent something earlier or called, but we have been somewhat distracted this week.

-Newel

6 Days Without Electricity

We have had a very interesting week. On Sunday about Noon, the remnants of Hurricane Ike found their way to the Madison area. We didn't get any rain, but we got 60-70 mph winds. Lots of trees and branches fell all through the area. Our house survived with only 1 shingle flipped up, but others suffered much worse. By Sunday evening, about 90% of the people in our area were without power. Lots of trees and branches fell on power lines and knocked out power all over. The top picture shows the tree that did in our neighborhood. It is hard to see but that is a power pole on the ground underneath all of those tree limbs. Because the power lines were damaged in so many places, it took the power company a long time to get around to us. We just barely got our power back this afternoon. (Friday)

Since there was no power for the city well pumps, our water pressure also dropped. They managed to get the pumps going on Monday, but then there was a boil water order on for the next two days. Isaac and Mariana have been out of school all week. We have been having lots of barbecue dinners in the evenings. We also had plenty of chances to play family games and read by flashlight. Tonight everyone is enjoying the luxury of a warm shower. This has definitely given us a chance to see how prepared we are. We were lucky that a friend at work had power and an empty freezer, so we didn't lose our freezer full of beef.

On Tuesday, Mariana had the chance to go to the temple and do Baptisms for the dead for the first time. We were glad that trip did not get canceled or postponed.

So if we got 60-mph winds in Madison, what was it like in Dallas? How did LaDawn and Denisa's families fare?

--Newel

Happy Birthday LaDawn!

LaDawn,
We wish we could be there to celebrate your birthday with you. Have a great day!

Samuel's Mission E-mail September 10, 2008

Everyone:
Well, Elder Bird flew out on Wednesday last week, so now I'm with Elder Monita, my district leader, and his companion, Elder Brixius. So, as for what we've done this week:
On Wednesday, we dropped off Elder Bird and I moved into Elder Monita and Elder Brixius's apartment. Then we went and did service at the care home, as usual, and then in the afternoon we tracted a bit. This means that we're the only missionaries in both the Downey 1st and 3rd wards.
On Thursday, I turned 21!!!!! Amazing, that. I like to say that every year I look back at myself a year ago and say, "Man, I was immature back then!", but out here on the mission it's more like every three or four months that I look back and say, "Man, I was a bad missionary back then!". I guess it means I'm always improving, right? So anyways, we had our weekly planning, and then in the evening we visited some of Elders Monita and Brixius's investigators.
On Friday, we had our normal district meeting, had Downey 3rd correlation, and tracted for a while. On Saturday, we had a "zone blitz", in which the whole zone came to the Downey 1st area and tracted in it for a little while to make up a bit for Elder Bird's not being able to get out. In the afternoon, we visited a couple more Downey 3rd (They actually refer to the Downey wards as D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5, which I, of course, find quite amusing) people.
On Sunday, we had Downey Stake Conference, and that was pretty good, and then afterwards we worked on the fireside for this Sunday (I worked on hooking up a laptop to the projector and playing some video segments timed to coincide with the songs, Elder Monita worked with the translation equipment, and Elder Brixius worked on figuring out the chair setup). Later on, we visited the Francos, a less-active family in D1 that's been starting to come back, and tried without sucess to visit a couple other people to invite them to the fireside.
On Monday, we tracted for a good while, and we actually had someone who slammed the door twice! Apparently they weren't satisfied with the first slam or something. In the evening, we tried to visit a couple D3 people but just ended up setting return appointments with them.
On Tuesday, we did some service for a sister in D3 (who just happens to know a Verlin Stephens... we're investigating that), worked on programs for the fireside, and then in the evening Elder Brixius went with a brother from D3 while Elder Monita and I went to an appointment (he wasn't there) and then to D1 correlation. On the way there, Elder Monita noticed a couple who had pulled over to the side of the road that had another couple helping them change a tire. We got out to help them, too, and it turned out that the one couple went to put air in the tire (their spare was flat, too), so we waited with them for a bit and ended up talking some about the Gospel and inviting them to the fireside. As we did, I felt the Spirit and knew that the Lord had arranged things this way for a reason. Eventually they just used our cell phone to call a tow truck (their cell phone didn't work, for some reason, and it turned out the tire's valve was broken). Hopefully they'll come to the fireside and recognize the Spirit there. We never made it to our correlation meeting, but they had it without us and discussed pretty much everything that needed to be brought up. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways.
Today, we went to the temple. Traffic was horrendous for some reason this morning, so we got there late, but we just went to a later session.
Well, transfers are next Wednesday, so I've already only got a week with Elders Monita and Brixius. Who knows what next transfer will bring?
Elder Samuel Stephens

New sealing date for Harvey

Jed and Cally have had to change Harvey's sealing date because of a delay in his adoption court hearing. The new date is October 10 at 5 p.m.

Harvey sealing date

Samuel's Mission E-mail September 2, 2008

Everyone:
Well, this week has been a bit different. Elder Bird is going to be flying home tomorrow for some surgery and recuperation time, so I'll probably be stuck in a trio with my district leader and his companion for the last couple weeks of this transfer. This has been a very difficult time for Elder Bird, and he's kind of worried about being able to come back to the mission after his surgery, so if you could keep him in your prayers some, that would be good.
As for our week, it wasn't all that eventful other than that news. On Thursday we had our normal planning and Elder Bird had his doctor's appointment where he found out he needed surgery. Since then he's pretty much been ordered to take it easy, so we haven't been getting a whole lot of missionary work done.
On Friday, we had our district meeting, and Elder Bird rested, pretty much. On Saturday, Elder Brixius and I did some tracting in our area while Elder Monita kept an eye on Elder Bird, so that we could actually have some work done in our area this week. We also stopped by with a couple members to talk with them about inviting people to the fireside in a couple weeks.
On Sunday, we had church as normal, and then we had dinner with the Langs, who told us about a couple people they knew that may be ready to be taught soon, which was exciting news for us. On Monday we had our normal preparation day, except that we couldn't e-mail because of the holiday.
Today, we've been preparing for Elder Bird to go home. He'll be flying out tomorrow morning, and hopefully coming back as soon as he's recovered from his surgery. So, this next week should be interesting. While it does mean I'll be getting back to a normal work schedule, I must admit I'm sorry to have to see Elder Bird go this way. There's not much reason to think that he won't be back, but it's still kind of a sad time.
Elder Samuel Stephens

Samuel's Mission E-mail August 27, 2008

Everyone:
Well, I'm writing on Wednesday again, but it's not because of going to the temple. Or, it is, but not in the normal way. I'll get to that in a bit. Starting with last week:
Last Tuesday, Elder Bird had a doctor's appointment in the morning, and he wasn't feeling that great the rest of the day. In the evening, we had a practice for the fireside, so I talked with Elder Pepper and one of the ward members about what I was going to need. On Wednesday, we had our zone conference. It was a pretty good one. In the evening we had our correlation meeting for Downey 1st.
On Thursday Elder Bird wasn't doing so great again, so we worked on the media stuff. Basically, I looked through parts of some of the Church videos (Finding Faith in Christ, The Testaments, and Joy to the World, mostly) and wrote down what clips I wanted (I.e. from 56 min 25 sec in to 56 min 50 sec in or something like that).
On Friday we were on companionship exchanges, so Elder Brixius, companion of our district leader, was here with me. We tracted for a good while (trying to make up for the times Elder Bird hasn't been able to), and in the evening we visited a couple people and invited them to the fireside.
On Saturday Elder Monita took Elder Bird with him to clean out an apartment the mission is closing, so I was with Elder Brixius again. We tracted a while in his area, and then in ours, and then Elder Bird came back and we returned to our normal companionships.
On Sunday we had our normal church meetings, and then Elder Bird was feeling really bad, so we had to rest. It always seems to be worse for him the day after he does something physical.
On Monday, we had service up at the temple! We went up and raked up mowed grass for several hours. Then we came back and showered and had dinner. Then on Tuesday Elder Bird was feeling really bad (probably because of doing the service on Monday), so we rested again. In the evening, we had our correlation meeting with the Downey 1st ward, including one of our new ward missionaries! We had two new ward missionaries called on Sunday to help out the one we already had, so I'm pretty excited about that. I think this is the first ward I've been in where I'll really be able to work closely with the ward missionaries. Of course, part of that was laziness on my part in the past, but... it's never to late for repentence!
Well, that's been our week. We don't really have any big plans for today (just fireside practice in the evening), but Elder Bird does have another doctor appointment tomorrow, so hopefully they'll be able to do something to help him out. !Perseverar hasta el fin!
Elder Samuel Stephens