8/12/18 - Family Letter to Emma

Hello Emma!

"We need to pray for rain" is what the Stake president said.

Also my first football game is this Saturday. Wish me luck!

I miss you so much. Love you.

Your in our prays.

Hyrum

hey big me    

    thank you so much for the card you made  it really made me  super super super super super super HAPPY:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)😘

I got my first cook book this week  i made mint  brownies . Emma Nelson gave me some hand me downs  there so cute!!!

know that I wish you happiness And success.

                                                                                love you

                                                                                                   Mari

Sweet Emma,

Like Mari said, we are praying for pinga!  That IS a cute word!  It sounds like the sound rain makes.  You are cute!

I really admire you Emma.  I'm proud of you for serving a mission, even when it is hard.  You are VERY normal to have those feelings of discouragement.  Just keep trusting your Savior and know that He will pull you through.  He will help you know how to handle this speed bump.  Remember...."It came to pass- not it came to stay!"  Can you feel the Savior molding you into the woman He needs you to be? Definitely OUCH sometimes! I've heard that missions have a way of exposing your weaknesses because it is his personalized schooling for you.  Trust Him!  He won't let you down.  When I pray for you, he comforts me and tells me to let Him work with you.  He knows what is best for you.  He has big plans for you.  I feel happy to know how much He loves you and that He knows exactly where you are, what you are feeling, what you are struggling with, what brings you joy.  He loves you so much!  I love you too.  I love you enough to let Him work with you.  Great vistas of beauty and joy are ahead.  Make it up this mountain and enjoy the view...it will come!

My Jewish Jazzercise friend wasn't able to come to the Ward BBQ because her daughter got sick.  My next plan is to visit her at her home with some of the friends from the ward who have daughters the age of her daughter.  Eve gave a great talk in church today.  Gracie and Ella Koon ran up to her and asked her if she was a missionary. Those 2 Koon girls LOVE sister missionaries!  Thank you for sending them such a sweet letter and picture!  Jillian shared it with me and it made my heart so full...so proud of you!  Those two little girls love you so much!  Thank you also for sending your siblings letters.  Your birthday letter to Hyrum is sitting on the piano.  It was so kind of you!  I took some pics of your sisters reading their letters.  It is so sweet!  During Eve's talk she testified of missionary work and how she appreciates all the missionary examples in her life...like her awesome sister.  She also expressed that she can't wait to be a missionary!  Thank you for your example! 

  

Adrianne Matthews is here getting a cowboy costume.  She says "Hi" and that she misses you!

Funny story:  I hosted a baby shower for Kara Larson.  The back yard was full of ladies from the ward and their daughters.  Kara was opening her gifts under canopy on the grass when all of a sudden, the sprinklers came on!  Everyone shrieked, grabbed the gifts, and ran for cover.  I ran to turn it off.  Everyone was laughing and dripping.  They all said it was the best baby "shower" ever!   

This week, Eve and I went to work at the Cannery to fulfill our Ward's assignment.  We were canning Corn that day.  We were give the assignment to watch the cans to make sure they had a label.  We were both struggling to stay awake.  All those tumbling cans were mesmerizing....but someone had to do it!  It was fun to be with Eve and the others from our ward.  Brian Thorpe was covered in corn, even in his eyebrows!  I WAS thankful that our job wasn't a sticky one!

This coming week is Oakcrest. The girls Hyrum's age are the ones going this year.  I am so excited for them! I get to help check them in on Monday morning (in Murray) and then up to Oakcrest for Stake/Bishopric night.  I LOVE my calling!  I feel so blessed to be serving right now. 

Family info:  Grammy Kimball fell and broke her hip 😰....while trying on shoes 😂  Poor lady!  (If you remember, she also went into labor because she was hit on the head by a falling icicle....and Grandpops was born!)    I really am sad for her and I will go visit her....but it IS a really funny story!

Thank you for serving.  Your service is blessing our family in so many ways...especially with my Mom.  It has been so wonderful to be friends with her again!

Also, I don't know what you decided to do with your straightener, but no matter what, you are very kind to think of your companion.  If you need a new straightener, we will put one in the next care package.  Also, if you need a few new things (clothes or whatever) let me know and we will make sure your account has enough money in it.  You are awesome!  Enjoy the beauties of each day and the joy in each person.

I love you so much!  Sending you a HUGE HUG!

🌸Mom

M,

We are very proud of you and excited to hear about your experiences.  We received the letters you sent.  Hyrum is being diligent in not opening his until his bday.  the girls were excited to open their letter.  Eve said there are some letters from the YW in the area.  The Koon's sent us a about the letter they received.  We did not get a chance to read the whole letter but they sent us a page.  They have your picture in a place of honor.  Eve gave a talk today about the camps she has been to this Summer.  the Koon girls ran up to her and asked if she was going on a mission.  Their parents are using you two as an example for their daughters to follow.  We did the same thing with other families in the Ward. 

The discouragement you have been feeling is very normal.  It happens to all missionaries and is a normal part of the experience.  It happened to me in areas where we were not having as much success as I was hoping for.  I thought that maybe if I just got transferred I would feel better.  I was in those areas for 11 and 8 months.  The area will not always create the effect you might be hoping for.  A few things to consider are sleep, nutrition, exercise, and try something new.  Maybe try a new way of finding people.  A unique way of street contacting.  Maybe discover some service you can do.  Try to mix it up somehow.  Having a new companion can help too.  Maybe seek council from your DL.  Success always makes us feel better.  We need to find someway to increase your success.  Remember that many have done what you have done.  They have felt what you have felt.  You have the all that it takes to serve and be the missionary you need to be.  We pray for you many times a day.  The Koon girls pray for you also. 

We had the Ward BBQ last Tuesday.  Everyone was asking about you.  It was a typical experience for a Ward BBQ.  On Wednesday we had a baby shower for Kara Larsen.  Mom set up the backyard and had everything looking nice.  Joe Larsen and I went out and got a burger.   Hyrum had football practice so we ate until it was time to pick Hyrum and Logan from practice.  When we got home I noticed the front lawn was wet and then I got really concerned.  We did not turn off our sprinklers.  Mom had a few pop-ups and many chairs set up by the fence. They were gathered around a quilt that Mom and started for Kara.  Nobody was sitting over there when we went to the backyard.  They were all gathered around the patio.  The sprinklers went off while everyone was sitting around the quilt which made everyone scattered.  I felt bad but all the gals said it was very funny.  The sprinklers went off and provided a shower at the shower. 

We tried to smoke some cheese and it did not work as well as we hoped.  I tried to smoke without a fire but it was still so hot outside that the cheese all melted into a blob.  We don't know if it will come back together or not but right now it does not look too appetizing.   

We are going to the airport on Tuesday to celebrate Rachel coming home.  Mark, Kimberly and Sam went to pick her up.  They have been able to go to some resorts and beaches Rachel could not go to.  Mom got a chance to talk with Rachel and Sam tried to facetime Mari.  Mom says she sounded friendly.  We shall see.  I have a feeling when we go to the airport we will be competing with her friends for attention.  As long as she sees us there I will be satisfied.

We had the Triathlon on Saturday.  Mom and Mari came to help me.  When it started I was somewhat sad it was my last one but when we were done I was grateful.  We woke up ate 4:00 to go set everything up.  We had a large turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  Eve ran the Tri with a friend she met at Youth Conference from the 13th Ward.  Hyrum could not do the Tri as his Football weigh in were at the same time.  We attempted to go have some celebratory pancakes and Penny Anne's but the wait was 1.5 hours.  We went to a place called The Original Pancake House.  they offer a lot of different types of pancakes.  They are no Penny Anne's.  We were hungry.  We didn't get our food until 11:00.  We then went home and I took a nap for 4 hours.  I'm still very tired but should be OK by mid week.  I always takes me a while to recover from the Tri.

We have about another week before school starts.  We are trying to do a few things this week.  We are going to Snowbird on Wednesday.  we will report on what we find up there.  We were hoping to go somewhere for UEA but the coach has made such a bid deal about the Offensive Line being there for each game we don't have the heart to schedule anything.  The team normally has a lot of big kids on it.  This team is full of a lot of fast kids.  Hyrum normally counts as a big kid but is starting to look small out there.  He has slimmed down a lot.  He is getting faster but still needs to be more physical.  We had a scrimmage last week with the other Riverton teams.  He looked good but needs to be willing to hit people.

Keep working hard kid!  you are doing good.  You will find a way to work out of your funk.  You might have already figured it out by the time you get this email.   We keep praying that your package will be released from Customs.  We are starting to put another one together assuming they plan to keep the last one.

Love

Dad

1 Nephi 13:37