No shoes?

November 30, 2015

Kaibeto, AZ

 

So this was a rough week. We had a great Thanksgiving and it was truly such a wonderful time. Well the lady who I talked about last week who showed so much potential is still great but every time we go over to her house a grouch old woman opens the door and tells us to leave. It is super frustrating, I just want to pull her outside and then run in. It well the hard part of the week was the first part of the week not a single door opened to us it was so down heartening. Saturday and Sunday were great though. On Sunday we had 2 great lessons. One of them was a brother who we meet with is super awesome, but he has really been struggling with alcohol. He is a veteran but he had an eye opening experience where he could have frozen to death over the weekend and now he wants to get back into a VA Recovery program which will really help him sober up. So that was great. We also met with a less-active who is trying really hard to come back to church and get her endowments. Her sister was there and that went wonderfully. Her sister is 30 and was baptized in 6th grade. She has such a big heart and sometimes that heart of hers back fires on her, for example 2 days ago when she got her shoes stolen, that is a long story. She feels lost and wants to get back to where she was spiritually at one point in her life. We have a hopeful week lined up. Also we have worked a less active family back to church and their son who we have been teaching is getting baptized! He is 8 and will be a child of record but it is just so wonderful to know that we have helped someone come to the waters of baptism. Here are a couple of this week's sunsets and a random picture of me. Have a great week.

Finally

November 23, 2015

Kaibeto, AZ

 

As great as Kaibeto has been this week it made me very happy we actually have some non-members who are interested. We had the opportunity to give a blessing to a member's niece who just got released from the hospital. She was in there for 2 months after getting hit by a drunk driver and she has been recovering well. Well we gave her a blessing and the spirit was very abundantly there. We were all touched. It was devastating she was severely injured and one of her daughters broke her femur, but recovered very quickly. She told us that after helping her husband who is traditional, she is Christian, with a ceremony while on the way back she got hit by a woman who was drinking. She was told by some other people that the accident was the Lord's way of punishing her for helping with the ceremony. We were able to bear our testimonies that God does not punish his children, and to teach her other things about adversity. She expressed only of thanks but also a desire for us to come back and teach her, she said about a week before the accident she was actually going to start meeting with the missionaries, her friend who is a member was going to refer her to us, but then the accident happened. She is very prepared to hear the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was very able to see the Lord's hand in our week, and I know that the blessings of diligent labor are opening upon our heads.Well we are pretty covered for Thanksgiving this week which is very exciting. Have a Happy Turkey Day!

Elder Warnick

Time To Bring Them Home

November 16, 2015

Kaibeto, Az

 

It was a good week in Kaibeto. We have a big storm coming in these next 2 days. I am excited for some more snow. This week has been one that has certainly gotten cold. Well this week we had interviews with President Adams. It was wonderful to talk about some of the things I had on my mind. One thing I asked about was my first area, Polacca. It was closed a transfer ago but is still closed. We talked about why it got closed and when it may open, at the beginning of this coming year. I also talked to him about the struggles that we are facing with finding people to teach, and he reminded me of something that he and I first discussed when we first met. We talked about Less-Actives and how we both love teaching them and helping them return to something that they already accepted once. I think that the church is really focusing on them now, especially in our mission. In my discussions with President Adams I learned of a new senior couple that is coming to the mission with an assignment of specifically working with the people who were on the Indian Placement Program. The wonderful Garden Project has changed too. The funding switched from Humanitarian Aid, to Church Welfare. This also came with an effort to have everyone who was involved with the Indian Placement Program to have a garden. There is also a new Key Indicator in our Mission, Less Actives at Church, they want to keep track of all of the people who are making their way back to the Fold of the Lamb of God. I believe that it is now time to bring them home, and to nourish them so we may see the Lamanites "Blossom as a Rose." This week also yielded some not so hot things for us. We had one of the elders in the Zone get food poisoning, that is never fun. The poor guy couldn't work, but even worse his poor companion...

Well thanks for everything.

Elder Warnick

Sunrise over Navajo Mountain

Definition of My Mission

In a Canyon

Me

 

Me and the Desert

Emery and Me

Me and the Hills

Me and Snow

Winter Desert

Titleless

November 9, 2015

Kaibeto, AZ

Well my letter this week was all about the conference that we had yesterday, but I forgot my notes so sorry. But I will talk about what I do remember. We have only known about this surprise Stake Conference for a couple of weeks, but it was great. This was the first of a kind, an area conference. It was a broadcast from Salt Lake to the entire North America South West Area. We were addressed by Elder Oaks, Robins, Corbridge and Sister Reeves. What a wonderful conference! I learned many things. This week we spent a lot of time walking around in the hills toward the mesa on our east, we were looking for a family and after a couple of days we finally found them, they were not interested. It seems that no one is interested. What a struggle I feel like we are facing. Yes this is a common problem for missionaries but we have not been able to teach someone who is not a member for many weeks. It is quite discouraging but I know that someone out there has to be interested in learning more about the gospel. Well anyways we saw some beautiful country in the hill, it was great. Today is Elder Emery's Birthday, it will be fun. Have a good week.

Elder Warnick

Haunted Transfer

November 2, 2015

Kaibeto, AZ

Well this week was transfers and for as few changes as we thought were happening, a lot did. We thought that this transfers maybe 2 people were going to leave. But here is how it went down. Elder Emery and I are staying the same. I have now been here for 3 months and have another 1.5 ahead of me. Elder Rainey in Inscription House is leaving and opening Kayenta 1st ward. Elder Hancock is leaving page. Elder Bowie in Echo Cliffs is getting transferred, only his first transfer. Elder Erikson is training again. The sisters are both getting taken out and 2 new elders are taking over that area. Lots! Last week we participated in a baby blessing that was an awesome experience, and a first for me. Friday we got permission to go to a haunted house. It was pretty cool, the people who sponsored it are some Less-Active members that are really awesome and we are really trying to get close to. Lots of scary stuff and it was full of people we know, so we went in our civilian clothes so we wouldn't be picked on more than the average person.When you first walked in it was a dark hallway which turned and the Grudge came at you. That scared my companion. Down the hall and through some more scares we went into the chain saw room, who just happened to be someone we knew very well, we didn't know this at that time and we quickly moved to the next room where we were going to slow down for a second. This is when the chainsaw man, Bradley, realized who we were, after all what other 2 white teenage guys would be there and he began to chase us. Finally he stopped and we walked into a corner, then 2 hands grabbed me and started propelling me down the hall, I also knew this person, but it was still freaky. Quite the experience, not usually what you get on a mission, but it gave us a great in with the people. They are super awesome. There are 2 families who ran it and they are cousins. The first one is a husband and wife in their 30's who are super fun and want us to teach them, but they are super busy. The second is an awesome family with 3 boys my age and they are great, and come to church on and off. Some of the boys are more invested in the gospel than others. Well that is about it for the week.

Elder Warnick

To the family: It sounds like quite the week. The brothers getting permits, does that mean they will have licenses by the time I am home? Hallween sounded like a blast, we did pumpkin carving a 2 weeks ago for mutual, we made a Captain Crunch Jack O'Lantern. It was sweet, it looked horrible in the light, but as soon as the lights went off and the candle was lit it was great! Boy oh Boy football! (Kuna going to play-offs) Wow Josh and Ethan, the teachers that would be fun. I am excited for this transfer. Have a good week everyone!

Another Transfer at the Close

Arizona Skies

October 26, 2015

Kaibeto, AZ

It was a good week, and is the beginning of week 6. Transfer calls will be on Saturday and it will be fun to be on the phone as a District Leader and to know everyone's news and get to tell them. As you know we are now on the hunt for more investigators, and we have quite a few promising people who we are hopefully going to start to teach this week. I went on exchanges in Echo Cliffs this week with Elder Bowie. They will be having a baptism this week and that is very good, the branch needs it it will be the first one in 2 years or so. Lita is her name, the interview with her went very well, she has gone through quite a few sets of missionaries and now she is ready to add her name to the records of the Church of Jesus Christ. On Saturday we did a lot of service. We went out quite a ways and helped a family that I really love build a horse corral. It is made of railroad ties standing vertically and utility poles horizontally. Nearly indestructible. Very heavy. We also got tons of sun while we were out there, unlike me, Elder Emery does not tan. Poor guy. We had a great discussion with the family afterwards and then went to a birthday party. The family whose house we went to the party at has fed us 3 times this week, as well as 3 more members feeding us too. I am very grateful for the opportunity to pay fast offerings.

Well not much more for this week. Thanks yall.

Elder Warnick

To Mom: Okay I picked up the shoes. [They were] the price best price for quality with the small selection at the store. Here is a pic of the shoes.

Shoes

October 20, 2015
Kaibeto, AZ

Mama,

Well My shoes have about had it. Is there any such thing as a early christmas present, or a thanksgiving present? Or something along those lines? I wear an 11.5. Or we have a sporting goods store in Page I could look at. It is not a super big rush. I just thought that I would let you guys know. I love you!

Yes I used Mama...

 

 

(Mom's note: It's hard to resist this boy when he calls me "Mama." He calls me that when he really needs something or has something really exciting to tell me. I kind of love it. These are the shoes he got his senior year of high school. Yeah, not surprised they are finally worn out. He bought some new shoes at the athletic store in Page.)