New Glasses

I recevied a couple of text messages and pictures from Catherine.  I guess Kyle decided that putting in contacts everyday was a pain so he decided to get a pair of glasses.  They are definately stylish!  I guess whatever works and makes him happy.

I asked why they were hugging.....this was Catherine's response.  "They love each other and they are being goofy...they are freezing!  We have a storm here right now and it's really windy.  It's 63 degrees here.  That's like ice!"

Elder Buhler and Elder Hess helped Catherine make the fondant for this cake.

The Brophey's treated us to a dinner at "In and Out" YUM!!



I really don’t have much to say.   Sometimes every week just feels like the same thing.  Maybe I am just in a slump?  I spent most of my week at the Brophey’s this past week.  I have attached several pictures.  We helped Catherine make a cake for a Relief Society lesson she was doing.  We related the cake to the atonement.  The atonement is the frosting that covers the cake.  The decorations are the blessings you receive when you are baptized, when you go to the temple, etc.   On another day, Elder Buhler and I went back over and helped her make fondant for another cake she was making for some girl’s 16^th birthday.  On Saturday, Catherine’s husband took us to dinner to "In and Out".  Elder Nash came up to me on Saturday and told me that Sean Bachman was serving in his home ward.  Small world…huh?  I get to finally go golfing on the 24^th of next month.

Cake & Atonement???

I love getting text messages and pictures.  Catherine Brophey sent me some more today.

 

"Elder Hess and Elder Buhler are helping me make a cake.  We are coming up with a lesson using the cake so I can teach the Relief Society.  It's going to be so fun!"

"This was the finished product.  The Elders did a great job and my lesson is going to be fab.  Basically the atonement is the frosting that covers the cracked mangled cake underneath and the decorations are the blessings from getting baptized and the temple and etc.."

6 more weeks in Mission Viejo!

Elder Hess @ Big Air Trampoline Park

Elder Mackey @ Big Air Trampoline Park

I love the pictures you sent me.  Is kell rockin a mullet?? haha That's my boy!  Oh I got some news for ya.. Remember Elder Choco?  The guy who told me that I have bad knees?? Ya well  he’s not really a missionary and he is about to get X'd for the second time.  He’s a registered sex offender in California.  He is befriending and misleading missionaries. He tries getting Elders to like trust him and he acts like he’s best friends with the apostle and prophet.  He says he has these special gifts and he tries to get the Elders to go to the temple with him.  No he didn't try anything with me or at least I was smart enough to know that there was just not something right about him so don’t worry! But… ya he is going around to the Anaheim, the Carlsbad and my mission telling Elders that God sent him there to test their obedience. He’s a creep and the General Authorities are involved so ya he’s in a bad situation right now.  Thank you so much for the Valentine package.  Ya…definitely the best package I’ve gotten on my mission so far.  I loved all the heart messages!  The Brophey’s took us to Café Rio for Valentine’s Day and then we went to Irvine from 3 to 9 to interview with the President.  So guess what?  Today are transfers and my companion and I get to stay in Mission Viejo for another 6 weeks.  I am pretty stoked.  It’s the best ward in the mission!! I’ll only be here for one more transfer though which sucks but it’s all good.  So I understand you have received a few text messages from Catherine.  She and her family are really good people and they are very good to us.  However…it’s bad cause they are socially converted to me so ya that's not good.   I’m sure she will continue to text you cause that's just her so don't bring up any gospel related topics don't say anything about baptism nothing just be encouraging and a friend... got it??  She wants to be baptized but not without Caitlin and Caitlin isn’t quite ready to make the commitment.  I’m also working extra hard on Catherine’s husband.  I’m gonna get him dunked without him knowing ha ha.  Here are my three favorite scriptures right now….check them out!  Matthew 16:24-25, Alma 26-12, and Philipians 4-13.  Yesterday was P-Day, I just get to email you today because the library was closed yesterday.  Yesterday we went to Big Air.  Attached are two pictures.  One is of me and the other picture is of Elder Mackey.  Elder Buhler didn’t want to play basketball so he played dodgeball.  President Gentry in our Stake Presidency owns a huge trampoline park and we got to go there for free for breaking a record!  Our Zone only taught 155 lessons in one week so we made a goal to get 165 and if we met the goal we could go to the trampoline park.  We ended up getting 215 lessons.  The Brophey’s are taking us to “In and Out” on Saturday.  Oh…I also get to go golfing by the ocean sometime real soon.  I’m going with a less active member and a recent convert.  The less active member is like a pro golfer.  He is really good.  Well got to go…my time is up.  Talk to you again next week.  Love you!

Valentine Weekend

I love when I get random text messages from people in Kyle's mission area.  This past weekend I seemed to be flooded with message and pictures from Catherine Brophy.  Kyle is teaching her and her family and evidentally they have become quite attached to Elder Hess.  Below are the pictures and text messages that I received.  Nothing makes me happier than knowing Kyle is happy and that there are special people out there who are loving and taking care of him.

"Hi Mrs. Hess...it's Catherine Brophy.  My girls and I took Elder Buhler and Elder Hess to Cafe Rio for Valentine's day today.  We had so much fun!  We love our mishies! They are the best!"

Candace - Caitlin - Elder Hess - Elder Buhler

 

 

 "The guys came over this week for a lesson and afterwards we broke out the guitars.  Here they are chilling in our back yard! :)  I am so sad that this Tuesday is another transfer day.  We love Elder Hess so much!  He has been so kind and is such a hard worker.  My family loves him also because he is just so relaxed and he doesn't shove doctrine at us but he is patient and kind.  He wishes he could swim in our pool though and I broke out the golf clubs and let him take some swings.  He hit some practice balls over the fence ha ha.  But he is always a good missionary and if he transfers I hope he comes back someday for a visit.  We will miss him so much!  BTW...don't listen to any stories you hear about a crazy couch lady ha ha.  I can't help it if I got blessed with 6 couches in one week and didn't know where to put them.  And besides....the guys got a good workout ha ha.  Tomorrow night my husband is barbequing for the guys because they have never had Carne Asada.  I will for sure send some more pics."

 

 

"Elder Hess is wearing his lucky kahuna hat.  He whipped us all at Presidents 3 times.  We are about to eat Carne Asada and maybe play some poker but don't worry...we won't be gambling.  We have good mishies ha ha!  Hi Sister Hess...we just got a call last night that Elder Hess and Elder Buhler get to stay another 6 weeks with us.  They don't have to transfer this week...yay!  I am so happy.  We still have to do Lesson 7, Watch 17 Miracles, and the girls want to make California Rolls for them.  Hooray!  We are so excited they are staying, we weren't ready for them to go.  My husband loves Elder Hess.  They have fun together doing man stuff since my boys are now all grown up and gone!"

 

Elder Hess and  Elder Buhler tyring to be GQ

Elder Buhler - Elder Hess - Caitlin - Catherine

Elder Hess - Caitlin....just being silly!

 

7 Months Today!

Elder Hess and Diane

Elder Buhler, Elder Hess, Diane, Elder Bufton

Diane’s baptism was crazy!  The water was pretty cold (my bad) so when she got in she squealed haha but right when she came up from under she was so excited she like yelled "yay!!" HA HA… classic!  Diane is a character….that is for sure!  Other than that nothing really happened.  How’s kell doing?  I’ve been missing him the most lately.  Probably because of a movie I’ve been watching!!  I’ve been watching a movie called “Two Brothers”.  It’s a 5,000 day project thing some guy did.  It’s about Sam and Luke Nelson.  It’s pretty good and emotional…look it up!  I still have our missionary dog and it’s still pretty much the best thing ever.  I’ll probably send Kellen and Karlee a letter this week.  Oh…I could really use some stamps.  The weather is still hot.  We got some rain last week which helped with the drought. Did you keep my mission call? Rylee’s friend from institute is coming to this mission.  Pretty cool…huh?  I got sick again this last week.  That's always fun! My companion and Brother Chambers gave me a blessing and I was fine the next day.   The guy that was going to get baptized the same day as Diane didn’t get baptized….he is still on vacation.  Now that Diane has finally gotten dunked…we haven’t got any new investigators.  We are still teaching the Preacher’s wife and his daughter but they are really bi-polar ha ha.  One minute they want to get baptized and then next minute they don’t ha ha.  But….right now they are saying they will get baptized in a year and a half.  By that time I’LL BE HOME!!!!!  I have absolutely no money but I am doing fine.  Not only did my bank card get hacked but so did my mission card.  So right now I am waiting to get new ones of both.  It’s all good though….I have lost 5 pounds from eating less food and from exercising.  We have a couple of weights at our house and I have been doing body work outs every day.  Tell Kaitlyn I am really excited for her.  She will be a great missionary!  What the heck is up with all our family being called in the states?  I would think that someone would get called outside.  One thing is for sure…you really learn the gospel when serving inside the states.  Maybe it’s because you don’t have to focus quite as hard on learning a language?  I know that life is full of ups and downs and I try really hard to always stay positive but honestly I’m having a tough time right now and I’m having a really hard time finding joy.  Sometimes getting rejected all the time and people not wanting to listen to you really gets hard.  I carry a golf ball every day in my pocket.  The other day I went to our investigator’s house.  She has golf clubs and those golf wiffle balls and I just went to town.  She is probably missing all her balls because they are all over the fence ha ha.  Anyway…I carry the golf ball in my pocket because it helps calm me down.  Sometimes I get frustrated at my companion or some stupid person on the side of the road who calls us out….I just pull the golf ball out of my pocket and it calms me down ha ha.  Don’t get me wrong…I do get along with my companion but sometimes it’s just his way or the highway so I do all I can to make him happy so I break one of the rules and I let him drive the car so he is happy.  I hate breaking the rules but I’m going to serve him and make him happy because the mission goes a whole lot better and you have more success so I just do it! It totally works for me!  I also taped our family picture to my Book of Mormon.  Seeing this picture every day helps remind me that I can do it!  Ian (one of my zone leaders and a super great friend) is freaking leaving in 7 weeks. L  He has helped me a ton….especially today.  Read Matthew 16:24-25.  These scriptures just changed my life and mission!  Ian is absolutely awesome!  We were hoping that I could get transferred to him for his last part of his mission but the AP said I can’t leave where I currently am because I’m doing good here.  Today marks 7 months!  My 1 year mark will be here before I know it.

We taught 23 lessons this last week which is the highest we have gotten in quite some time.  I went and played “old man” basketball at 6:00 this morning.  I got to watch the first half of the Super Bowl at Catherine and Caitlin’s house.  It wasn’t much of a game and I understand that the second half didn’t get any better.  Diane is getting dunked on Friday and Catherine got a revelation that she needed to be baptized so she will get in the water soon.  Attached are a few pictures.  Here is the story behind the one where I’m standing on the roof with my companion.  A member saw us walking down the road and her daughter who is like three locked herself in a room and fell asleep.  The member thought she was dead because she was really quiet.  So my companion and I climbed on top of the roof and broke in through a window.  Another picture is of my companion Elder Buhler, my Zone Leader Elder Mackey, and myself. Elder Buhler was at the MTC with me and I played against Elder Mackey at a BYU 7 on 7 during High School. The picture was taken just before we were going to give Catherine a blessing.  Another picture was taken late at night.  We were walking home and came across these really huge, cool looking plants so we stopped and took a picture.  Yes….I have gained some weight and I am working on it…..don’t send treats!  The picture with us all wearing dark rimmed glasses was just us being silly.  Three more transfers and I will hit my 1 year mark.  My next transfer is February 18.  Some days my mission seems to be going by too fast and other days it just feels like it’s too slow.  Sometimes it feels like it is the same old stuff every day.  I would just like to report that something really cool happened.  

 

Missionary Movie day at the Brophy's.  They watched the Jospeh Smith story.  They decided to be a bit fashionable while watching!

 

Catherine Brophy's grandpa past away last week so Elder Buhler, Elder Hess, and Elder Mackey gave her a blessing of comfort.

Yes.....I need to exercise a little more!