Letter #87 . . . Zone Conference with Elder Echo Hawk!

Friends and Familia!

Look at these colors! Awesome missionaries too!

Thanks for the great email. I was so sad to hear about little Lila. That stuff kills me inside. Gehhh!! Life isn't fair.

This is Sandkamp's last few days, and he's having a hard time! He is hanging in there but man, he is very ready to go home. Makes it tough to not feel the same way at times.

That's awesome you got your patriarchal blessing Britt! I want to hear your thoughts about it! Was it like you expected? I read mine probably once or twice a month! That's awesome Sar was on Studio 5!  Good for CC and Alta for showin' respect. The rivalry and the nasty social media fights and comments was one of my least favorite things at home. Haha. I don't miss high school.

Some cool things from the week . . . we had Zone Conference with Elder Echo Hawk of the Seventy. He is an awesome guy. He's the head of the Correlation committee of the church, which means he probably knows Grandpa! I forgot to ask him, dang it!

Tanner and Elder Sandkamp

Mom, I like beef jerky, slim jims, chips, trail mix, those chocolate covered pomegranate things, yogurt covered craisins etc. Thanks!
 
Love ya
 
- Elder Townsend


PS. Here is a video clip of Tanner and Elder Sandkamp playing, singing and signing Savior Redeemer of My Soul . . . click here!

PSS.  Here is a short video Tanner sent of him playing and singing "I Can Do All Things" and Elder Sandkamp doing sign language. Click here to play the video. 

 

Kansas City Temple

Zone Conference, October 2017

Letter #86 . . . when I feel it, I FEEL IT!

Tanner's happy face . . . feeling humbled and grateful these days!

Hey y'all. Things are good here. Things have been flippen crazy trying to double cover two wards. Sandkamp leaves in 2 weeks and he's been mega trunky lately. Haha I don't blame him, he's been out over 25 months, I love him to death. He is such a good guy. One of the most pure hearted people I've ever met. I've learned a ton from him. I'm guessing I'm staying in the ward, and an Elder named Elder Roberts will be coming here... We'll see! Just a guess.

Something cool I've figured out slowly and imperfectly out here, is the fact that's put very simply, I am happy, at peace, and can feel myself progressing toward Him when I am putting time into reading the scriptures, Jesus the Christ, etc. with REAL intent. I've also found when I don't study, and justify it like it's not going to hurt anything, that day becomes a day full of anxious retreating and withdrawing, temptation, sin, and unhappiness. I forget over and over how real Jesus Christ and his love really is. But man, when I feel it, I FEEL IT. I am so grateful for that feeling. So humbled by all the revelation you can receive from the Holy Ghost if you are upright with God and ready listening for it. For me, revelation usually comes as I'm pondering something, usually in the scriptures. Then I see the thought pop into me head, and it rings true!

Beautiful temple!

To anyone who is reading this. I plead with you to give this church a chance. Give the Book of Mormon a chance. If you've gave it a chance and you're still not feelin it, give it another chance, with a sincere desire to know if God really loves you. You will find that answer. These things are true. I'm believing that stronger and stronger everyday and it is crazy to me. This church seems too good to be true, and almost impossible to believe if viewed from the world's eyes. "REALLY..? I'm a member of the ONE true church? Logically that makes no sense!" These are thoughts I ask myself and it blows me away how I can
truly answer yes to all those questions. I feel so grateful to be born
into the situation I was. Feeling humbled and grateful these days.

Tan and Elder Sandkamp

I'm good with clothes. I like beef jerky and slim Jims haha. Spence quit? Dang! Hopefully he'll stick with it and start to love it like I did. :)
Love ya.

- Elder Townsend

PS.  Here's a few second clip of Elder Sandkamp and his sandals. :)  Click here to watch the 10 second video! Looks like something Tanner would do. Love it!   

Letter #85 . . . Conference was Amazing!

Hey fam!

Watching conference at the church . . photo sent by member!

Just had my last General Conference out here! Yes, conference was amazing. I loved both of Uchtdorf's talks the most. I loved Elder Anderson's talk. I agree with you mama, there was a cool reverence as he was talking about President Monson and Elder Hales. He will sure be missed. He's an amazing man. He is so happy now tho, free of all his afflictions, and in the presence of God. :) Conference is so cool. Especially the way you view it and approach it as a missionary. So attentive, so excited, so prepared to hear the message. That's something I want to take home with me. Because there is so much you can get out of it. I had my questions and thoughts addressed and answered. :)

Their district

Things are crazy these days. We are hardly in our area which makes it tough. Yes, lots of paperwork haha. But I love getting to know the missionaries better. I feel like I'm serving around my best friends out here! 

As for my time here... It still feels like I have a ways to go! I'm still not at the point where it feels like I am going home any time soon. Haha! I'm loving it out here. But I am very excited to come home too. My companion Elder Sandkamp goes home in a little over two weeks. He's trying to hang in there, but is starting to have a hard time. Especially because he hit his two year mark weeks ago haha. 

The zone conference we're singing at will be on Thursday! Elder Echohawk of the Seventy will be there. We then have a meeting with him with the zone leaders of the mission at the mission home! (Which is in our area!) He asked to have dinner with us after that too! So that will be super cool. 

The guy in the middle . . . :) 

Eating pie at the mission president's house after priesthood session!

I miss Amosa! Those pics are sweet. I will definitely keep in contact with my comps after the mission!

That trip Sar went on looks SWEET!! THEY WENT TO A COLDPLAY CONCERT?? Haha man I'm jealous. We still need to go to one as a family some day. 

Love you all! I'll send pics later. 

- Tan

Letter #84 . . . Savior Redeemer of My Soul . . Life is good!

Friends and Familia!

We had a good week! There's a family of 5 that just got back in town named the Hills, they are all so close to being baptized! They have been coming to church for three years!!! They seem like they are members already! They're crazy busy, but we're going to try to get them baptized!

 

That song I sang with Sandkamp, I heard from CD's that are in some mission cars. I just heard vocal point's version! :) Sandkamp loves singing, so this is going to be awesome! Click here to see the video of them practicing Savior Redeemer of My Soul.

 

Sandkamp just hit his 2 year mark last week! He is serving a 25 month mission because of miscommunication between him and Sister Vest hahaha. He has 4 weeks left. 

We've been working hard! Life is good out here in North Kansas City! We had dinner with the Temple President and his wife this week! President Carpowitz is his name. That was super awesome just asking him lots of stuff about the temple. :)

Love ya'll!! 

 

Elder Townsend

 

On exchanges with Elder Garner

 

Letter #83 . . . Browns and Bodines!

Hey fam!

It's been awesome being able to serve in the Liberty Stake. Liberty Jail is in another ward, but is about 10 minutes away, the temple is in our ward, and is ten minutes away. Our stake center/ the church building we go to is right next to the temple, like a 1 minute walk away. We are double covering 2 wards and the mission home is in our ward. President Love is technically in our ward but he's always going to other wards. 

 

Elder T and Elder SandKamp at Brown's house!

Life has been crazy this last week. Turns out being a zone leader means you do a lot of paperwork and deal with getting people rides places and all that fun stuff. So much of that's been going on, I've hardly met any of the people we're teaching... We're trying to get all caught up tho. We had some cool moments meeting ward members this week! I met Jordan & Lauren Brown! He's the assistant ward mission leader/ gospel principles teacher. They're awesome. We're 3rd Cousins. Haha pretty sweet. She said she's met grandpa before! She just went out to Utah and said her Grandma was talking about Grandpa Mike a bit! I feel bad for her, she's having a big jaw surgery and will be in Utah for over a month!!

Another cool story, we met Jared & April Bodine in our ward. They are a young, 25 year old couple. He's in med school. They're super awesome. He was asking all about me, my life and my mission. About 20 mins into talking to them I realized I'd seen him somewhere. As he was talking, it clicked in my head the days prior to my mission, like a few days before I left, there was a YouTube video (Click here to watch the video) I kept turning back to and watching over and over again to get in the Spirit. It was a video of some missionaries sharing their cool experiences and testimonies of their mission. He was telling a story of his mission in that video. He gave the most powerful story of his experience converting a young punk drug dealer in Mexico. I seriously remember that video vividly, and you know how bad my memory is! That's how much of an impact that video made on me! I cried as I watched that video. It was such an awesome, random thing. I shared with him how that video impacted me, and I couldn't help but get choked up as I told him that and shared my testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was such a tender mercy, one I really needed that night. Such a cool moment. 

I love this gospel. Til' next week! :) 

- Tan

Letter #82 . . . new comp, new area, new calling and Elder Christofferson!

Brief update . . . 

 I left Whitmer, left Elder Fallon, and am now serving with Elder Sandkamp! I'm super excited. He's from Minnesota. He's deaf in his right ear and is an ASL missionary! He's awesome. We're Zone leaders in the Liberty Stake and double covering two areas, North Kansas City Ward and Shoal Creek Valley Ward! Some cool stuff! There are lots of young couples in our area! The temple and mission home are in our area too! 

Elder Christofferson came and spoke to us at an all mission conference! We got to shake his hand! I sang "Lord I Would Follow Thee" with a little missionary choir of about 16 people at the conference! Elder Christofferson is such a spiritual giant. I loved that conference. I loved his testimony of the Book of Mormon. That's probably what stood out the most was his emphasis he put on the Book of Mormon. He said if that is true, it's all true, and that we don't need to do the convincing, because the Book of Mormon will do it and stand all on its own... Got to see the new mission home! It used to be in Raytown, now it's in Liberty! 

I'm in 3rd Nephi 23 in my BOM study. Lovin it!

- Elder Townsend 

New comp, Elder Sandkamp from Minnesota

All zone conference with Elder Christofferson!

Saying goodbye to Bruce Dunlop . . . helped him on his farm!

Saying goodbye to the Bridges . . . "most amazing people ever!"

Bishop Dial

Letter #81 . . . comforting assurance has come line upon line!

This week has been good! I'm guessing I'll probably be leaving this
week, but I'm not sure! Just cause I've never stayed in an area more
than 4 and a half months! But I don't know . . . we'll see!

His trainer, Elder Amosa, sent him this cool tie!

Saturday we had the David Whitmer family reunion/community celebration of his life here in Richmond!! It was pretty awesome! Most of David's
descendants are not LDS. A lot of them spoke and it was amazing to hear of their testimonies that the Book of Mormon is true, even tho they aren't members of the church!! A lot of the family was under the impression coming in that our church taught against David Whitmer. But judging by the fact that our Ward was named, "The Whitmer Ward" I don't think that's the case. All their minds were changed and their hearts were softened toward us. :) Me and Elder Fallon gave the family a tour of the "Mormon Room" in the Ray County Museum, which displays the significance of the role that David Whitmer played in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and in the early church. Although David Whitmer left the church because of disagreements with Joseph Smith, he stood true to the fact up to death that he saw the angel Moroni with his own eyes that showed him and the other 3 witnesses the Plates. David's 
descendants in the tour were pretty impressed by 
that, and a few of them took Book of Mormons to read!

This week I have felt the Spirit strong, and my conviction of the reality of Jesus Christ & the reality of His Restored Gospel has been
strengthened. I feel such a comforting assurance these days. That feeling hasn't come suddenly, but slowly, line upon line! It's happened as I've humbled myself more and more, and grown more and more in my faith in Christ. This morning I studied the testimonies of the Book of Mormon of early church converts. It was so cool reading about these people whose lives were changed by reading it, as mine was. They dropped everything and dedicated their time, talents, and everything to their God. I was humbly amazed reading of the sacrifices of those saints! It may seem like a sacrifice, but it's really not... How amazing the peace that comes to a man, in this often lonely and dreary world, who studies the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ!? How was I so lucky to have ended up born into the situation I was, with the amazing people I've been surrounded by? How did I get lucky enough to have a peace that comes from knowing that God loves me and has a plan for me, and has given me the path to happiness in this life and in the life to come?! How amazing is it to know that the all powerful Heavenly Father loves me enough to never give up on me, and continually forgives me of my persistent weaknesses! To know that I don't need to define myself by my weaknesses, but by my strengths!

Love y'all!

- Elder Townsend
 

Broken glasses :(