17.1--Flashback

Dear Ladies and Gentemen,

Life is still good down here in the great state of New Mexico! A lot has happened since I last heard from ya, so lemme give y'all an update.

Tuesday May 26th was transfers, and I am no longer in the Paradise Hills and the Cibola Wards. "Where did Elder Guymon go?" one might ask. Albuquerque! :) Still, but now I am on the East Side again! Wooh! In fact, I am only about 2 miles from my Greenie area, Los Altos! :) And to make it even better, I am back on a bike. :) I love to be biking.  My first bike ("Shadowfax") was commandeered by the mission, and so now I am on "Lazarus" which is a bike that's been passed from missionary to missionary for  forever. Sweet! :) 

Oh for those that want to send a letter my new address is: 

3011 Jane Place NE Apt # 218

Albuquerque, NM
87111

or as always the Mission Offices address is:

 4400 Presidential Dr NE Suite E

Albuquerque, NM 87109

Yall are welcome to send letters or packages to either address!

Alrighty so some info about my comp:

Name: Elder Kyle Nulph

Age: 19

From: Shelly, ID

How long has he been out: 9 Months

Areas been in: White Rock, NM,Eldorado (Albuquerque, NM)

Bio: Grew up on a farm outside of Shelly, ID. Loves cowboy boots, country music, and food. 

On a more spiritual note, this week I have been studying a lot on the subject of "finding faith" in the Book of Mormon. And one pattern I noticed from 1 Nephi 16 is actually about how to lose faith. In the story a pattern appears with Nephi and his brothers. Everything is fine and dandy in their travels until they hit a trial (like Nephi breaking his bow). After the trial comes some form of doubt (Laman and Lemuel murmuring about a certain decision) and then comes the sin (Laman and Lemuel trying to kill Nephi). And I think that pattern can be used in our lives. There can be times when we have trials in our lives, whether spiritual, physical, financial, or whatever. Because of trials, it is normal to doubt, but it's what we do with that doubt that makes the difference. In the example of Laman and Lemuel, they chose to rebel instead of waiting for the problem to pass, and they paid the consequence for that. Moral of the story? Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

Anywho, that's all for this week! Love ya!

Elder Guymon

Ps. We sheared Alpacas this week it was great! #vivalealpaca

 

16.6--Rain... Rain... come today! Come and stay another day!

Dear Ladies and Gentleman,

Life is great down here in Albuquerque! To be honest not too much has happened this past week. We were able to go out and work, teach, and give some service! It was a nice and a pretty relaxed week! Also the weather down here has been unseasonably moist :) Hurrah!! I love it when it rains!

Oh we did go on a mini-exchange this  week. I was able to go into one of the neighboring wards, and we were able to do some tracting and ate dinner at one of the Elder's investigator's place. This investigator has been considering joining the church for quite some time, and all of his family is already members of it.  While we were eating he asked us a question about his 16  year old son. He said, "How can I get my son to want to go on a mission? We've been trying to encourage him, but I just don't know how to help him understand how important it is." And I think that he brought up a good point that is the puzzle of a life-time. How do we help those we  love to understand what is important and what will be good for them? Honestly, I don't know what  the answer to that is. One thing that we talked about is that its so very important to be a good example, to love them, and to encourage them to make the right decision, but in the end we can't control other people. 

I think that's one of the main themes of the plan of happiness though, to be able to make choices for ourselves. I think that God's in a similar position to all of us. He knows what will be best for us and He encourages, loves, and sets the example for us, but He will never force us. 

Anywho, folks, I hope that y'all have a great week! And enjoy the rain!

Elder Guymon

16.5--Familiar Faces

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Internet :)

Great down here in the the beautiful state of New Mexico. This past week we were able to have a number of awesome experiences that were both refreshing and spiritually recharging!

First and foremost, Frank and Jennifer got baptized and confirmed!! :) It was  such a blessing to be able to see the two of them to be able to enter into that covenant :) Also we had a real good turnout to the baptism, and I feel like they are going to be well taken in the ward!

Also this past week we were able to call home for Mother's Day!! WOOOOOOOH! It was good to be able to talk with Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby Jada! It was sweet! But alas life is back to normal, and I will see them in a couple of months.

Other than those two things, it was pretty much the usual business down here! We spent time doing finding, service, teaching lessons and it was awesome! We found a new investigator through one of our ward members and he's super solid! He had been visited once before by the Elders, but he wasn't ready. But now he is, and I feel like good things will be coming his way :)

Oh that's what I forgot, this past week we were able to do interviews with President Miller :) I love interviews. Anywho, we got on the topic of what do I want to do with my future, and he asked where I wanted to go with my life. Meanwhile, inside I was thinking, "Heck if I know. I don't even know what I want for breakfast tomorrow let alone where I see myself in 20 years". President proceeded to quote Alice in Wonderland... wait what? He said " In the story Alice in Wonderland, Alice is faced with a crossroad, and she finds herself stuck. At the crossroads, the Cheshire cat appears, and Alice proceeds to ask him 'which path should I take?' The Cat then retorted, "Well that depends on where you want to go. Where do you want to go?' To that question Alice said "I don't know", and the cat, without skipping a beat, finished with "well then it doesn't matter which path you take."

I think that's a good allegory to apply to a lot of different things. Each day we are faced with tons of decisions or "paths", and if we don't really know where we want our end destination to be, we will go down whatever path seems easiest or good. It's been good to remember for me that the path to true and everlasting happiness only comes through Christ. As we turn to Him and strive to see us as he sees us we can know our eternal destination and we will find the path to happiness :)

Anywho, I think that's all folks! Have a great week! :)

Elder Jacob Guymon

16.4--Family

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

As usual life is going pretty great down here in the "Land of Enchantment", and it has been quite "enchanting". We've had a couple of powerful storms, and it is positively mesmerizing! Last night there was a "Lord of the Rings" moment when the storm clouds broke, and the sunshine pierced through and touched the slope of the mountain below. Elder Bunderson and I looked at the scene and proceeded to quote Gandalf's shpeel he gives right before he saves Helms Deep. It was great!

Aside from the temple and the storms, it's been a pretty usual week! :) Some upcoming news that's pretty exciting is:

1. Sunday is Mother's Day!!! WOOOOOH which means that we will get to call home

2. Jennifer +Frank's baptism is a go for this Saturday at 5pm!! :)

3. The conference edition of the Ensign has come out, and it is Awesome! :)

On a more spiritual note, we had a great discussion with one of our investigators. She told us that she was struggling with coming out of a depression, and she just needed to talk with us because we make her feel happy (ie the Spirit makes her feel happy) . For those who know this about me, I've struggled with depressive feelings for  long time, and so I could really empathize with what she was going through, but as we were discussing we were able to talk with her about the importance of serving others, even when we ourselves are struggling to push through a tough time. And to me that really struck out to be true, that as we serve others, we can find a way through those dark spots. President Hinkley shared something similar to that he said "The best antidote for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is to help someone even more tired." 

Anywho, good things are to come though! Life is good, we are seeing success, and we are having some fun as we go! I love you all, and I hope that you have a good week! :)

Elder Jacob Guymon