Christmas and Comp Cardies

Family!

It was so nice to talk to everyone last week! I very much enjoyed it. I hope you liked hearing Magnus (Elder Costigan) talk! He has a cool accent! I love his guts. 

Looks like you guys had quite the Christmas!  We actually got a really nice present from the weather man as well. It was the day after Christmas but it was the thought that counts. We were at a members house for dinner and we looked outside and to our surprise it was snowing!!!! It snowed for a solid half an hour, just long enough for have Elder Costigan to have his first snowball fight! He was like a little kid running around. He could hardly believe his eyes, snow was actually falling from the sky. He was mind blown, ha ha! It really makes you appreciate the beauty of snow when you watch someone who has never seen snow before react to it. It was hilarious! He just couldn't believe how cold his hands got during the snowball fight and was amazed that it actually fell in flakes. It was a wonderful Christmas present cause I have been missing the snow very much. 

Boxing day didn't turn out to be as much of a success as I would have hoped. I haven't found a suit yet, but there are still sales on today and I will see if I can't get a good one. If I can't find one then I won't be sending home anything anytime soon. Even though we didn't find a suit, we did have success in finding cardigans. We found some really cool cardigans for way cheap and just had to get them! So now we have matching ties and matching cardigans, or Cardies as Elder Costigan says. They are pretty cool! So wish me luck in finding a nice suit today! I know with enough faith anything is possible, ha ha!

They rest of our week hasn't been very eventful because nobody is around! Everyone is on holiday or with family, so it is hard to get appointments. Christmas is over now so hopefully things will start to pick back up! I love you guys lots and hope all goes well with your New Years Eve party this year! Tell everyone I miss them and to not have too much fun without me! Not that you could, but you could certainly try!

Love you,

Elder Kmetzsch

Through the Cold, the Rain and a Haircut?

Family,

I've decided that I hadn't ever really experienced cold until this week. Humid cold is not pleasant, not pleasant at all. I have invested in a nice big scarf and that has improved the situation greatly! But I do like being cold rather than hot! There are only so many layers you can take off! But you can have 2 jumpers, (sweaters) and a big coat and it'll all be just fine! 

Elder Rutter and I about to Brave the Cold!

Man, I still can't believe Emma is so old! It seems like last week I was in CJH Madrigals going to Reading Elementary and dancing just as awkwardly.... I can't believe she is actually touching a boy!!! AHH gross! 

Christmas time really is a special time of year. Even if you don't believe in Christ or have an religion at all, for most people Christmas is a time to spend with family and friends. The traditions we have and the feelings we get make Christmas something that is like nothing else. Just today I was walking through a store and saw a 1000 piece puzzle and I was pretty sad that I couldn't do one this year! I love our Silver tree. I hope Emma was gentle with it, cause it has to last at least 2 more years. I think I like Christmas time the best for missionary work. Especially with the new initiative. People are much more willing to stop and talk if you are asking them about Christmas! We have seen some really cool miracles with the new video and I think this Christmas will be the best one ever! 

I wish I could have gone fishing with Cameron in Florida. But I think I would have hurled as well... I have always wanted to go deep sea fishing. For now I will just have to be content with being a fisher of men, I guess. We actually had a Zone Conference this last week and we talked a lot about how we are fishers of men, and how when Christ called the apostles they, "strait way left there nets." We talked about how we each in our own lives have nets that are holding us back from the Savior. It could be something as simple as R movies or something larger like a serious addiction. Whatever it may be Christ is calling us to leave are nets and become fishers of men. In other words he is calling us to leave behind our desires and to focus on others. This Christmas season I personally am trying to decided what my nets are, and how I can give them up. This year the gift I am going to give my Saviour is me. My thoughts, My desires and all of My effort. I hope that everyone can find something they can give to Christ this year. I know that when you do you will have a better Christmas than you have every had. So strait way leave your nets behind and see how giving to the Savior will change you this year. 

Zone Conference

This week has been a bit of a rebuild for us. We have lost some investigators and have spent a lot of time street contacting and trying to build up our area. We have had some long days, but there isn't really a dull moment with Elder Costigan. He really is a nutcase... I love his guts though and I am learning so much from him! Lots of people are going out of town for Christmas and it is pretty frustrating but hey in January we are going to have loads of people to call! 

We had Zone Conference and I was asked to sing a solo... Probably the scariest performance of my life. I sang, "Mary Did You Know" and it went really well! I didn't even crack at all, ha ha. I hope you are proud that I am still using my talents, Mom! 

I needed a haircut this week and I finally gave into the classic having your companion cut your hair approach. I was pretty nervous but Elder Costigan did a very nice job, ha ha!

Anyway I think that I'll still be in Coventry for Christmas, we'll find out tonight.... If I do stay then I will call at around 6:00 or 7:00 here. I will let you know for sure next Monday but for now plan on a call at 11:00 or 12:00 on Christmas! I'm not really all that excited for it, but I guess I'll talk to you guys for a little bit. Have a great week, don't have to much fun without me!

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

Christmas Carols and Confirmations

Family,

Man this week has gone by super fast! Actually the last month with Elder Costigan has flown by. I feel like we just got together last week, but it is almost the end of the transfer. I really am hoping to stay in Coventry for another transfer, but I may leave. If I do leave it'll be on the 17th right before Christmas!!! There are a lot of members that want to have us over and I'll be pretty bummed if I leave. But they always say once you are comfortable in an area then you get transferred. 

Happy Birthday Lil Darling! You are sooo Old! I can't believe they are going to let you drive, and just so you know I didn't study for my permit test and it only took me two tries to pass;) I know everyone says it, but I am really glad that I am in a different country now that you are going to be on the road! 

Well this week was a bit of a crazy one. Chris, Marco and Arnold all got baptized this last Saturday! We had planned for Arnold to be baptized next week, but out of the blue Elder Costigan decided he needed to be baptized this week, (in the middle of a lesson). So we challenged him and he was ready. All three of them are Chinese Students and pretty much just my best friends. I really find it amazing to teach someone who has no background in religion or of God! To see that first moment when they realize that God is there and that he loves them and cares about everyone. It has really made me appreciate what I have. I never doubted that God was there, and I have always known and felt his love. A lot of people in this world don't know about that. They need it so bad, once they realize how much God loves us it changes them. I can honestly see a difference in the light that they have. Arnold is like a completely different person and Marco just quit smoking like it was nothing! 

Marco, Arnold and Chris

The baptism was really amazing and I finally got to baptize someone that I found and taught! I baptized Chris, Elder Costigan baptized Arnold and a Chinese member from Hong Kong named Derek baptized Marco. Marco is from a city near Hong Kong so he speaks Cantonese! Is was extremely special to baptized Chris. The next day was the confirmations of course and we were scrambling in the morning to get a hold of the Chinese members so that they could have them done in Chinese, but of course we couldn't. So last minute I had to do one of the confirmations and I can assure you that I had never been so nervous! It was my first time and it was in front of the whole ward! But I just relaxed and let the Lord say what he wanted to. Honestly if we just trust that he will give us the words they will come. But it was still a pretty scary experience. 

Sunday night was pretty cool. The stake had a, "Christmas Carol Concert," it was a big deal too! The Lord Mayor of Coventry came and everything. Basically all the ward choirs prepared a song or two and then there was scriptures and sing along carols. It was good fun and I enjoyed just singing my heart out, sometimes people gave me weird looks but I didn't even care. There was also one song where they told the story of the German Soldier singing silent night during WWI and they had someone start singing it in German and then all around the room people started standing up dressed in army uniforms singing silent night and for the last verse everybody joined in. It was a very spiritual experience, it nearly brought tears to my eyes. This year was a big year over here with it being 100 years since WWl so it was a really cool presentation. 

The rest of the week was full of fun and craziness. I hope things are just as crazy for you guys. Give everyone my love! 

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

Thanksgiving??

Dear Family,

Wait was this week Thanksgiving?!?!? Too bad they don't celebrate it over here! But don't worry we had a wonderfully nice family make us a great Thanksgiving dinner. There was stuffing, pumpkin pie and even cranberry sauce! It was very nice, but I did miss Kitty's yams and Mom's stuffing! And where is my carrot pudding? Thanksgiving was weird because it was just a normal day besides the fact that I had to bike 45 minutes to get dinner. It was worth it. 

Thank you so much for your prayers for Louise! She was baptized this week and it was such a special experience! She brought her Grandma with her and her grandma definitely felt the spirit! She cried from the moment Louise went under the water until they went home. Man I really hope it softens her heart toward listening to the missionaries, cause that is what we are about right? We bring families closer together through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Being at the baptism on Saturday and seeing what we were able to do has given me an insight to why I am here. I have seen what the gospel can do in peoples lives and it's my job to share it! 

Louise's Baptism

This week has been a really cool one. Besides the baptism, we have started the "He is the Gift" Initiative which is a special world wide Christmas initiative that the church is doing. You have probably heard about it, but it is a major thing for the missionaries. We have new pass along cards and are focusing every conversation that we have with people on the first gift of Christmas. The gift that God gave us was Jesus Christ. We have been doing this new approach for a couple of days now and have already seen some amazing things begin to happen with it. I love Christmas and what it really means. I don't think I could give up my son and watch him suffer like Heavenly Father did. But because he did I can return home to him, and that is something I am very thankful for!

Things are continuing to go great with lots of our investigators especially Chris and Marco. They are seriously the coolest! We had dinner with them the other night and Chris made us some real Chinese food. I am not gonna lie, it tasted a lot like Raman but hey it was great! 

It seems like you guys had a great Thanksgiving. I'm sure that it was loads of fun and I wish that I could have been there. I sure miss you all and hope you aren't having too much fun without me. 

Love you guys,

Elder Kmetzsch

Stuffing and Yams?

Family,

Seems like you guys had such a good week. I'm glad Emma is working hard! Those leaves look a lot like the leaves over here. They just die because it gets too cold too fast. Emma should start to prepare to serve a mission. Sister missionaries are way better then the Elders, ha ha. How did Dad's business trip to Oklahoma go? Did he eat way too much good food? Did he accidentally bump into Elder Tanner?? That would be pretty funny. I wish they had Mexican food over here! One can of refried beans costs about $3.00!!!

I can't believe that it is Thanksgiving this week!!! Man, I am going to miss Momma's cooking, but there is a member feeding us on Thursday and hopefully there will be stuffing and yams. That would be sweet!

This week was pretty crazy. We talk to so many people that I can never remember what they look like. I am going to have to get better at remembering names and faces pretty quick. Louise has made so much progress and is scheduled to get baptized this Saturday! Pray that things continue to go well with her and I will send pictures next week. Chris and his friend Marco are making amazing progress as well. They are my new best friends. They made me and Elder Costigan dinner the other night and are just super fun to be around. 

I don't have much time but overall it was a great week and time is flying. I feel like I am not going to have nearly enough time to do everything and go everywhere that I want to while I'm here. 

Lots of Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

The Time of the Chinese

Family,

Sounds like this week was pretty fun! I definitely took firesides and FHE for granted! They are such a fun thing! So Emma never complain about having to go to church activities. They are the best. 

Thank you so much for your prayers for Louise. She has been having a really positive experience with the BOM and the church. She is progressing really well towards baptism and hopefully things will continue to go as they are. So everyone keep praying for her!

This week has been crazy! I don't think I have ever been so tired in my life. We have just been finding and teaching so many people. Elder Costigan is crazy. He literally runs around to talk to people. I am learning so much about how you just have to be a little bit crazy cause Mormons Missionaries are suppose to be that way. I love talking to people especially the Chinese.

So Coventry has two major Universities in it and they both have loads of Chinese students! Elder Costigan speaks a bit of Mandarin so we have some really funny conversations. My favorite face is the face they make when he first speaks and they are like, "Whoa you speak Chinese!" He then proceeds to introduce us as a Kung Fu Master and Spongebob Squarepants. I am Spongebob of course. 

We are teaching a lot of Chinese and I love it. President Rasmussen has said that now is the time of the Chinese. The young students are so open minded and humble that it is just a joy to teach them. We have seen some amazing miracles with some of our investigators. The one I want to talk about is Chris. Chris is my new best friend! He break dances and is just the funniest guy ever. We told Chris that if he came to church with a question in his heart that God would answer him. For someone who grew up not believing in God this was a hard concept. But he did it. He came to church and in the meeting he leaned over to us and said that God was speaking to his heart. It was so amazing to see him discover that God is there and that he can answer his questions. He said that God told him that he sent us to him and that he should follow us. Now he reads his BOM and prays everyday. He is just such a blessing to us. God is there and he loves all of his children. He wants to help us and all we have to do is ask. It may not come when we want it too, but it will come. 

Things are going really great here in Coventry and hopefully it will keep going up!

Love, Elder Kmetzsch

A Crazy Australian and Heaps of Rain

Family,

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad! I was actually thinking about that this week. I was like, man, my parents have been together for 33 years! I don't even know what 33 years is. I hope that someday I will love someone as much as Dad loves Mom! They are such a great example to all of us kids! Family is the most important part of the gospel. I am so grateful for the absolutely incredible family I was blessed with! I don't care what anyone says. My family is the best one around! 

Not gonna lie I am super jealous that Emma got to sing at a Grizzlies game! Cool story, I actually met a Canadian hockey player the other day! He had some friends that played for the Grizzlies! When I told him I was from America he was like, "No your not," and this last Sunday a girl in the ward said that I was starting to sound English. Maybe I'm losing my amazing Utah Accent!! Nooo, but is was weird to hear a Canadian talk, and I thought about Sam! So here is a shout out to Sam! Love you my Canadian Brother! 

So this week was transfer week, and I have a new companion. His name is Elder Costigan. He is from Australia! He is possibly my new favorite person. We have been together for 4 days now and have had so much fun. We have seen loads of miracles as well. But he is one crazy Australian.  

My new companion Elder Costigan.

The first miracle is a girl named Louise. She is from Coventry and is so awesome! She was the second person that we talked to as a companionship and she is set to be baptized later this month. The day that we ran into Louise she had this strange feeling that she wanted to go into a church. So she went into a random church. She had never been religious before so she didn't know why she wanted to go into the church and later that day she ran into us. Pray for her to get an answer about The Book of Mormon for me! 

The other miracle is how many people actually listened to us. For some reason people are just stopping and listening to us. Maybe its because we are smiling so much. I don't think that I have stopped laughing since Elder Costigan has gotten here. He is one funny guy. 

Winter has hit here in England and the rumors are true. Last Saturday it rained more than I have ever experienced in my life, and it was colder than I thought it could get here. I was soaked to my bones and very, very cold. I felt like I was at the top of the mountain at Snow Basin accept it was raining and I was wearing a suit. But I don't mind the cold and I really like wearing sweaters!

A bombed out Cathedral.

The top of the Cathedral tower.

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

Baptisms and Baby Blessings

Family,

Sounds like you guys had quite the Halloween! All the costumes for the girls looked really good and the pumpkins were awesome. I loved Emma's Ursula and Dad's monster made me laugh. Halloween is not the greatest thing over here. Mostly people just get really drunk all night. So the missionaries actually have to go inside at 6:00 that night. Needless to say my Halloween was pretty boring. 

It is funny that you mention the Christlike attributes because lately I have been studying the New Testament, specifically the gospels and the life of Christ. It has been really cool to read and see those attributes come to life in the teachings and actions of Christ. I always avoided the bible because it is super long and complicated and I felt like I couldn't understand the parables. A challenge that my mission president gave to us was to put your name into the scriptures. When you really make the scriptures personal for you they come to life. It has worked for me and I challenge all of you to try it.

This week was pretty boring, again. But I did get to be apart of some really cool and really fun things. First of all I got to play the prelude music for a baptism. I was really excited to find out that I can sight-read! It was super fun to actually be able to play hymns. I have made a goal to be able to play at least 50 by the time I get home from my mission. I also get to be apart of the ward choir and that is so much fun! I never thought I would say this but ward choirs are the best. We are so blessed to have them.

Next was at the baptism. The person that was going to baptize the sisters investigator, named Ray, couldn't make it to the baptism so at the last minute they asked me to perform the baptism. It was such a special experience to actually perform my first baptism! I really hope that next time it will be someone that I have actually taught! 

This Sunday there was a baby blessing and it was way cool, but the best part was the food after. It is good to know that the church munch and mingles are the same everywhere you go! 

I hope you all have a great week and love you bunches!

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch 

Wait, Are These Dog Treats?

Family,

Sorry this is going to be a short email cause not much happened this week. 

I'm glad that Emma's first concert went well! But what is this, talking pictures with boys! Stay clear of those boys Ems! I'm super jealous you guys got to go to Jekyll and Hyde! I'm sure that it was amazing. I really miss music a ton. Mum will be happy to know that I have been playing piano when I get the chance to and am really finding a lot of joy in it. I think that I've finally realized that I shouldn't have quit. Sorry MUM!!! But you were right. I miss piano a lot and think I'll play more when I get home. 

This week we have seen some amazing progress with a less-active we are working with. His name is Allen actually. Allen is Diabetic and had run out of food. He had some money stolen and couldn't afford to buy any more food. When we saw him he was really worried so we said a prayer that he would be able to make it until he got paid. Ten minutes after we left his friend came up to him and said that he had some extra pizza's in the fridge that Allen could have. Little did his friend know that Allen had run out of food. It may not seem like a huge miracle to us, but to Allen it completely changed his perception on prayer. He realized that you can pray for specific things for yourself and if you need it Heavenly Father will answer your prayer. It really strengthened his testimony and my testimony of the power of prayer.

The other semi-interesting thing that happen this week happened when we ran into one of the members. We were on our way home from a dinner appointment and ran into one of the members and her son. They had just come from the store and had bought some treats for his classmates. He wanted to share these treats with the missionaries of course. The treats that they had purchased seemed to be an advent calendar with puppies on it. When they gave the "chocolates" too us I looked at it and was very confused as to why it was shaped like a dog-bone. Turns out that it was an advent calendar for dogs. The member was very embarrassed that she tried to feed the Elders dog treats but me and Elder Worlton just laughed. It was pretty dang funny!

We also carved pumpkins today. I tried to freehand Frankenstein's monster and it turned out pretty good! The sisters also roasted some pumpkin seeds for us and they were delicious.  

Carving pumpkins at the church.

I found a cute red cowboy hat!

Other than that my week was fairly boring minus the person literally running away from me when I tried to approach her on the street. I didn't know I was that bad looking....

Love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Elder Kmetzsch  

Like Father, Like Son

Family,

So I showed the other missionaries the pictures of Dad on his mission and they all were like, "Oh my goodness you are like the same person!" I told them that he may be taller, but I am better looking! 

Elder Steven Kmetzsch 

Virginia, Roanoke Mission

Yes, we have the Ensign and we can download all of conference on to a usb and listen to it whenever. I don't know exactly when we are getting iPads but President has told us that we should get them before the end of the year. I am really excited! I dislike keeping hand written records and am looking forward to the Area Book app. Potentially I will be video chatting this Christmas with my new iPad! 

Well my bike has returned to the shop for the 4th time. It is a really good thing that I have a warranty plan on it. It cost me 20£ and I have already used up 100£ worth of repairs! Go Jake! I don't know why my bike keeps giving me problems, but hopefully this will be the last time that I have to go in for awhile! The guy says he is just going to replace the whole back wheel and see if that fixes the problem! Three axels, a new bottom bracket and a new back wheel will hopefully do the trick! 

Not too much happened this week that was all that exciting. But being the District Leader's JC is the life. Sunday nights while my comp is doing all sorts of fun paperwork and calling in reports, I get to relax, write in my journal and take a nice long shower/bath. This week I discovered bubble bath solution in our flat and just had to take myself a nice relaxing bubble bath! It took me back to the days of bubble beards and multiple Kmetzsch children in the bathtub. 

Our Flat

The work is going forward here in Coventry. My finding skills are definitely getting better and I'm really starting to enjoy talking to all the crazy people! People just have such interesting lives and when you really listen you can tell exactly how the Gospel will help them. Everyone needs the Gospel but the hard part for me is listening to hear which part of the Gospel will help them right then. I know personally about the power of the Atonement. It has been such a big part of this difficult beginning to my mission. It's power has really been a strength to me. Everyone needs the power of the atonement and it is our job to share it. Thank you for your prayers. I love you all tons!

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch 

In The Jungle The Mighty Jungle

Family,

Yes my email was focused on food, but hey it's like you said I guess there is a sixth love language. Those apples look huge! I guess all the fruit tree's needed to start producing like crazy was for me to leave the country! Seriously if my next package doesn't contain something made with plums and/or apples I am going to be a little bit disappointed. This time of year just makes me want a nice big bowl of some of the Kmetzsch World Famous Apple Sauce with lots of cream! Especially now that it has started to get pretty chilly here in England. But fall isn't quite as good here because it gets cold so fast the trees don't really have time to change color, all the leaves are just dying. I miss the reds and the yellows that you get back in good old Utah.

Well on to my week. This week has been the slowest yet fastest week of my mission. Not particularly much happened besides just loads of street contacting and getting rejected. But we did have a few events that helped the week go by quicker.  

First was a service project that we did for a less-active members Mom. When I first got there I honestly didn't think there was a back garden. We walked to the side of the house and there was just a wall of stinging nettle and tree branches. There were four of us there and we just went at it, cutting, chopping and hauling. Eventually we found the back garden! I honestly felt like I was in a different country. We spent a good amount of time chopping things up and are going back tomorrow to do more. I sent a video of us there, we started talking about star wars and then the star wars noises started happening and it was a good time! I love the opportunity we have as missionaries to serve not only in preaching the gospel, but in just giving someone a hand with an overgrown garden. Life is about serving each other and just helping everyone along the way. 

The next highlight of my week was my first interview with President Rasmussen since my first day in the field. President Rasmussen is the man! He really is such a great and inspired leader. It's gonna be a sad day when he goes home. Interviews are also great cause you get to see all the missionaries in the Zone and I love seeing all my buddies from the MTC. 

Today I got to go to the Transport Museum. I think this is the best thing about Coventry by far! It is a huge/free museum all about the history of transportation in Coventry. Basically just a bunch of old classic cars. It goes through a lot about WWII as well, which was super interesting. Dad would have loved it! I'm hoping to go back another time so I can go a little slower and read more. There were a lot of cool facts. The fastest car in the world is in the museum. It has a record of 763 mph. The car is super cool. I loved looking at all the classic cars, and just seeing how much history really is in Coventry. 

Overall a pretty good week and looking forward to an even better one this week!

Love you bunches,

Elder Kmetzsch      

Cosmos and Kebabs

Family,

I am super jealous of Mum and Dad and am super glad all is going well in the great city of Peoria Illinois. I wish I could have had some pumpkin cookies after priesthood.... Don't get used to the comforts of Peoria Mum and Dad! You have a teenage daughter to go back too! Love you Ems! My companion would have loved wandering around the hardware store with you. He is very much a fix it yourself kinda guy. Seeing the cornfields would be cool. Everything here is very small. Speaking of corn, the corn on the cob here just doesn't compare to fresh Utah corn.

So the boys came home from BYU and watched conference with Emma. I bet it was super weird for Emma to not watch conference with parents. I'm sure that the pantry will be nice and empty for you guys when you get home. It is like when I go on exchange and all of my candy has been eaten.  I got to watch two live sessions of conference. The Saturday morning and the Sunday Morning. I watched them at 5:00 at the chapel. The other times were 10:00 Sunday morning for priesthood, 1:00 Sunday for the Saturday Afternoon session, and we didn't get to see the Sunday afternoon. I almost started to cry a little bit when I was singing the intermediate hymn of the Saturday Morning session thinking about how you guys were all in your pajamas singing, and eating conference candy for breakfast! I did save my conference candy for conference! I ate it all over the weekend and it was super delicious. I must have misread the thing about rationing the candy... Conference was so good and definitely what I needed to get a nice recharge. I have made a goal to never forget which way I face. I love the first Presidency with all my heart and know that they are truly men called of God to speak for him on this earth!!! 

Conference Candy

This week has been quite the culinary week. Last Sunday we had an amazing roast dinner at a members house and no joke the roast tasted exactly like Mum's roast. Mum, I will never take a home cooked meal for granted again, Ever. Tuesday we had another member feed us lunch and we had some amazing soup and sandwiches. He is a funny guy he is 23 and newly married, when I sat down he asked about my mission so far and then said missions are hard and here in my house you are not a missionary (he proceeded to take my tag) and you get to relax. It was really funny and we get on really well. He also happens to be our ward mission leader and an epic one at that. Later that night we had dinner with yet another amazing member. They made us a steak and gravy pie thing that was wonderful, and I had a lot of fun talking with him. He happens to have the most amazing full beard that I have ever seen. It is LEGEND..... wait for it.... ARY! The next culinary adventure happened with our recent convert Wai Yin. She took us to a restaurant called Cosmos which is an all you can eat Chinese buffet! Yeah baby! It was super nice too not like the bad one that we went to a few years ago. The British call this place posh, ha ha. I ate a lot and it was amazing and super generous of her cause it is pretty pricey, around 30 dollars per person! On to the the last of my adventures for the week, The KEBAB, the ultimate junk food! I honestly don't really even know what it is but it had doner meat and chicken and lamb and other things. I really don't know but it was covered in mayo and chili sauce and tasted really good! I got one on exchange with Elder Rutter. We were hating life after eating those. But it was something that I needed to experience. They call it being Kebabtised here in the EBM.

Cosmos, a Chinese buffet

Elder Rutter

The KEBAB

So someone needs to inform bishop Daines that the OTM may be the Only True Mission, but the EBM is the Earths Best Mission. That is actually a quote from Elder Holland who served his mission here in the Birmingham Mission! I am serving in Elder Holland's mission, super cool stuff!

This week has been a long week of finding new people to teach and just really getting to know the members in the ward. I love the Coventry Ward almost as much as the 20th! But I love my family most of all!

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

 

The Mighty Change of Heart

Family,

I have been informed by my kind and loving older brother that my emails are getting hard to read and that I need to start using paragraphs more. Please excuse my shortcomings for I have only been out a transfer. I am so glad to hear that everything has gone well with Torie and the baby. Clara Gene is such a cute name. She looks just like Craig if I do say so myself, a much cuter version of Craig that is!

It is so great that Mom and Dad were able to go and stay with Torie and Craig and experience their ward in Peoria. Church is definitely super different in the mission field and mostly just outside of Utah. The recent converts bear such powerful but simple testimonies that it is impossible not to learn from them. I definitely believe that we need to focus on the simple powerful truths of the gospel to really improve our lives.

This week has been pretty good. Thank you for your prayers for Sarah. She decided on Tuesday to continue with her baptism! We were so excited to see her overcome her fears and show such great faith. I want to tell you more about my experience with Sarah and how I have seen that Mighty Change of heart that is spoken of so many times in the Book of Mormon.

My First contact with Sarah was my first night in the mission. I was tired and scared and extremely overwhelmed. We called Sarah to set up an appointment and proceeded to have an hour long conversation about how she did not want to continue the lessons, she had a really rough week. Sarah struggles with depression and was having a really hard time feeling of Gods love. For the next 3 weeks we would occasionally send a spiritual thought to her in a text. One Sunday we walked into church and to our surprise we saw Sarah sitting off to the side. We were overjoyed to see her at church. We talked to her and set up a lesson for later on that week. We taught Sarah and everything was going great. She came to church and she was really feeling the spirit. We scheduled a baptismal date and then suddenly out of nowhere last Sunday night she dropped us. We were devastated, we had seen her come so far only to have it go no further. We kept in contact with her and tried so hard to figure out her fears of being baptized. Once we had found those fears and helped her know of Gods love and the strength that she can get from the atonement, she was again ready to be baptized. Just this last Friday Sarah was baptized and has now received the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is honestly a completely different person. In her own words she said, "I used to walk around with a fake smile on, but now I don't. Now the smile is real." The gospel gives Sarah and all of us such a beautiful hope and joy for life and for what is to come. It can truly heal any wound! Because of back problems it required two of us in the font to make sure that she was safe. It was an experience I am not soon to forget.

Sarah's Baptism
The font was a little small for all 3 of us but we made it work!

The work is going forward! And there truly are people prepared for this great message! Not much else happened this week. It is the start of a new transfer and we have to get working on getting some new investigators because the two we had last transfer are now recent converts.

Love you guys so much and am so excited to get to watch conference this weekend! Also I hope you wore your fast Sunday ties, cause I surely did.

Love,

Elder Kmetzsch

I Went To The London Temple!

Family,

I love the neighborhood party! I am sad that I missed Dad doing the Beach Boy Medley, ha ha! He is such a goof! Emma had her first morningside! That is super exciting! She should tell me all about it and how she is doing in a reply to the letter I sent her from the MTC!! The little bum, ha ha! 

That is so cool that Cameron got to come home and be ordained a High Priest! That is crazy that he is on the High Council! I know he is going to do great in his new calling and really strengthen the church in Florida! I wonder if he is in Talmage Edwards mission boundaries! He should ask for me. 

I love the temple and I actually got to go to the temple this last Saturday! The ward had a temple trip to the London Temple and Wai Yin our recent convert really wanted to go! Everything worked out for her to go and we thought to ourselves, hey we should ask President if we can go with her! We proceeded to call President and asked if we could go. He said no of course because it is out of our mission boundaries! But he did give us a suggestion to take a picture of ourselves and give it to Wai Yin and have her take it with her to the temple! She did and we got some awesome pictures of us at the London Temple! AHHH, at least our picture got to go! But really we were just very excited that Wai Yin got to go do Baptisms for the Dead and really feel the spirit of the Temple! 

Wai Lin with Me and Elder Worlton at the London Temple

The rest of the week we focused a lot on one of our investigators named Sarah. She was set to be baptised this Friday and we saw her pretty much every day last week and she was progressing really well! Sarah struggles with depression and last night went really low and has decided to drop us.... We are pretty devastated and hope you will keep her in your prayers because what she needs right now is Christ and his Atonement! The Atonement is why I am on a mission! Without it life would be pointless and frankly really sad... To be able to see people learn about something that is so near and dear to me and to accept it into there lives is such a blessing! The church is true! We just need to grab on to the rod and never, ever let go! 

This is my district. Notice how I am drowning in my suit!

Made an awesome Shepherd's Pie. Mom would be so Proud!

Not much else happened last week, and we are hoping for a more eventful week this week. It is transfers this week and it is crazy to think that I have made it through my first transfer! Which I hear is the longest transfer of the whole mission. It's pretty much all down hill from here! We did finally get our washer fixed this week and now I can do laundry after two and a half weeks of waiting! I now understand why Mom washes the towels every week and that white shirts can last much longer than one wear! Man, has Torie had the baby yet? Did they decide on a name? Is she flipping adorable? 

Love you all,

Elder Kmetzsch

Wait, That Lawn Mower Doesn't Have Wheels?!?!

Family! 

This week has been loads of travel and meetings! We had Zone conference on Tuesday which was way fun! I met tons of new missionaries and got to see a lot of my friends from MTC! I also met Elder Packer, and I bet you can guess whose grandson he is! He is a super cool guy! Friday we went to a trainers meeting and that was great cause I got to see everybody that was at the MTC with me! We learned a ton from President Rasmussen! I love President he is so cool and just loving! We took the train to both meetings which was a new experience for me! Though it was a bit like riding the subway in New York. Just a lot bigger and faster! I loved it though cause I got to see more of the country side and I didn't have to bike it! 

Zone Conference

Half of my MTC District

 The rest of the week was pretty uneventful for us though! We are still working hard on building up our teaching pool and just finding, finding, finding! Wednesday was quite the day though, We had an exchange on Wednesday and I got to go with Elder Rutter! Have I mentioned he is one of my favorite humans ever!! So we exchanged after doing service for Rose, and then went strait to service for the Sidhu's. We got locked into what is called an allotment which is just like a community garden for rent! Sister Sidhu said Brother Sidhu would be there soon but he didn't come for a while after that! So we just chilled and pulled weeds and talked about Pokemon, (this is one of the reasons he's my favorite human)! We then got a call informing us we were expected at another members house to do service! So we waited for Brother Sidhu to come  back and then we took off to go and help the Topps. The Topps are moving and needed help cleaning up the yard. I got to mow the lawn, but to my surprise the lawn mower didn't have any wheels... I was a little confused as to why it was electric as well. Turns out it is called a Hover Mower! Yeah you heard right a Hover Mower! Since the lawns here aren't very big they don't need big mowers! So they have little electric ones that hover! It was super fun and I made a big deal about it and they were all laughing at me! But it hovered!!!! Hopefully the video will send! Me and Elder Rutter ended up biking 35 miles over the course of our 24 hr exchange which was sweet!! Not much else has happened this week that is super duper exciting just a lot of finding and rejection! But like my MTC teacher said, "Every rejection is a point towards a miracle! The more points you have the bigger the miracle!" So expect a pretty big miracle for me and Elder Worlton soon!!

The Space Mower

I got my package!! The pillow case is super cool!! And I kinda called that you were gonna send conference candy!!! I told Elder Worlton all about conference candy and how you were gonna send some for my Birthday! Thank you also for the Hot Chocolate! I made myself a cup for my Birthday treat ha ha! Birthdays are so weird on the mish! Doesn't really seem real that I am 19! Weird... 

Birthday Package

Yay for Mint Hot Chocolate!

Well that's all for this week! Love you all tons! 

Elder Kmetzsch