Last O th' Transfer

Ohhhh shunk.

This is the last week of the transfer already. Well shoot...

Well, I hope I stay and that I get to keep Elder E--, but I always hope for that, so, I guess whatevs. I hate change.

Elder M-- (Right) and Elder E-- (Left)

But this week rocked. We worked our butts off, and had a grand old time. I think I'm starting to see how this mission thing is supposed to pan out.

Oh, and I gave my first District Meeting since being here in the ghetto. All of the companionships in my District are Sisters, so it's been a bit different than I'm used to. But it was really good.

They said they liked my training though, so I guess that we'll have to see.

It was super fun! I trained on the three top things I've found we need to be as a missionary:

-Obedient

-Hard Working

-Real

So, that's my rant for the week.

I love and miss all of you!

This mission thing is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love this stuff folks. I'm just ticked that transfers are coming up.

Love ya all!
-Keppy

What were they thinking?!?

Hey everyone,

Transfer calls were last night, and the news isn't good. I'm staying (good), Elder S-- is staying (good), but Elder M--, our District Leader is leaving (BAD)! We love that kid! He's one of the coolest guys I've ever met, and he is a key member of Teancum and Friends. Aghrrrr!

On top of all of that, they made ME District Leader in his place. What were they thinking? I guess God's will be done, but MAN this is gonna be hard.

I don't trust myself with authority. I grew up as a bossy and annoying kid, and that is NOT what I want now. Elder M-- was an amazing District Leader, and now, me, a total noob who happens to be a recovering power addict is supposed to take care of this District. 

Sometimes, I really think God has a sense of humor. :P

I AM happy to be here another transfer though. I love this area, and the amazing people in it. There is a TON of work to do, and I am excited to get to be here for it! AND I get to work with Elder S-- for another Transfer? Heck yeah!!! Me and Elder S-- are both stoked for this next transfer! We can feel a bunch of baptisms coming, so maybe I'll report that later on. We have been getting a good number of new investigators each week, and it's great to work with all of these amazing people.

We're weird ya'll. Just in case you were wondering. ;P

As far as the everyday work here goes, it's never been better! Me and Elder S-- work out butts off, and the Lord has been blessing us with some wonderful miracles. In addition, obedience has been a big thing that me and Elder S-- have been focusing on, and once again, more obedience, more blessings! It's sick!

I've never been outright disobedient, but I didn't always look for ways to be even MORE obedient. Man, I can't tell you how good the Lord is to those who are obedient. He rocks!

Oh, and in other news, Elder F-- (From Chewelah) is taking Elder M--'s place! Elder F-- and I will be chilling in the same apartment, and boy is this going to be a hoot.

I'm surrounded by good people here, so I guess the Lord's setting this up to be a positive experience. But man, it certainly wasn't my plan to have any kind of leadership. I've found WAY more joy in just focusing on improving myself and helping my companion out than I ever did in leadership positions back home. I think I've learned that power is like fire, and I am a pyro. So, the Lord made sure the fire department (all of these awesome Elders in my District) was here before he handed me the matches.

If you guys could pray for me, that would be great.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant this week. I'll get over myself soon, I promise. I just needed to complain for a bit.

So, that's life here in Hayden 2nd.

Oh, and I thought of a solution to my not having anything to write home: Send me questions that you want me to answer next week over email. Then, I can just answer all of the questions each week. :)

I love you all!
Have a good one.
-Keppy

Brave New Year

Yeah, I'm skinny again. (Awkward selfie #296)
{He was sick all last week, so he lost a little weight.}

Hello hello!

Happy New Year, ya'll!

Things here in the good ol' Hayden 2nd are just cruisin' along. We got two feet of snow last night, but it's been raining since this morning, so, we'll see how long it lasts. If it drops below freezing, we're all in for a CRAPPY time on the roads. But, me and Elder S-- walk everywhere, so I guess we aren't affected by it much.

Let's see, what else interesting happened... Errrr. Uh, well, NEW FETCHING YEARS!

In our mission, we are allowed to watch one movie a year, on New Years Eve, from a list provided by President Mullen. This year, me and my peeps chose to watch How To Train Your Dragon with the M-- family, and we ate a TON of Papa Murphy's pizza to go with it. It was awesome! I love that family a bunch, and I'm so glad we got to chill with them.

Prepped for adventure! (Awkward selfie #297)

Also this last week, THE J-- FAMILY CAME TO SEE ME!!! Oh my heck, it was awesome to see them again! We all met up at Burger King, had a good chat, and played a bit O' geetar. AND, I may or may not have gotten a new and AWESOME guitar! Ah! So much awesome!

Now, I'm gonna take a chill, and finish off by saying: This day last year, I was in the MTC. At this moment last year.... I was probably on the toilet due to the MTC food that caused most of us to live on that ivory throne for two weeks.

Sorry, I'm hyper, tired, and kinda crude right now. I love you all though, and I'm thinkin' of you! 

Keep your cool, and know that this Church is true, the Book is Blue, and Jesus is a Mormon.

Love you all!
-Elder Keppner

Six Months, and I'm stayin' here with my bro!

My man, Elder W---

Hey ya'll!

Transfer calls are in, and I'm staying in Priest River with Elder W---! Actually, our whole district is staying! We're excited to have another transfer together, and we are going to ROCK our District!

We've had an awesome transfer, and we've learned SO MUCH! For the last week of the Transfer, Elder W--- and I made a goal to teach 70 lessons. We only made it to 50, but that was still a HUGE success, and we are seeing SO MANY blessing from it! 

We have several new investigators, and a couple of new children of God preparing for Baptism! Ah! How could I ever hope to describe missionary work? How could I EVER explain the feeling you get when someone changes their entire life around to follow Christ? It can't be done!

I can honestly say that this has been the best six months of my life, and I fully expect that the rest of my mission will only get better! Every day has new challenges, but the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad.

I am so happy, I can't even put it to words! I know that what I'm doing has meaning, purpose, and importance. God truly guides and directs our lives, and I get to see it first hand EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am in awe of how much he loves us, and how willing he is to help us in every step of our journey through this life.

I know this church is true, and I am so happy to be a part of this work!

I love and miss you all!

-Kep

LAST WEEK OF THE TRANSFER!!!

Holy cow! The transfer is just about over!

You know, when people say that the mission flies by, THEY AREN'T KIDDING!!! I'm about a week away from being a fourth of the way done with my mission! Six months looms overhead, and I don't know what to do about it! I don't want my mission to go by this fast! It's not fair! AHHH!!! 

Anyway, that aside, this week has been NUTS!!! Elder W---'s health has been bad, and then he got FOOD POISONING two days ago, which made things interesting. Anyway, not a whole lot of other changes, other than I WORK OUT A TON!!! I've worked out my whole mission pretty hard, but now my whole district is almost competing to see who can be the biggest, and well, I'm pretty sure I've got them pretty well beat. 

Mwahaha!

Anyway, not a lot else to report, but I love and miss you all, and I wanted to thank you for my package! Andes [mints] are my favorite, and $ in tax returns is freaking awesome! The thumb drive contents made me so happy, and I'm so thankful for all of you!

Love and miss you all!

-Elder Keppner