Elder Watson was reading this months New Era last Friday and found an article that quoted him! It had to do with the stake's Ho'ike performance that he participated in. What a coincidence. Article can be found at:
http://lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/magazines/new-era/2011/04/NE_2011_04_15___09644_000_016.pdf
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
President and Sister Reeves
Monday, March 14, 2011
Lead Kindly Light
Received an email from Elder Watson today. He is doing great and getting used to the rigors of missionary work. He mentioned a hymn that he turns to for strength as he faces the trials and challenges associated with the work, and I thought it would be good to share those here. Aloha!
Lead Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light, amid th'en circling gloom
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene - one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
So long thy pow'r has blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angelic faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost a while!
Lead Kindly Light
Lead, kindly Light, amid th'en circling gloom
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene - one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and spite of fears
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
So long thy pow'r has blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angelic faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost a while!
Friday, March 11, 2011
1st Email from Field!
Dated 3/9/11
Aloha family,
So I am now in Riverside California. Wow, what a rush. I'm serving in Yucaipa, Riverside and my trainer, Elder Peterson is from Wyoming, but i'll get into that a little later.
Tuesday morning we woke up at 3AM and went to the airport, which was interesting. A car crashed into the rail in front of us and swerved out in circles into the middle of the road because of the ice. No one was hurt, at least I don't think so, but it definitely woke us all up. We flew in to Vegas and then to Ontario Cali ... President Reeves and his wife along with the office missionaries greeted us.
We loaded up our bags and from there went straight to the mission center which is where we send all of the mail. We got our pictures taken, got our debit cards and had a driving test and orientation. We then had lunch, and honestly everything was so surreal. ... I know i'm prepared but seriously, the MTC was a fairy land compared to the field. I really enjoyed everything I learned, but we were not prepared for denial at all.
From there, we went to President and Sister Reeves mission home and introduced ourselves to everyone, it was pretty cool. ... We then watched some talks and just basically waited around while the president interviewed everyone. From there, we got ready for dinner, and ate our first HOMEMADE meal. It was so different from the MTC. We had lasagna and salad and cheesecake.
Anyways, after that we had a huge testimony meeting with all the greenies and the president. It was really spiritual. ... From there, the mission president interviewed me and I told him about Dad and 29 Palms. I'm pretty sure i'm being sent there once I'm a better missionary. We all went to sleep on the couches and mattresses.
I woke up at 630 and got dressed and ready. It was basically just us waiting around for our trainers. When they got there, we had another brief testimony meeting and we were paired up. By about 12 we were in the truck on the way to Yucaipa. I'm lucky, because Riverside is a more conservative family centered area. It's full of people waiting for that gospel. It was a 45 minute drive to Yucaipa ... I got the bike at the mission home and its beat up but it works, which is all that matters because Yucaipa for the most part is a biking mission, which is what I will be doing for a while.
I know that Hills Grandpa's funeral is today, so I hope that went alright. I thought she would be in Logan, so I sent a letter to her home address but turns out she's not going to be there, so that will have to be forwarded.
So far we hung out with the zone leaders for a while. They asked me what I was excited about for the mission, and I said learning how to take rejection because as of now i'm having a hard time. Immediately after, one of the zone leaders said, i'll teach you come with me. We ran to the first person we saw and she told us that we were misled and she hopes we find the truth. Sweet start haha. We then knocked on about 10 doors, some said no engles, some said i've heard it before and others said i'm a nazareth. No real success.
Just pray for me to love the people enough to know that they have their agency. Gospel principles are only effective if you live them. Its one thing to say it, but its another thing to live it. I need grace.
Elder Peterson is a good guy, he's been out for about 18 months or something like that. Hopefully I can pump some excitement into him just like the other greenies. Anyways, thats everything thats been going on so far. ... Hopefully all is going well with you guys, give Hill my love when she returns. I'll continue praying.
We have a dinner appointment tonight and since my companion is the District leader, he'll be gone all day tomorrow which means i'll be with some other elder I dont really know. Oh boy. One day at a time I guess.
But yeah, my Pdays are on Monday and that's when I'll normally be emailing you guys. ... Thank you for your words of advice, i'm sure i'll adapt quickly. Both of my bags for luggage came out to exactly 50 pounds each which was funny, I didn't have to pay. It's so weird just transitioning from fake food to real food, fake people to real people and stuff like that.
I hope you are all doing well, I love you guys.
Love,
Elder Watson
Aloha family,
So I am now in Riverside California. Wow, what a rush. I'm serving in Yucaipa, Riverside and my trainer, Elder Peterson is from Wyoming, but i'll get into that a little later.
Tuesday morning we woke up at 3AM and went to the airport, which was interesting. A car crashed into the rail in front of us and swerved out in circles into the middle of the road because of the ice. No one was hurt, at least I don't think so, but it definitely woke us all up. We flew in to Vegas and then to Ontario Cali ... President Reeves and his wife along with the office missionaries greeted us.
We loaded up our bags and from there went straight to the mission center which is where we send all of the mail. We got our pictures taken, got our debit cards and had a driving test and orientation. We then had lunch, and honestly everything was so surreal. ... I know i'm prepared but seriously, the MTC was a fairy land compared to the field. I really enjoyed everything I learned, but we were not prepared for denial at all.
From there, we went to President and Sister Reeves mission home and introduced ourselves to everyone, it was pretty cool. ... We then watched some talks and just basically waited around while the president interviewed everyone. From there, we got ready for dinner, and ate our first HOMEMADE meal. It was so different from the MTC. We had lasagna and salad and cheesecake.
Anyways, after that we had a huge testimony meeting with all the greenies and the president. It was really spiritual. ... From there, the mission president interviewed me and I told him about Dad and 29 Palms. I'm pretty sure i'm being sent there once I'm a better missionary. We all went to sleep on the couches and mattresses.
I woke up at 630 and got dressed and ready. It was basically just us waiting around for our trainers. When they got there, we had another brief testimony meeting and we were paired up. By about 12 we were in the truck on the way to Yucaipa. I'm lucky, because Riverside is a more conservative family centered area. It's full of people waiting for that gospel. It was a 45 minute drive to Yucaipa ... I got the bike at the mission home and its beat up but it works, which is all that matters because Yucaipa for the most part is a biking mission, which is what I will be doing for a while.
I know that Hills Grandpa's funeral is today, so I hope that went alright. I thought she would be in Logan, so I sent a letter to her home address but turns out she's not going to be there, so that will have to be forwarded.
So far we hung out with the zone leaders for a while. They asked me what I was excited about for the mission, and I said learning how to take rejection because as of now i'm having a hard time. Immediately after, one of the zone leaders said, i'll teach you come with me. We ran to the first person we saw and she told us that we were misled and she hopes we find the truth. Sweet start haha. We then knocked on about 10 doors, some said no engles, some said i've heard it before and others said i'm a nazareth. No real success.
Just pray for me to love the people enough to know that they have their agency. Gospel principles are only effective if you live them. Its one thing to say it, but its another thing to live it. I need grace.
Elder Peterson is a good guy, he's been out for about 18 months or something like that. Hopefully I can pump some excitement into him just like the other greenies. Anyways, thats everything thats been going on so far. ... Hopefully all is going well with you guys, give Hill my love when she returns. I'll continue praying.
We have a dinner appointment tonight and since my companion is the District leader, he'll be gone all day tomorrow which means i'll be with some other elder I dont really know. Oh boy. One day at a time I guess.
But yeah, my Pdays are on Monday and that's when I'll normally be emailing you guys. ... Thank you for your words of advice, i'm sure i'll adapt quickly. Both of my bags for luggage came out to exactly 50 pounds each which was funny, I didn't have to pay. It's so weird just transitioning from fake food to real food, fake people to real people and stuff like that.
I hope you are all doing well, I love you guys.
Love,
Elder Watson
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Safe Arrival: Email from Mission President and Wife
Dear Parents ...
We are thrilled to tell you that each of your sons and daughters arrived safely here at the Ontario Airport this morning! We were pleased that they were greeted by blue skies nd sunny, 70+ degree weather. They were all quite pleased about that! The landscape is very beautiful right now--green hills and mountains, trees in bloom and colorful flowers everywhere! Many of them always seem to remark about the many palm trees. All of these things seem to help them relax and realize things are going to be okay!
What a great group!!! We took them to the Mission Office for orientation ...
In the mid-afternoon, the missionaries arrived at the Mission Home for more instruction and a little R&R. They were able to watch and listen to Elder Holland's wonderful talks from the October 2007 and April 2008 General Conferences. ... President Plocher and President Bishop, both counselors in the Mission Presidency, spoke to all the missionaries before dinner. Sister Reeves had them introduce themselves, tell where they were from, about their families and their hobbies and interests, while President Reeves interviewed each one.
Around six, we had a delicious Italian dinner, followed by a wonderful testimony meeting. All of the elders are sleeping tonight at the Mission Home. ... We will have breakfast at the mission home in the morning (waffles with strawberries and whipping cream), followed by a little training, then President Reeves will announce the new companionships! This is always a very exciting time! We have wonderful trainers for your great sons and daughters! We will try to let you know of their assignments tomorrow by email. We will also be sending a photo to you of your missionary with President and Sister Reeves in the coming days.
Thank you for sending us such wonderful, well-prepared missionaries! We feel so blessed! President Reeves and I are sad to say that we will be sent home by July 1st. We have loved this mission with all of our hearts! Time has moved too quickly! ... We still have just short of four months and we are trying to do everything we possibly can each day to continue to serve the Lord and move the mission forward in the way that the Lord would have it moved!!
We send our love! President Mel and Sister Linda Reeves
We are thrilled to tell you that each of your sons and daughters arrived safely here at the Ontario Airport this morning! We were pleased that they were greeted by blue skies nd sunny, 70+ degree weather. They were all quite pleased about that! The landscape is very beautiful right now--green hills and mountains, trees in bloom and colorful flowers everywhere! Many of them always seem to remark about the many palm trees. All of these things seem to help them relax and realize things are going to be okay!
What a great group!!! We took them to the Mission Office for orientation ...
In the mid-afternoon, the missionaries arrived at the Mission Home for more instruction and a little R&R. They were able to watch and listen to Elder Holland's wonderful talks from the October 2007 and April 2008 General Conferences. ... President Plocher and President Bishop, both counselors in the Mission Presidency, spoke to all the missionaries before dinner. Sister Reeves had them introduce themselves, tell where they were from, about their families and their hobbies and interests, while President Reeves interviewed each one.
Around six, we had a delicious Italian dinner, followed by a wonderful testimony meeting. All of the elders are sleeping tonight at the Mission Home. ... We will have breakfast at the mission home in the morning (waffles with strawberries and whipping cream), followed by a little training, then President Reeves will announce the new companionships! This is always a very exciting time! We have wonderful trainers for your great sons and daughters! We will try to let you know of their assignments tomorrow by email. We will also be sending a photo to you of your missionary with President and Sister Reeves in the coming days.
Thank you for sending us such wonderful, well-prepared missionaries! We feel so blessed! President Reeves and I are sad to say that we will be sent home by July 1st. We have loved this mission with all of our hearts! Time has moved too quickly! ... We still have just short of four months and we are trying to do everything we possibly can each day to continue to serve the Lord and move the mission forward in the way that the Lord would have it moved!!
We send our love! President Mel and Sister Linda Reeves
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
In CA!!!
Received a call from Elder Watson early this morning as he was waiting for his flight to California. He would have arrived by now. We are so excited for him ... can't wait to hear where his first area is and who his new companion will be.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Provo Temple
Elder Watson with his companion and other "roomies" from the MTC. Tomorrow they leave for Riverside, CA! The Field is White ...
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Awesome Reunion @ MTC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)