FW: Fulfilling My Purpose!

Things continue to go well. I am learning a lot about what kind of missionary I want to become and I working on not letting others really determine what I want to be.

This past week has been very exciting! We had 4 four investigators at church. Hilde is doing very well. The ward has really done a great job in fellowshipping her and making sure that she is invited and welcomed. She has yet to still over come her Word of Wisdom problems, but she is very hopeful. We gave her a triple the other day because she wants to start reading the Doctrine and Covenants! She is so solid! She's signed up to feed us this week and she's going to relief society activities and everything! Its amazing how much members need to help and what is done when they help.

We didn't baptize Tido this weekend his mom got a new job that kept her from making it to the baptism, but we reset a date for the 22 of September and we will be baptizing Tido and his little sister Erica who is turning eight the week of the 22. The ward has really done a good job in fellowshipping Tido and Erica's mother Sou.

We have been teaching a lady named Mary for a few weeks now and have set a date with her on the fifth of Sept. She came to church yesterday and loved it! She has a hard time reading so we got her some tapes that have the Book of Mormon on it. She is so sweet!

We also got Roy and Teresea to church. They are a couple that we helped move into an apartment one morning while we were out tracting. We don't have a date with them yet, but we will be setting one soon.

Things are going vey well here and I am way excited because things are going to get even busier. We have several part member families that we are going to start teaching this week and the referrals from the ward are coming is as well. Elder Buhler is getting better; I am really focusing on helping him get more organized and confident in himself.

My goal this week is to become an even better planner and become more effective, making sure that I follow up with everyone I talk to and everyone that I set an appointment with and making sure that I follow the Spirit in all that I do, because I have really noticed that when you plan by the Spirit things really work out better and I am always where I am suppose to be.

On Sunday all four of us missionaries here in Fort Smith gave talks. Between us all we covered the Plan of Salvation. I got the tail end of the talk, meaning I covered the Spirit world, resurrection, judgment and kingdoms of glory. It was very powerful and as I listened to the other Elders I realized that don't have as deep of an understanding, or scriptural support of the Plan of Salvation as I do for the Atonement, and restoration of the church. We hardly ever get to the point with people where we teach them the Plan of Salvation. Until they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon or understand the great apostasy we don't move on, of coarse that's not always the case, but for the most part it's how I do missionary work. So my focus this week will to gain a deeper understanding of the Plan of Salvation.

Well I've got to go, we are playing basketball with the Spanish Elders and the Greenwood Sisters and some other people and we still have to get our laundry done. So hopefully I will be able to get a letter out to you.

Love your son,
Elder D Kelly Conrad

FW: pictures

-----Original Message-----
From: david conrad [mailto:elderconrad@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:17 AM
To: caconrad@charter.net
Subject: pictures

Just some pictures

FW: Focusing!

That's so awesome that Tyler finally got his call! I am so pumped for him, But Utah!? Come on! How stinking lucky! He will definitely be having a different mission experience then I am having here in the OTM. Man that is so sweet!

Well I have a little more time this week to email; we are going hiking today, up mount Magazine with a few people in our zone and with some other recent converts. It's going to be awesome! But anyways things have been pretty crazy around here with training Elder Buhler how to be a zone leader and still keep everything together and help our investigators progress. We have several dates set and things are looking great!

We have had several awesome experiences this past week. Yesterday we had a lesson with Joe Rainwater, we read 2 Nephi 9 and while we read it I learned more about the atonement then ever before! It was amazing!! I have never learned so much in my life, my new goal is to always teach people because that is when I really learn. Even in my most productive studies I never learn more then when I have taught some one. Every important lesson I have learned on my mission has always been in some ones home, door step, at a podium, or in a class room where I have been teaching.
I have finally reached a point where I feel comfortable enough to do anything as a missionary, whether it is to tract, otm, teach, instruct dozens of people, find, or just make friends with some one, but now the set of trials I am going through is helping to learn my true purpose as a missionary. My whole mission I have felt like there is more to this calling and I now am learning what that "more" is.

Yesterday while leaving the Tidwell's home for dinner we otm'd this drunken guy. His name is Brian. When we talked to him he was pretty rude and mouthy, but as we kept talking he changed and got nicer. We were running late to an appointment so I was ending the conversation and getting his address when he asks if we could say a prayer. Elder Buhler and I thought nothing of it because we pray with people outside all the time, but this time Brian came up to us and all three of us put our arms on each others shoulders and I offered a prayer. If that wasn't awkward enough after the prayer he hugged us and walked off! All me and Elder Buhler could do was get in the car as fast as we could and get out of there! That is the second time I have been hugged by a drunk in the middle of a street! The things we go through to spread the gospel.

One of the members here actually served in the mission that Tyler is serving in. Tyler is going to have a wonderful experience on his mission.
Being the midpoint of my mission I have started to make little plans for the future. My plans right now are to go down to Utah and go to either UVU, Snow college, or some other school there in Utah, So I might not have to go three years without seeing Tyler. But nothing is set in stone.

I love you Mom and thank you for the package! I should be writing you a hand written letter later today.

Love your son,
Elder Conrad

Tyler's mission call

Just to let everyone know, Tyler got his mission call yesterday-he is called
to the Utah, Salt Lake City South mission English speaking, reporting
October 14th. His area includes the South Jordan, Draper and the new
(dedicated today!) Oqurrh Mountain temple-south of the Salt Lake Temple, but
doesn't go any further south than the Wasatch mountain tip.

He is thrilled!!!

Carol Ann Conrad, MS, LMHC, NCC

Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist

8045 W. Grandridge Blvd Ste A

Kennewick, WA 99336

http://www.carolannconrad.com

509-735-1221

crazy week!

It's not fun to get such a short letter--but I guess it's a good thing that he's focused again and working so hard he's too busy to write:-)

Mom

i don't have time to really write you, Things are going good and I am seeing the growth in myself. Elder Buhler my new companion, and training him is going sweet because we are already best friends. Well tomorrow I'm going to Joplin, Mo for a meeting with all the leaders of the mission and it will be sweet, I am driving up with all the district leaders from our zone and i know that its going to be awesome!

I love you and I am sorry that I am not able to write more.

Love

Elder Conrad

FW: Transfers!

We've been out of town, sorry this is the first chance I've had to forward Kelly's email.

-----Original Message-----
From: david conrad [mailto:elderconrad@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 1:23 PM
To: caconrad@charter.net
Subject: Transfers!

Mom-
Well things are going good. Several things have happened this week that has made things pretty interesting. Fort Smith and the few towns we cover around it would compare to the size of all of the Tri-Cities and this past week we have been with out a car and have been back on the bikes! The Mazda we are driving has been having some engine problems and the shop we took it too needed to have it for a couple of days. Today when we got it back it felt like Christmas morning when we got our car back.
Elder Harrison is leaving this week to go to Joplin, Mo and Elder Buhler will be taking his place. I will be training Elder Buhler as a new zone leader. The sweet thing is that Elder Buhler took my spot in Mountain Home as district leader and I know that we are going to work hard and see miracles.
I have learned a lot from serving with Elder Harrison again. During the past week as he has taken a step back and let me run things I see now a lot of what it was that he was training me to do and that it has prepared me for being a better leader. I have gained more common sense, an ability to be confident in myself, and the ability to be quicker to observe. It's amazing how struggle makes growth. I am not normally one to want to go through struggles but Elder Harrison has pushed me and walked with me so that I could learn this lesson.
This last Sunday we went to Greenwood and did a member MTC with the Sister Missionaries, Sister Morris and Sister Hill. All four of us had 10 minutes apiece to give instruction on topics that we were assigned. Mine was how to bring up the gospel with non member friends. It was so neat to stand up in front of 20 plus people and not be nervous. The instruction went very well. It was mostly about preparing for times to share the gospel, and then when the time comes to act and share truths that you actually know and have a testimony of.
That's it for this week. Love ya!

Elder D. Kelly Conrad

Personal Revelation!

Everything is going good. It was fast Sunday this past Sunday and I have come to a lot of answers about things that have been going on recently. I was able to talk to several people in the ward and to Elder Harrison and the Spirit has confirmed things to me that will bless my life for ever, as long as I can remember what was taught to me. It's kind of hard to explain and a lot of it I won't explain due to the fact that it was personal revelation meant to bless me. But what was learned was how to receive personal revelation and how to apply the atonement into my life. The reason for all the stresses and worries in my life right now has come from the fact that I have not really forgiven myself for my faults and the silly things that I do wrong. It has built up so much that I have been living day to day in fear and not being able to overcome the hurdle that is set before me.

So last night after reading several talks about the atonement and several other things I have come away feeling like a burden has been lifted of my back and I am able to move forward now. There is a section in Preach My Gospel that I read that just came to mind as I shared this with you. Its says that people all over the world are weighed down by stress and sin and are looking for a way to get rid of it, even if they sometimes don't understand that they are weighed down, or searching for a way to be clean. I have lived this way, not understanding what was going on, but looking for a way out. The way out is the Atonement! It's amazing how all encompassing the atonement really is, it covers anything and everything we do in this life. It is how we are to have hope and faith that we can do anything, its all about the atonement!!

The week had its ups and downs, but all and all it was good. We had several investigators at church and we have started to teach more new families. Things are started to prosper here and I love it! I have been able to make some improvements on my teaching abilities and I have been able to learn how to better use scriptures, questions and application of principles taught in the scripture.

I went on exchanges with Elder Henson in Sallisaw, Ok this week and while I was there we had a down pour! To make things even better we were on bikes all day! We went tracting for 2 hours and walked through what seemed like rivers flowing down the streets! It was so much fun! We made preparations before we left by putting on our yellow rain jackets, and wrapping our scriptures and pamphlets in plastic bags. That is something else I learned this week, always be prepared, if you want something, you have to be prepared for it. One of my new goals is to always think of what I might need for something, or how I can prepare for things. In missionary work there is a lot that I have to prepare for.

We also had a ward social this past Thursday that we had several people that we are teaching at. After eating we played games and had a lot of fun! I have some videos of me beating everyone at the stick pull that I will be sending home soon so you can see how fun it was!

Love your son,
Elder D Kelly Conrad

FW: letter from mom

 

 

From: Carol Ann Conrad [mailto:caconrad.ms@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 5:09 PM
To: 'Rachel Faraoni'
Subject: letter from mom

 

My eyes are blurring so I can’t correct any more I’ve written so many letters today! I hope this is okay.  Let me know.

Carol Ann

 

Carol Ann Conrad, MS, LMHC, NCC

Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist

8045 W. Grandridge Blvd Ste A

Kennewick, WA 99336

http://www.carolannconrad.com

509-735-1221