April 27, 2015

Hey!  

Man this has been a hard week.  Lots and lots of work with not much coming out of it.  It wasn't until yesterday that I realized that we had more success (as far as teaching numbers go) than we have yet this transfer just in different ways.  Like not as much with finding investigators but more of teaching less actives.  It was nice because it felt like we were doing so much work and nothing was coming out of it.  But it did in different ways!  

Also I ate a bad mango and threw up.  So that was fun.  Then on Saturday we were doing service for some people and I got stung by 4 bees.  3 in the leg and one right under my eye.  So I've kinda just been beat up this last week.  I'm just glad I didn't break another finger or something. 

 

Yesterday we had a FHE thingy with a family (you would really get along with the Hermana in the family, Mom.  She kinda reminds me of you.  Her name is Edith Sanchez)  And that was really fun.  I haven't had a FHE in a long time! 

 

Man that's cool that you guys did the Clark farm thingy!  Sounds fun. :)  

 

Oh that's cool you guys went to the Bountiful temple. :)  That was the last one I went to before my mission.  Really nice temple. :)  We actually did our FHE lesson on temples and it made me remember how  much I love the temple.  Too bad it will still be a month or more until I go to the temple again but that's OK.  Going to the temple less makes you realize how much of a blessing it is to be able to go more.

Yep those were the very first x rays!  Woo!  Yeah I'm working on stretching it out and I do it a lot.  Whenever I have time pretty much.  It's fun.........

 

Things with Elder Creasey are going good!  I think we won't be together for another transfer after this...  But who knows!  I would like to be with him for more!  He only has 2 transfers left after this one which ends in a couple weeks.  He goes home mid August.  If I stay his companion it's possible that I'll be his companion for the rest of his mission!  We'll see what goes down though.  

 

Ha yeah I realized that my birthday is in like 2 weeks.  Crazy.  Nobody really knows about it.  Just Elder Creasey and a couple other people I told.  I'm just glad we have dinner already set up for that day.  But yeah that's about it for this week!

 

Love you!  Have a great week!

Elder Passey

April 20, 2015

Hi guys!

This week has gone well!  It's actually been pretty crazy.  On Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment and it was interesting.  Dr Weil said that I don't need to come back!  He wants to have like a check up appointment in a month and that's it.  That would be free too.  He said my finger is about as good as he hoped it to get.  So I guess it's as straight as it's gonna get!  I just hope it will stop hurting when I move it which I almost think that it won't...  And I hope it'll stop being so fat and everything.  I'll send a picture or two of how straight and bent I can make it.  Also funny story about my brace.  I lost it again.  I think it's a sign from God that I shouldn't use it.  I lost it right before my doctor's appointment and I don't know where it is...  So yeah I'm just going to not worry about that anymore.  Kinda annoyed but I think that an angel is like pulling it out of my pocket and burning it or casting it into outer darkness or something... 

 

Things in the field are really picking up.  So lately I haven't really had very much motivation to work as hard as I can in the work and then some things happened this week that gave me a lot of motivation to work.  It's actually kinda cool what I've been able to see change.  So on Thursday we had a district meeting that was really spiritual and I really needed it.  It mostly just consisted of reading my patriarchal blessing and praying and then I felt God's presence and his arms around me and yeah...  It was really good and I really needed it.  I kinda cried a bit too. I hadn't felt the spirit as strong as I did in a long time.  That's a big reason why I got my motivation back.  Then Friday I got a training that made me kinda do a self evaluation on how I'm doing and what I need to do better. We found 4 people last week which is a blessing for sure and 2 of them are really prepared.  We extended two baptismal dates and this area is finally starting to go well.  I don't see it as a coincidence that we found all 4 people after the district meeting at some point.  One of them - Roberto I'm really excited for.  He loves reading and he wants to read the Book of Mormon.  We taught the restoration through Joseph Smith and he said right after we finished teaching the lesson that he knows it's true because of the Spirit he can feel.  Then the other guy - Gil he wants to go to church really badly.  He mostly wants to be good with God so he contacted missionaries and made us food and everything.  Really good guys.  I'm really excited for the work this week.  Roberto has a baptismal date for mothers day and Diego a guys we found last week has one for the week after mothers day.  We'll see what happens. :)

 

Something that President Tew told everyone in stake conference here a couple months ago is that every family should come up with their own mission plan for the week and write it on like a note pad or a piece of paper then do it that week.  Then the next week throw it away and make another.  Maybe you could try that?  It seems like a good idea to me. :)  Just ideas for you guys to get into the missionary stuff like you want to.

 

Do you have any nutrition ideas actually?  Because lately I've been probably gaining more weight than is healthy.  I run hard in the morning but I don't have very much other excercise than that.  And eating badly is showing itself. 

 

Well we don't have very much room in the basement.  It's really nice just really small.  We sleep in the same room we study and eat and do everything else.  And we have a bathroom which is good but yeah. 

 

I do miss Long Beach still but I'm actually really starting to love Whittier too. :)  I like being with Elder Creasey too and I feel like we can help push each other a lot to become the best missionaries we can be. 

Ok well I guess that's it for this week!  I love you!  Hang in there and have fun with Matthew's birthday and stuff!  

Bye!

April 13, 2015

Hey!

So real quick transfers this week were crazy!  On Tuesday we got a call from one of the AP's and he said that there was a change in the transfers and Elder Creasey was going to be my companion!  Elder Packer apparently is really sick and he went home on Thursday...  So that's sad but Elder Creasey is with me now!  So that's cool! :)  We've been able to do some good work even though things are weird right now and still adjusting and stuff.  We finally found 3 new investigators so that's nice. :)

That's cool that you had a good anniversary. :)  Have fun this weekend!  Sounds like it will be way fun!

Yeah I'm worrying about you guys with the drought!  California has got it bad too...  I don't know.  I know the Lord has something planned but it makes me anxious.  I keep reading about famines and when the Lord stops the rain to punish his people and stuff.  Hopefully it won't last too long!

Man I was wondering when I got my call.  A year from this week.  That's crazy.  So weird to think about...  I heard about Ali. :)  And Leahra too.  That's so cool. :)  Keep me updated on the other people getting their calls!  

When does the school year end?  It's gotta be soon...  Like 2 more months or so?  is 4th term here yet?  

My finger is meh.  I got the evil splint brace thing to try to straighten it out.  I don't like it at all.  I do have movement it's just not very good.  We'll see how much I can get back.  I keep thinking that it would have just been better to cut off the finger than to have a slightly working finger that's going to hurt me for the rest of my life! ;)

Dang that's right huh?  My birthday is coming up.  Well for now I still have the exact same pants that I left with.  Actually one less because I tore it playing soccer.  But 3 pants and they're holding up alright.  I just sew them up when they get torn.  I'm good on shirts.  I'm good on ties.  Those would just be for fun.  Maybe a pair or two of socks would be nice.  I have a couple pretty holy ones right now.  I don't really need any church supplies or pajamas or p day stuff or anything like that.  My shoes are starting to die but they're still in there.  I'll let you know when I'll need new ones.  I alternate them so that helps keep them alive.  A couple garments would be nice.  That's about it though! I'll let you know if I think of anything else!

I love you!  Have a great week!  Have fun on your anniversary trip!

Love,

Elder Passey

April 6, 2015

Hi Family!

I loved conference too!  I don't think I have a specific talk that is my favorite. :)  I really liked Uchtdorf's talk and the one Presiding bishopric counselor's talk.  I need to study them out. :)  Yeah those dissenting votes...  That was interesting.  Super annoying.  It's really sad to see that so many of the apostles are getting older and older...  It's sad to remember how they used to be and then to see how they are now...  It's just sad. 

 

I'm with a new missionary!  His name is Elder Packer!  He's really cool and I knew him when we were in Cerritos.  So we're already friends. :)  Which is nice.  I think being his companion is going to help a lot.  I'm in a ward and it's like I don't know - 100 people or so.  Good sized but not too big.  Usually we don't have to open the overflow but we fill up the chapel.  We're just down to Kim as far as investigators go basically.  Not fun.  We'll get some more though.  I think Elder Packer is going to help a lot. 

 

t was elder Nanto's birthday so we went to a members house and ate dinner there and cake and stuff.  It was super cool because a couple families from Ximeno came up because they're friends with the members we ate with. :)  So much fun to hang out with them all.  They're really funny people.

 

I've really missed Zions too actually!  That was my favorite spring break thing for sure!  We should for sure go there again! 

 

Hopefully everyone gets better!  It's not fun to be sick.  Not much going on here though other than transfers.  Nothing really happened last week.  Just the normal stuff ya know.  It will be a crazy week this week.  It always is with transfers.  Anyway love you!  Have a great week!  You are the best!  Hopefully something interesting will happen this week. :)  Oh yeah!  Elder Creasy is going to be in my district again!  I'm super excited. :)  It's going to be a good transfer. 

Love,

Elder Passey

March 30, 2015 - finger picture

Sorry I don't have any pictures of my coban tie.  I'll send that later.  I just took this of my finger.  That's as straight as I can make it.

Elder Passey

March 30, 2015

Hi everyone!

It sure is kinda nice sometimes to be exhausted in the good way.  Although it's also hard to remember that it is good to be exhausted.

I saw today that the Avengers 2 is coming out May 1st!  I bought a cereal box that had a Frisbee in it for it and then I got the super lame Frisbee and so I'm cursing my stupid impulsiveness this morning.  I also bought a puzzle.  I know.  I still hate puzzles but I feel myself going crazy with the monotony and repetition since every day is the exact same.  I had to get something to help take my mind off the stuff every once in a while.  So now I can hate the puzzle instead of hating my life.  At least that's my theory.

I'm way excited for General Conference. :)  I can't wait!  I'm seriously counting down the days till Saturday.  Hopefully Kim is going to get blasted by the spirit and it will give her the bravery to get baptized.  She's going to go to a bunch of the sessions and we had her write down a question the other day and she didn't tell us what it was.  She said she would tell us after General Conference if it's answered. :)  I'm hoping!  But also transfers are this week.  So I'll let you know what goes on next week on if I'm moving or staying or if Elder Nanto is moving or staying.  I think I might be moving...  We'll see. 

Yep I'm almost at a year mark. I'm at 14 months left now.  It's weird being an older missionary.  I never believed the elders who where at their like 9 month mark saying that it felt like yesterday when they were finishing training but now I can relate.  It really doesn't feel like it.  Thanks for everything. :)

I love the new video!  We watched it yesterday with my favorite family the Cuessy family yesterday and it's so good!  Have you seen He is the Gift the Christmas video they did in December?  It's so much like that!  It's so cool!  I'm doing a lot better sharing it with people than I did before.  I feel like I've made a lot of progress as a missionary but at the same time not very much at all.  Makes me want to work harder.  Which is good because I feel like I'm getting in a kinda rut right now. 

Oh yeah so I made a couple ties.  One of them I knitted for St Patrick's day. The other I made this last week and I made out of coban stuff.  It's actually kinda funny because for a while every time I went to the doctor he would give me a new roll of coban stuff.  It's the stuff you wrap and sticks to itself.  So I've been wondering for a while what I should do with it.  So I made a tie.  I don't have a picture of it on me but I actually think it turned out pretty good. :) 

I also got the brace of death for my finger.  It HURTS!  And then I lost it about 30 hours after I got it.  Still annoyed at myself for that.  But I have another appointment to get another one.  It's supposed to straighten out my finger and it's basically the devil.  Just another thing making my life joyous right now.

Anyway that's about it I think.  Have a good week!  Love you!  Be happy!

Elder Passey

March 24, 2015

Gary and Debbie's baptism

Brandon's self knitted St. Patrick's day tie