Elder McKay CrandallPuerto Rico San Juan East 6-24-10
McKay arrived home on June 24th and spoke in Sacrament meeting on the 27th. His family then boarded a Jet for Europe. He is currently in Helsinki attending something called Festinord (he is actually in a place called Lohja; about 45 min from Helsinki). It is a 5 day LDS Young Single Adults conference for folks in nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway). About 400 YSAs attend seminars, workshops, dances etc. Because of the different countries, everything is done in English. It was described to us as EFY for YSAs. When they return, the family has a trip planned to visit Mckays mission before he heads back to BYU for fall semester. What fun! Welcome Home Mckay!
Elder Skyler ThiotNew York New York South Mission 7-7-10
Skyler returned home on July 7th and what a great day that was. He had a sweet last missionary opportunity on the plane home sitting next to someone who the Lord had prepared for him to teach. Sky is sure there are no coincidences, but the Lord truly has his hand in our lives. Skyler reported his mission to the Stake High Council and to the ward on 7-11. He did a super job and it’s so good to have him home. His future plans include back to BYU the end of the month. Welcome Home Sky!
Elder Jacob ReadingCalifornia Carlsbad Mission 7-14-10
Jacob arrived home from his mission on July 14Th. It was an exciting day even though we had to wait an extra hour at the airport for his plane to arrive. That is really hard when the excitement level is so high. He looked so great to us and hugs were given and received. We went straight to the Stake Presidents office to obtain his release. The next few days were filled with phone calls from friends and ward members in California checking on him and his safe arrival, dentist appointments and doctor appointments.
He gave his homecoming talk on July 18Th. All of his siblings were able to attend except for his brother Nathan. It truly was a memorable family time. His aunt Marsha from San Antonio was also able to be there with his grandparents and numerous other cousins and aunts and uncles. We had a wonderful family dinner afterward. I want you to especially look at the cake that was made for him. It is a replica of a shoe that he wore and wore out on his mission. His talk was wonderful and he truly spoke with the spirit of his mission. He looks great, has transitioned well, and is planning on leaving for Utah on August 7th for a family reunion and BYU Idaho for school in the fall. Welcome home Elder Reading
Elder Christopher MartinSanto Domingo West Dominican Republic 1-11
Elder Martin still loves mission Life in the Dominican Rebublic. He writes, “It’s a beautiful day in Santo Domingo. It’s finally stopped raining here. My umbrella finally gave in. Anyway, speaking of water, we had 3 [baptisms] this Saturday as a district. [Two were] with the other companionship and one with ours. It was awesome. We have an awesome ward! Rafael will get baptized this Saturday.” Christopher reports that they are teaching an American. His family is Cuban but he was born in the US. He reports that it is difficult to teach him in English. They did manage to give him an English Book of Mormon. It sounds like the Family Home Evening program is working well in the Dominican Republic. Chris says, “We had a sweet Noche de Hogar with a family that reminded me of our own. We will have a noche de hogar tonight together in the chapel. We will make smoothies after the message.” A couple of weeks ago Christopher’s district cooked American food. They often cook together and it was hamburgers, chili, and etc. for the whole district. Christopher enjoys playing basketball on P-days. He is trying to maintain his skills so he will be able to hold his own with his brothers when his mission ends. He promises he is not getting “trunky.” He has a firm testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is excited about his mission and regrets that time is going by so swiftly.
Elder Adrian EthertonIdaho Boise Mission 8-11
Elder Etherton has had many new and exciting events happen to him. He has met the new Boise mission president . President and Sister Cannon. They had a great first visit. He will miss President and Sister Yardley. They sure left a wonderful legacy. Elder Etherton was blessed to have had them through the first year of his mission. He has also celebrated his 20th birthday. A member family in his area took him and his companion out to dinner, and then back to their home where they had cake and played games. He said it was a lot of fun. He is also busy using his talent of singing. He has been asked in the five wards that he serves in to sing. That is something he really enjoys. He and his companion have been busy teaching and baptizing. He is working with a few families and some teenagers. He can't believe that half his mission is just about over. He loves the people of Idaho and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for him.
Elder Joseph CalcoteGeorgia Atlanta Mission 10-11
Elder Calcote A summary from the weekly email from Elder Calcote: To share a long story short, on P-Day, because of Independence Day, we were using computers in the “business center” in the apartment complex of the Vietnamese Elders. There were only two computers, so I spent most of my time there hand writing letters. A lady came in, she commented that I was sharply dressed. I started talking to her about the church. Tonya was her name. It turned out she had had a member friend a couple years ago who had helped her through a hard time in her life. They gave her a Book of Mormon, which she reads all the time now with her Bible. But she's since lost contact with them. I shared my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon with her. I told her she could find out if it was true by praying about it. She got really excited at this point. Apparently the idea of praying about it had never occurred to her, I don't think it does to most people. I invited her to meet with the missionaries in that area. She gave me her phone number. It's interesting to see the people God sends us. She lived in that apartment complex, the Vietnamese never would have tracked into her, they are looking for Vietnamese people. The English never would have tracked into her, it's a gated community. I wish I could put more detail in here, there is so much to add, there just isn't time. The first time the Elders went to visit her (a couple days later) she had prayed about the book of Mormon, gained a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost, and wanted to be baptized. Tonya has 5 children so 6 potential baptisms go sharing the gospel.
Elder Andrew SantiagoUtah Ogden Mission 1-12
Elder Santiago has just hit his six month mark of his mission. He is happy and doing very well. He has been serving in the Roy Utah area and he and his companions have seen tremendous success during his time there. Over the last few weeks he has been working with Elder Jeffery who has been out almost 20 months and has really had an impact on Elder Santiago. Elder S reports that his companion has really taught him how to be confident, teach simply, and to never walk away from a discussion without a commitment. He recognizes that a lot of people would get really frustrated being in an area for six months, but he has loved the area and really grown to love the people. The area is slow compared to other parts of their mission but they are starting to see the area take off. He received word this week that he will be transferred to Wellsville in South Logan. His new companion's name is Elder Deming. Elder Jeffery told him that he is a pretty cool kid so Elder S is pretty excited. On a funny note, he is currently in one of two apartments in the entire mission that is actually in a barn. In his new area he will be in the only other apartment in the mission that is in a Barn. He thinks his Mission President has a funny sense of humor. He sends the following note about his final days in his current area..."I am a little disappointed about being transferred though...In the past 3 days Elder Jeffery and I went from having only 2 Baptism dates to have 12 SOLID baptism dates!!! And and a few others that will be getting baptized soon enough...So yeah, ya win some and ya lose some. But I'm excited...I had to dip a little into my safety money to get some stuff to move all the crap that I've gathered over the last 6 months. Only like $32 though so...it wasn't too much.I am so happy that this is they way I get to leave the area I have grown to love the past 6 months!!! In the time I have been in this area, counting the baptism dates we have set for the next two weeks we will have seen over 20 people that have been baptized"
President and Sister Martin & AdamCalifornia San Fernando Mission 7-12
President and Sister Martin Life was getting good. President and Sister Martin were finally in a groove. We were finally used to living life in six week "transfers." Sister Martin had it down what meals to fix for missionaries, when to fix these meals, and who was helping fix and serve these meals. She and her helpers had supplied every missionary with an "Emergency Bag." She had the missionaries almost trained on how to handle health care issues. President Martin was even finding time to take a P-day (or at least some P-day hours) every now and then. Then a package came from Salt Lake City. The package contained a new set of DVDs. The District 2! We were excited to get them! They contained wonderful trainings. But the instructions that accompanied them has changed our mission schedule quite drastically. We now have Zone Conferences only once a quarter. The same with interviews. This is about half as often as we had been having them. We were to begin immediately to implement the new program. We are just finishing up the first set of trainings for the mission leadership. For four days every District Leader, Zone Leader, Assistant to the President, and every trainer have been reenacting the MTC experience by attending a special seminar from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. There are 60 of these wonderful leaders. Every day Sister Martin assisted by Sister Siv Flick (a volunteer who loves missionaries) and her helpers have fed lunch to this crew. President Martin has done the wonderful trainings with little time to prepare. He is amazing! Miracles are a daily occurrence in the mission. The Gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ really is alive and leads His Church today. We are so blessed to be a part of this great work.
