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 :(