Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

It truly is one of the most wonderful times of the year. Thanksgiving is one of my top holidays. I decided to try and arrange the holidays in order of most favorite to least. 4th of July is definitely first, and I put Thanksgiving second. From pie and turkey to the attitude of gratitude, it is so awesome. And let's not forget that dreadful day many moons ago where I proposed to Thanksgiving after getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I love Thanksgiving the same, if not more, than I did on that day. 

Over the past week Elder Wilson and I have experienced a TON of trials and rejection. There reached a point where we felt like we were giving everything we had to the work with and achieving nothing. One night I decided to just sit down and start making a list of all of the things I have to be grateful for. I started writing things down and I began to realize how much I have been blessed. From the names of people I have gotten to know to the memories I have, it made all the trials of this past week seem so insignificant. 

There are so many things in our lives that can so easily be taken for granted. However, there is one thing I'd like to focus on. The people in our lives. Sometimes it feels like we have an unlimited number of people in our lives, when in reality we are only blessed to come to know a select number. A taxi driver in New York might feel like he knows thousands upon thousands of people, but over the course of his life he might only come to know a couple hundred on a personal basis. I hope all of this is making sense, the point I am trying to make is that we only have so many people in our lives, and I am so grateful to have all of you in my group of people I have been blessed to know. Share your love and gratitude for those around you over this next week. William Shakespeare once said, "They do not love, that do not show their love." As crazy as life can be, never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. 

Enjoy this thanksgiving week, eat some pie and turkey for me! 

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

Pictures: The first picture is of me on top of this little mountain, literally almost touching the clouds. The clouds get so low here and it is so beautiful here in the gorge to be driving along the Columbia River. The second photo is of me being goofy and posing with a sign on someone's door that says "Este Hogar es Catolico". I thought it was funny so I just made the most ridiculous face I could with it. Hope you enjoy

Aloha

Aloha!

This week has been pretty crazy. So much has happened. I must be king of the animals down here in The Dalles or something, because as Elder Wilson and I were going around knocking doors we saw this deer hanging out in someone's yard. It first looked like a statue and so we started walking up to the door when we saw it start to move and realized that it was a live deer just chillin' in this lady's yard. I wanted to see how close I could get to it so I just started walking right up to it and it just came up to me and started sniffing me and nuzzling itself against me. It was insane in the membrane. Elder Wilson and I were blown away because all of the deer here are so scared and skiddish and it was crazy to get so close to one. I now refer to that deer as our newest investigator, Bambi.

I also am a local celebrity among the hispanic kids here in the area. There is an apartment complex here that is almost entirely hispanic and I carry around stickers with me wherever I go and all of the kids now that when they see me they can just run up to me and ask for a sticker and get one. It's funny how much a kid loves something as simple as a sticker. I've searched for Spider-Man stickers, but I am currently carrying around Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Stickers. It is so fun to talk with the kids and give them high fives and pass out stickers.

I got to visit with one of the investigators in the area this week, his name is Aryan. He has had such a hard past and spent some time in prison and has tattoos all over himself, and even has a swastika on his neck. That's how rough and tough of a guy he is. As we were sitting in church, I looked over and saw him while we were singing and realize that here is this ex-felon, covered in tattoos, singing "I'm trying to be like Jesus". It was incredibly powerful moment that showed me that no matter what your past might be, with the right message and the right goals anyone can become a better person.

I know I thank everyone every week but I am just so grateful for all of you. With Thanksgiving coming around the corner I encourage you to take time to really reflect on how much you have in your lives. I am so thankful for all of my memories with each and every one of you and for the future memories with you all that are to come. 

Pictures were given me a hard time to attach and so I am only able to attach 2 pictures. The first one is with my newest investigator, Bambi. She nuzzled right up to me and so I did the best I could to take a selfie. The other is with my fan club, as they flock to me for stickers. I hope these two will suffice your picture needs for this week!

Winter is Coming

Amigos y familia!

Weeks are days and days are weeks out here in the mission field. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing you all and updating me on the adventures out here. In the words of Ned Stark, "Winter is coming." Temperatures are dropping, but for all who know me, it's still tropical.

An unexpected trial that I have began to face out here in the mission field is how much food people want me to eat. On ThursdayI had dinner with a family who fed us a huge meal, and then later at the english class we teach at there were cookies there, and one of our students invited us over to his house for his wife's birthday party where there was another dinner and dessert. Especially in the hispanic culture, it's considered rude if you don't eat any food they provide for you. I'm learning to eat very slowly and never finish anything, despite how tasty and free all the food may be. It makes me extremely grateful for the time I have in the morning to exercise.

That same evening we visited a man named Augustine. He is so funny. He LOVES karaoke so he spends thousands of dollars on karaoke equipment and invites us over to sing karaoke with him and teach him a lesson. It's hilarious because he lives in this little trailer with his wife and he will just sing karaoke by himself every night.

Today marks the 2 month mark of my time out in the mission since I have left home, and every day I am reminded how much happiness the message I share brings me. Even while tracting houses in the rain out here in the Oregon equivalent of the Land of Desolation I love the work.

As always, I love you all! And I know that people say that all the time, "Ahhh love you guys." But I really mean it. Until next Monday, keep rockin' and rollin'.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

Pictures: For my two pictures (the only pictures I took this week) I have me with some cool deer that were straight chillin up in the hills of Oregon. Also I found this chicken just walking around in the street, with no idea how it got there. I'm thinking of starting up a farm animal gang or something. Give me ideas on what it could be called. ​I attached them as attachments this week as apposed to included in the email. Let me know what works better. I can't seem to fit both pictures in one email, so I'll send a second email with the chicken picture.

Oh Deer!

A Missionary and his Chicken

Keepin' it Cool in The Dalles, OR

Homies back home,

This week has been filled with so much good. The Dalles, OR is such a great place to be. It gets so dark here so early however, so by 6:00 it's pretty much pitch black. Makes for some interesting evenings!

Something really cool that happened this week was my companion and I had a lesson appointment cancelled on us, so we just started walking the streets and knocking doors to see if we could share a quick message or provide some service. As we were walking, I saw this lady trying to change the windshield wipers on her car. Having done that a few times here and there, I asked if I could help her out. I chatted with her and got to know her a little bit while changing the wipers, and after I finished Elder Wilson and I shared a quick thought with her and went on our way. Elder Wilson looked at me as we turned the street corner and jokingly said, "Why don't we just keep walking around and see if anyone else is placed in our path for us to serve." Less than a minute later we saw an older woman sitting in her car by herself with the light on. We walked over and explained who we were and asked if there was anything we could do for her. Without a moment of hesitation she replied, "Yes! With groceries!" We gathered all of the groceries out of the back of her car and carried them up the stairs to her apartment. She explained that her daughter, who normally helps her, was out of town, and she wasn't sure how she was going to be able to get her groceries up the stairs. I absolutely love serving others, and it is just so cool to see that people are placed in our lives for specific reasons. There are no coincidences.

Another night we knocked on a door and met such an awesome family. They immediately invited us in for dinner and didn't even know us. Their names were Jose and Beatriz, and they had two kids. They fed us some of the best food I have ever eaten... cactus! It is so good, And super healthy too! They were some of the nicest people I have ever met.

One of my favorite things that I get to do out here is teach an English class to the hispanics in the area. It is a blast. I have about 10 students and they all work so hard on pronunciation, we spent nearly an entire class just learning the word, 'young'. Each week more and more people attend and it is just so great to get to talk with all of them and get to know them.

Something I've been learning ever since I've left Mexico City and arrived here in The Dalles is the important of attitude. The work out here can be incredibly hard and difficult and frustrating, but I've come to learn that we can either permit our environment to determine our attitude, or we can let our attitude determine our environment. 

I love you all so much! Be happy, smile more, and may the force be with you.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

Picture Update: I actually have my own camera now! I'm still trying to get used to taking pictures of things I do, hopefully I'll get better. The first picture is a picture of Elder Wilson on Halloween and I with the kids of this awesome woman we are teaching, Jackie. The second picture is of Elder Wilson and I after a long day of work back in the apartment in front of our famous Thug Zone sign, because yes. I am always thuggin'. Even out here in The Dalles. 

A Few Pictures from the Mission Home

The Yak Pak (aka The Lost Tribes of CCM)

Breakfast at the Mission Home

First companion - Elder Wilson

From Dallas to The Dalles, OR

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

There is so much that has happened in the past week and a half. I am in my first area for the Washington Yakima Mission, and out of all the areas in the mission I was assigned to The Dalles, OR, How ironic? My first area isn't even in Washington. It is so beautiful here though, there is an actual fall. Leaves are changing color and the weather is beautiful and there are so many beautiful trees everywhere. It is amazing.

I had a plethora of adventures while traveling up from Mexico City. We left at 2:30 in the morning to make it to the airport and traveled all day and once we arrived in Yakima, it turned out that nobody in the mission office knew that we were coming that day. We were stranded for an hour or so at the Yakima Airport, which is the smallest airport I have ever seen. Luckily, we knew a phone number we could call and asked to borrow somebody's phone and got in contact with someone who informed President Lewis that he had 5 Elders waiting to be picked up at the Airport. Since then, we have been referred to as the Lost Tribe of Mexico.

My trainer's name is Elder Wilson. He is so awesome. He is from Huntington Beach California and he is the best trainer in the entire mission. His Mom is from Peru and his Spanish is so good. I am so glad to have him at my side, because the latinos here speak so fast and mumble a lot but he picks up all of it and is able to help me out.

I could spend this entire email describing the beauty of Yakima Washington and The Dalles, OR. There is so much good here and I love this place so much. Even more than the scenery, I love the people. The other day we met this woman named Widge, and she is one of my favorite people. She is an older woman and has 4 kids who have all left the nest and she is so eccentric and interesting. When we knocked on her door, we asked if there was any service we could provide for her. She informed us that Halloween is her favorite holiday and that she loves to decorate her yard as much as possible, and that she was just thinking that this year she wouldn't be able to decorate because she can't move all the boxes. We set up a time later in the week and went back and helped her decorate her lawn and she had the coolest stuff I have ever seen. She had a hand chair carved entirely out of wood from Thailand in her house, and so many Halloween decorations you wouldn't believe. She made us apple pie to thank us for helping her and invited us to come back any time.

Another woman that we have had the chance to serve is a lady named Reba. She lives in a retirement home and we get to visit her twice a week to listen to her tell us stories about her life so that we can write them down and make a little book for her about her life. It is so much fun, and she has some of the best stories. Some of my favorites were the stories of her Grandpa who was an explosives expert who lost his eye and had a glass eye that he would throw at her to freak her out. The story of how her husband proposed is also pretty amazing. His parents had died and he was feeling pretty depressed, so she decided to invite him to her cousin's wedding. They had been dating for a while, and she figured that a celebration of happiness would cheer him up. His response was, "I'll go to a wedding... If you're the bride!" They were married a couple months later.

The work out here is so much harder than everything back in Mexico City. However, the little victories make all the difference. There's a man named Ernesto that we are teaching and he has two little boys, Hernan and Abraham. He is such an awesome guy, and his kids are a blast. Hernan keeps all of the commitments that we leave with them, and Ernesto follows as well. Abraham is such a little ball of energy, and loves to run around all the time. Yesterday at church he just ran up to me and hugged my legs. There is no better feeling than knowing that you are making a difference in somebody's life.

I love this work so much! It is so hard, but the results make it so worth it. I have found that the key to success out here is completely devoting yourself to whatever you are doing. No holding back. All engines on. When you devote yourself entirely to a task, whatever that may be, you find yourself loving whatever it is, no matter what might be going on. I am reminded of a quote by one of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln. "Whatever you are, be a good one."

I love you all so much and I hope that you can feel my love for you all the way from out here in The Dalles!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

P.S. For the pictures, I attached 3 from our service we did with Widge. The first one is me with my companion, Elder Wilson (who is wearing a mask) just goofin' around while putting up decorations. The next is of my height being utilized to hang a giant spider in a tree. You can see Widge helping me out and my companion dressed as some ca$h money. I plan on getting a camera today so I should have more pictures for next week!

William is in Washington!

Dear Missionary Family,

We are delighted to report that your missionary has arrived safely to the Washington Yakima Mission.  We already love them and are excited to serve with them.  We are confident that they will become an effective instrument in the hands of the Lord in sharing the gospel with the people of Washington and Oregon.

We have assigned them a companion who is an experienced, devoted, and motivated missionary.  All of our missionaries understand that one of the greatest privileges available in the mission is to train a new missionary.  This first companion will be a special person in your missionary’s life and will help give them a great start here.

We feel that our greatest responsibility is the care and welfare of your child.  We want to assure you that we will be in regular contact with them and will be observant of their physical health, happiness and spiritual well-being.  We will work closely with them throughout their mission to help them succeed and fulfill their calling as a representative of the Church and as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Please be assured that we will be in contact with you if we encounter any concerns that would call for your attention.  You are a great asset to the success of your missionary while they are serving here and we will work closely with you if the need arises.  Please keep us apprised of any changes to the address, phone number or email for you, your bishop or your stake president.  We want to keep our records current so that we can contact you whenever necessary.

Attached is a photograph of your missionary taken with us at the welcome dinner at the mission home.  Please feel free to contact us at the mission office with any questions that you may have.

Thank you for the sacrifices you are making at home to have your missionary in the field.  We have seen the Lord bless the families of missionaries who are serving in untold ways.  We know that His blessings will be upon you as well.

With love and appreciation,

President John C. Lewis and Sister Ann Lewis