People in Our Lives

Friends and Family, 

This past week has been such a crazy but spectacular week. With zone conferences, Elder Taele and I have been traveling all over the mission and going on exchanges with the zone leaders and getting involved in all sorts of good trouble. It has been a blast. Might I add, a very exhausting blast, but a blast nonetheless. 

While we were in Wenatchee for one of the zone conferences, I got permission from President Lewis to go and visit Miguel and his family! A little over a year ago, while I was training Elder West, we had found Miguel and taught him and and baptized him within two weeks. I was fortunate enough to work with him and his family for the entire six months that I was there. He is more than just a recent-convert in my life, he is one of my great friends. I think about the love that I have for him and his family, and it humbles me to think that if I love this family so much after only knowing them for a year, how much does our Heavenly Father love them? Serving a mission has been such a blessing. With all the goodbyes to all of the people that I have grown to love so much, I have been able to take a small peek into the love that God has for each and every one of us.

For those of you that actually read the middle parts of my weekly emails, you might recall from a couple of months ago when I first got to Yakima and was serving with Elder Wilson for the second time a story about a family with a chicken on the loose. Yesterday, that family was baptized. Without a doubt, one of the happiest moments of my life thus far. I always tell missionaries that the bad times may outnumber the good ones in the mission field, but the good ones outweigh the bad ones. Working with the Arregoite family has been something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

It got me thinking about what a blessing it is to have been lead by the Spirit to find that loose chicken trying to escape to have them in my life. I can't begin to thank Heavenly Father enough for using me as a tool in His hands to help that family come unto Christ. I've been reflecting a lot about the people in our lives. With SO many people in this world, it can be very very easy to take those around us for granted. We encounter and talk with countless numbers of people, but in reality there are a select few that are actually IN our life. A taxi driver in New York probably feels that he has millions of people in his life, when in reality he probably only has a handful.

I hope this is translating well over email. The point I'm trying to get at is that I'm grateful that out of all the people that could be in my life, that you're one of them.

On a related note with the people in our lives, I'll close with this scripture.

"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise." (2 Nephi 2:8)

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

His Work

Friends and Family, 

This past week has been filled with a plethora of phenomenal experiences with the numerous exchanges we went on. Can you tell I'm working on expounding my vernacular? 

Early on in the week, while on exchanges with Elder Aguirre from Othello, we spent a large amount of time walking around the streets of our area and talking with as many people as we could and knocking even more doors. While walking from one door to the next, we saw a woman and her daughter getting out of the car and walking towards their home. Elder Aguirre looked over at me and didn't even need to say anything, and in the next instant we were walking quickly over to talk with this mother. We started off saying hello, asking if we could help bring anything into the home. As we got closer and closer, Elder Aguirre realized that he had taught this woman before on a previous exchange! She remembered him as well, and we talked with her and got her information and when I asked for her last name, I learned that this was the mother of a part-member family that Elder Taele have been planning on trying to contact since I got to the area but have not had any success. I know the Lord put her right in our path at that time, and if it weren't for planning to be in that area at that time, it may have taken weeks before we could finally set something up!

Traveling up to Omak was really fun, the northern part of the mission has a unique feel in the air. It's hard to describe. Fun fact about Omak, it's the last place in recorded history where Mormon missionaries were tarred and feathered. Elder Harmon and I really enjoyed our time together. He has been working with a family for quite a while, and we had an amazing lesson with them. Eli, the husband, has been really questioning God for quite some time. He has a law degree and loves science, and right after we walked in he asked, "Elders, how long does it take before someone can get a testimony of the Book of Mormon?" It was perfect. Teaching Eli and his wife was so much fun, I felt like I connected with him SO well. It was missionary paradise.

Elder Moser (Moses Lake) and I, similar to Elder Aguirre and I, spent a large amount of time walking the streets of our area. I love just being out in the work in our area. We have so many amazing people that we're working with, and we are always finding more. While tracting, we knocked on a door and immediately noticed a family tree hanging on the wall. We jumped on the opportunity and began talking about family history. The woman asked if we could come back the next day, and so we did. Elder Taele and I returned and the wife wasn't home but the husband was. We talked with him about his family, his newborn child, and how the gospel will bless his family more than anything else. He expressed his questions about God, and we started to give some answers and he already has a desire to come to church next Sunday! 

The hand of the Lord is continually clear in assisting us in our labors. All of these experiences have layered upon previous experiences that all that happens in missionary work is because of Him. We are all where we are at for very specific reasons. Look for opportunities to serve others this week. He puts the people in our path, He prepares us to help others come unto Him, He does it all. He just loves us enough to let us come along for the ride.

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

"If you want to remember your wife's birthday, just forget it once."

Friends and Family, 

Happy Valentine's day. Well, happy one-day-early Valentine's Day. I hope you all enjoy the subject of this week's email, it comes from a very wise member who fed us dinner last night. I thought I'd share the sweet nugget of wisdom with you all, married or unmarried. 

It's been crazy serving on the other side of Yakima Ave. My new area borders my last area, and just covers English people, but it's cool because I still get to see a lot of the old members and investigators from serving in the Englewood Branch. We have a lot of really cool people we are working with!

Curtis is somebody we recently found and started teaching. The Spanish STL's talked to him while he was smoking a cigarette outside and got his info and passed it on to us. He's an older gentleman who lives by himself, but still calls and talks to his wife that lives in an assisted living facility every day. He is a man of great faith, and has tons of life experiences to help him see God's hand in his life. As we shared the message of the Restoration with him, it was all clicking with him and making sense and he believed in all of it. Towards the end of the lesson I invited him to pray about if our message was true. I was thinking he'd pray later after we left, but he bowed his head and crossed his arms and started praying right then and there! Elder Taele and I looked at each other and quickly bowed our heads. He finished his very sincere prayer, and took a moment of silence, and said "Well. I just had a very strong feeling, so I guess God's telling me your church is true." It was sweet. He has memory problems, so teaching him is fun because he only remembers parts of our previous lessons. 

We are also teaching the Galvan Family. There is a mom with two daughters and some grandkids that live in this apartment and they are all so sweet and humble. They have some sort of physical deformity but they are completely functioning but have been discriminated against their entire lives. When we had our first lesson with them, Rebecca, the mom, was telling us how she had questioned whether or not God loves here. She knows that He does, but said that at times it is very hard to believe it. It was very powerful to be there and testify to them that God is no respecter of persons, and that He loves each and every one of them more than they could imagine. 

That's my insight from the week. The power, vastness, and greatness of God's love. Something that can be very hard to comprehend, but when time is taken to pay attention to the love that God has for us, life seems to have a little more color. Even in this cold, grey, winter. 

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

Teaching in Icelandic

Friends and Family, 

It's been a busy week here in Yakima, but a good one as well. Transfers have come and gone, I'm finally settled into my new apartment, and we taught a man from Iceland the other day.

One night this week we had a recent covert of about 4 months come out with us to teach some investigators. Unfortunately, every single person was either not home or didn't want to answer the door. Elder Taele and I looked at each other and looked at our member and told him that we were going to go knock some doors. Fear mixed with excitement filled his eyes at the thought of knocking on some stranger's door. We told him to take us to where he felt we should go and pick a door for us to start knocking. He looked around, paused on one house and said, "This house looks nice enough."

We went up and knocked and an older gentleman opened right up. We introduced ourselves and asked for his name and he replied, "My name is Thorbjorn *insert very long Icelandic last name here*, and you can't say it." We were very surprised and started talking with him about his name. He started to open up, and started asking us about who we were and what we do. Once the word 'church' left our mouth he closed up again and expressed that he didn't want anything to do with religion and was on the verge of slamming the door. We quickly began talking to him about family history and explained that we also love working with and teaching people more about how they can learn about their ancestors. His whole complexity changed once again, and opened up and when we asked to come in was very accepting. We went in and looked at a book he had about his family and talked with him about family search and had a great discussion.

I learned some Icelandic from him and also am starting to pick up an Icelandic accent as well. I hope to go back and with time completely master the Icelandic accent. Also, it was cool to see how some people have their hearts open to some things, but not all things. A lot of the time, we want others to have the desires that we want for their hearts! However, if we have the patience to learn and serve others and help them, sometimes we can help them to change their heart and see things from a new perspective.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

Living in the Mission Office

Friends and Families, 

Well, it's been an interesting transfer weekend. My reign in the Englewood Branch has come to an end. On the bright side, I won't be going too far and I'll still be in the Englewood Building for the new ward that I cover. President Lewis hit his head really really hard Saturday morning while making some transfer calls and thought that it would be a good idea to call me to be one of his assistants. I had to start packing right then and there to get ready to move in with the current assistants to prepare for all of the transfer craziness that will take place on Wednesday. Thankfully, since I was already so close, I was able to go to the Englewood Branch one last time yesterday and say all of my goodbyes and have one last final member dinner and then officially leave.

We had Branch Conference yesterday, so the new stake president came to speak. He served his mission in Japan and doesn't speak a single word of Spanish, but he wrote out his entire talk in English, then translated it into Spanish with the help of one of his brothers who does speak Spanish, practiced it, and then gave his whole talk in Spanish to the branch. It was very powerful to see him do his very best to speak. Although he did not know what he was saying, you could feel the Spirit so strongly and so could he and he would tear up despite being lost in translation.

Saying goodbye was really sad. Little did I know when I was first called to serve in the Englewood Branch that I would be finding a new family. All of the members in that branch will forever hold a very special place in my heart. I took a lot of pictures with all of the members, but I won't be able to send any of them unfortunately. We just finished an office meeting and my camera is still back in the apartment and we don't have too much time for emailing today. Look forward to the farewell pics next week!

The biggest spiritual insight I'd like to share from this week comes from Saturday morning. Right after the phone call from President Lewis, I knew that I needed to say a prayer and ask for all of Heavenly Father's help. I remember back in my first transfer when I was first serving with Elder Wilson, right after he got the call that he was going to be emergency transferred I saw him kneel down and pray. That really stuck out to me, and I've always tried to do the same. As I began my prayer, I started to offer up the feelings of my heart. I started off by expressing gratitude for all of the areas that I've served in and all of the companions I've had and everything I've learned from them. I gave thanks for all of leaders I had back home. Bishops, Stake Presidents, teachers in school, Scoutmasters, Young Men's Presidents, etc. I then began to express all of my concerns. I didn't know how I was going to be able to do what I was just called to do. With all of the faults and weaknesses that I have, how can I magnify my calling? I started to think of previous assistants that I have seen throughout the course of my mission, and I began to feel very inadequate. As I began to ask for all the help I could receive, a feeling of peace came over my heart. A line from a talk that I had recently read came very strongly to my mind. "You can't do it, Elder King. But the Lord can. He has the power to do His work, and if you will be worthy and work hard, He will do it. You will see.”

The Lord doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Despite all of the personal flaws that we may find ourselves with, He will help us to overcome any task, trial, or tribulation placed before us.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder King

Note from mom:  I've attached a couple pictures Sister Lewis took and shared on the mission blog.  If you'd like to see her story, here's the link:  New Assistant Elder King

Ministering Angels

Friends and Family, 

First off, I may now honestly say that I have eaten grasshoppers. Apparently they're a commodity in Mexico, some really expensive dish. In Pasco a plate of grasshoppers can go for up to $25. Our investigators, Pedro and Rosa, had a whole tub of them and made me try them. Elder Kiser didn't want to, so I had to. They weren't too bad, flavor wise. The worst part is picking the bug parts out of your teeth. I've attached a picture where I have to kneel down to fit in the frame with them. They're from Oaxaca, so they're very very small.

A common lesson that I've been seeing throughout my time here in Yakima is how easy it is to be an angel in somebody else's life. We got a random call from a phone number that we didn't recognize and answered the phone and started to talking to some stranger. He explained that his name was Rafael and that he felt that his life had no purpose anymore. He wanted to take his own life, but something told him that he should call the missionaries. We were all very taken back at what we had just heard over the phone, so we asked for some clarification on some things and realized that this man was truly on the brink of taking his own life. We asked him if he had any weapons or anything nearby, and he answered no. He told us that he lived out in Naches, about half an hour away from where we were. We felt helpless with the great distance between us, but we promised him that missionaries would go and talk with him. We called the Elders that covered Naches, and I said "Elders, someone is about to take their life. Are you up for the challenge?" We gave them the address, and they headed off to visit Rafael.

They called us back and told us that everything was going to be okay, that Rafael wasn't going to end his life. The gospel had begun to bring light into his life again. A couple days later I went on exchanges with those Elders, and we felt a very strong need to go and visit Rafael before Sunday. He lives out in a lonely garage in the middle of nowhere. The only social contact he may have in a day is with his dog Blackie, who has a broken leg. We went and knocked on the door with a whole new light about him. He let us in and we started talking with him about his life and what has happened to him. His entire family was killed by the Mexican cartels, and it caused him to lose faith in everything. He told us that everything has gone downhill since that moment, until missionaries went and visited him. Since that first visit, he was miraculously able to find a new job, after being unemployed for a very long time. A sad look started to come over his face again, when he confessed that he does not have very much food, and that he was afraid of starving. We promised him that God would look out for him, especially since he's been reading in El Libro de Mormon. We said a prayer with him and continued talking to him about the blessings of the gospel, when we heard a car lock up outside his garage. Very puzzled, we all went outside to see who it could be, since Rafael isn't accustomed to visitors. It was his new boss, from his new job, with a box full of meat from a hunting trip he and a friend went on. He also brought some spinach and other odd items of food. Rafael thanked his new boss, and we thanked him for being the answer to our prayers, and went back inside as his boss went on his way.

We were amazed. We had just witnessed a serious miracle. A humble prayer was answered.

It doesn't matter what trials we are going through in life, God will watch out for us. There is no depth that we can sink to, that the light of the gospel cannot reach to bring us back up. 

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

Sacrifice brings miracles

Friends and Family, 

First off, I must apologize. I set a goal at the beginning of the transfer to try and take a picture every day, and so far this week I have taken one picture. It's a lot harder than you'd think. Taking pictures just isn't in my natural disposition I guess. With all this being said, I have no pictures to share. The one picture I did take I took of the door of our apartment, just for the sake of taking a picture that day, 

As a mission, we're really trying to encourage all of the missionaries to spend at least one hour tracting each day. Spending at least one hour each day out knocking doors has had such an impact on the work in so many ways. We have seen the Lord bless us in many unexpected ways because of our efforts to find. On Tuesday we needed to go and try and visit a new investigator that we had found a couple days ago, but after we knocked on his door his wife told us that he had left about half an hour earlier to go pick up their kids from school. We asked the wife to please tell her husband that we had stopped by, and went on our way. As we were walking away from the door and back towards the car to go visit our back-up plan, a thought came to my mind. I looked at my companion and said, "Why don't we go tract the street up the block?" The wind was beating hard, our toes were very frozen, and the temptation to get into the car and drive to visit another investigator was very present in our minds. We had already planned an hour of tracting later on in the day, but he looked back at me and with a shrug of the shoulders we started walking up the block. Once we arrived at the first door, we knocked once and nobody answered. We started walking back down the pathway and onto the next house when a car drove by and honked at us. We walked over and the driver rolled down the window, and to our amazement it was our investigator who we had just tried to contact! He was on his way home from picking up the kids, and saw us knocking doors and told us to come back to his house so we could teach him more. 

If we had not decided to sacrifice the warmth and comfort of the car, we would not have been able to teach our investigator that day. Sacrifice brings miracles. Every time we make a choice to sacrifice something for the Lord, whatever it may be and however small it may seem, the Lord blesses us greatly every single time. Whatever you might be holding back from the altar of sacrifice, know that the blessings will make whatever it is worth it. 

Another miracle from this week comes from Tuesday night. We had a member come out with us to visit a less-active member in the branch, but our appointment fell through. Happens every once in a while as missionaries. We looked at the member and asked him, "Who do you home teach?" He mentioned some families and one stood out to me for some reason. We went by and knocked on the door and a familiar face opened up. Many moons ago, I shared a story about finding a family because I helped some kids get a chicken back inside a fence. Ariana, the mom of the family, opened the door! We haven't been able to find her for so long, and it was because she was living with her parents now. Her Dad, Procoro, is a member of the church. The one that our member was assigned to home teach. 

We taught Ariana and her kids and her brothers while Hermano Webber taught Procoro. We set a return appointment and went back and invited them to church and Ariana and her two kids came to church! I was on cloud 9 the rest of the day. They are SUCH a cool family, and seeing them at church and love it filled me with joy. My companion and I decided to go to Primary to sit with Ariana's kids and help them feel comfortable, so it was also a nice throwback to the good ol' days with sharing time and singing time. 

The Lord has truly been blessing us this week. Love you and miss you all, as always. Special birthday shout out to the best younger brother anybody could ask for. Happy birthday Aaron. Shouts outs. 

Con Mucho Amor, 

Elder King

(note from editor-mom:  since William didn't send a picture, I'll share one he sent to me.  these missionaries do some crazy things with their spare time!!)