End of Jan 1-30-2012

Hey guys,

I had a really good week. Zone Conference, my first district meeting, baptism news, I read a really good book, temple, and I busted my ankle.

So first of all, Michelle D and her daughter A will be baptized on the 18th of February. I will perform the baptism of Michelle and E. B will baptize A. This is such a great example of how when we do what we're commanded, God will lead us to those that have been prepared.

Zone Conference was awesome as well. I got to lead the music there, which was pretty nerve racking, Sister Greer didn’t tell me until opening exercises. But I got through it. We also sung a special musical number, the song was called "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." It was so nice, we sung it as the closing hymn also. Ha ha. But the reason I love Zone Conference so much is because I get to be with all these other great missionaries. And I get to feel of their spirit and build my testimony from it.

And District Meeting was fun. We had a training on the Importance of the Book of Mormon. We read it straight from Preach My Gospel. Then we watched the talk given by Jefferey R. Holland titled "Safety for the Soul." It is one of the best talks ever given on the Book of Mormon. I love it and would invite you to read and study it.

I read The Christmas Sweater. It's a book by Glenn Beck, I really liked it. If you have a chance, read it.

I finally got to go to the Portland Temple, we did a endowment session. It was raining, so we didn’t get that many pictures but I have some.

Oh and last but not least, I messed up my ankle. We have a lot of apartments in our area and I was walking down a flight when I tripped down them. There were a lot of shoes, so as I tried to dodge them, I also missed the step. So down I went. But it's on the mend, and I'll be more careful when walking down stairs.

Anyways I hope you have a great week.

Till we meet again.

Elder Butler

Transfered to Vancouver, WA

I'm in the Vancouver 3rd ward, serving in the Vancouver West Stake. I serve with Elder B, he came out with my last greenie, who is training now. Elder B is a basketball junky. He and I talk so much about it. He's from Linden Utah, and hopes to go back and play for UVU. We live with the Christensen family. He's a former mission president (Halfax Canada Mission) he also went back and served as a temple pres. But he's now the ward mission leader and has the ward really pushing for missionary work. We don't have a car, which bites because I have no good rain jacket. I'll probably go get one at Ross at the beginning of the month. The ward is awesome, we have great families, and they are all so willing to do missionary work. This is the 1st time I've seen the Focus 5 Family list at full work. It's awesome to have good support.

Being district leader rocks! I have one other companionship in mine. The weird thing is, that I'm the oldest in the group. One of the other two missionaries came out with Elder B, and the other is just 2 transfers older than him. I just had my first district meeting yesterday and it was fun. It really was just fun. I love teaching, and when I get to do it with the Spirit, it makes it so much easier.

  

Oh and for the more serious side of it this was a dialog we had with one of our investigators last Thursday. Her name is Michelle D, she has 2 daughters A and K. She met with missionaries in Alaska but nothing ever happened. But WE knocked her door my first week and this went down last Thursday. This was one of the most intense moments of my mission. It was just too good to be true. 

Us: "Hey Michelle how are you guys?"

Michelle:" Hey we are doing okay... struggling a bit... How are you guys"

Us:"Good"

Michelle:"That is good. We are doing okay...struggling with some things"

Us:"What’s wrong?"

Michelle:"Oh everyday life and trials, can't catch up financially, so

I'm stressed, but I keep trying to stay positive"

Us:"That’s half the battle, how are the girls?"

Michelle:"Yes I know it's not easy, girls are doing okay. A is trying my patience this week"

Us:"Ha ha it'll happen. Plus, it'll make the quiet moments that much more enjoyable. Have you been able to read any of the Book of Mormon?"

Michelle:"yes a little not much as I would like to"

Us:"Anything stick out? How did you like it?

Michelle:"I like it... yes a few things about knowing this is real."

Michelle:"That video opened my eyes and answered questions I’ve had for a long time"

Us:" Great, have you prayed and asked God if these things are true?

Michelle:"Yes I did that night"

Michelle:"I knew they were true. It’s always something I knew, just willing to accept now and understand"

Us:"That’s great to hear, I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith was God's chosen prophet and that he has restored the fullness of His gospel back onto the earth. And I know that He loves us and wants us all to return back to Him. And we can do that by keeping His commandments."

Michelle:"Yes that is so true. I think I know why I was meant to be here and that was to help people. I am not sure how but I know that is my path and reason."

Us:"Michelle by knowing that these things are true will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God?"

Michelle:"Yes, we will talk more Saturday."

Ha ha! I love being on my mission. Take care guys.

Elder Butler

Update from 1-9-2012 thru 12-12-2011

Dear Family and Friends:

It was so great to speak to Taft (Elder Butler) via Skype on Christmas day.  He is doing great.  He’s happy and loving the mission experience, especially the people.

Here are some of his emails from Dec and Jan.  I hope you enjoy them.

1-9-2012

Hey so I'm shipping out. Just found out that I'm going to Vancouver 3rd ward(on the other side of the mission-about 2 hours from where he has been serving). I'm going to be greenie busting and district leader as well. I can't wait. (We also found out that he will be biking it again.)

On Sunday I got to confirm Andrew, the little boy we baptized last week. He would've gotten confirmed last week but they forgot about the time change because of the New Year. We went from 1pm to 9am. So they got caught off guard. But, they came yesterday, and i got to confirm him :) As i said the words"...receive the Holy Ghost." I felt this incredible rush of the Spirit. It was one of the most un-forgettable instances of my mission. As i pronounced the blessing, the Spirit would continue to remind me how important this boy was. He's had a lot of "hard" moments in his life. But, he has been such a great example of hope and optimism. I was grateful to have taken part in such a wonderful experience. I hope you guys all have a wonderful week. I love you and take care.
Till we meet again...
Elder Butler

12-19-2011

Hey thanks for the money, and yes i did get the presents. Can't wait to open them. If there is a tie, can i wear it to the Christmas zone conference on Wednesday??? I know it'll be before but it's just one present. Anyways I'll be skyping @ 2:30 pm Christmas day. So i hope that can work, if not then we can try a different time. Sadly i didn't get presents for you or dad. But, i do have presents for the 3 kids. They're in the box i sent home. There's a white watch, a carnigan sweater, 3 CD's, and a camera. The watch and sweater are for Kimball, the CD's are for Alyssa, and the camera is for joseph. I was hoping you could wrap them for them and they could open them when we skype. I'd like to add that there is a sweater and also a nylon jacket. The jacket and everything else in the box stays mine. Those things are things i'd rather not have them have. There's a pair of headphones that i found in the appartment (probably from the last missionaries), a pair of nike shoes ( i had those given to me for my birthday by Pedro the kid i baptized), and the jacket i had before i left but Kimball doesn't need it. If you could wrap those things i would be very thankful. If not then we can just give them to them on Christmas. I love you mom thanks for all that you do. Take Care

Elder Butler

12-12-2011

Read this : Mark 9: 14-27

This last week has been full of fun and packed with great experiences. I want to talk about one specifically though. A little background information first though. About 2 months ago, when Elder La Rue and i were first put together. We were tracting, and one day as we turned a corner to go down a street we met a woman standing outside, with her 18 month old son, smoking. Just standing outside, talking with a one of her friends. We, being missionaries indulged ourselves and talked with her. As we talked with her , and i say only her because her friend walked right inside the house once we came around the corner :(. As we talked with her, we got to know a little bit about her. Her name was Tasha, she played football in High school, she has 14 siblings, etc. So we talked with her, gave her a book of Mormon, and went on her merry way. And till now we've been going over on and off teaching her about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We also later found out that she was great friends with our ward mission leader, Rob Bready. And as we kept teaching her, she would come up with questions, then we'd answer them, and then she's go study more of it. Long story short, she texted us on Saturday and had some pretty heavy questions about faith. So we had a sit down with her at Bro Bready's house and taught her a little more about faith and how "faith without works is dead." She accepted, and figured she'd go and study a little more on the subject.

Then, yesterday in ward council, she texted us. She had told her dad about what she was doing with the missionaries and that she was going to church with the Mormons. Her dad had grown up in small town Idaho, and had a couple bad experiences with Mormons. So you can imagine how concerned her dad was when he found out that she was meeting with us. And yes He was mad, He flipped, and basically warned her that if she went to church with us, he would disown her. This was definitely not what we wanted. So we went to resolve the concern. We took with us the Young Men's president from the ward, Les Evans. He had had the same experience when he joined the church.

When we got to Tasha's house, she was already waiting for us. It was definitely inspired to bring Pres Evans. He bore strong testimony of what God's eternal plan was for all of us. And how much influence She will have on her family, if she follows what God tells her to do. Sadly he had to leave for a Priesthood meeting, but we stayed a little bit longer. And we continued to talk with her and help her through the situation. We all thought it was funny how she had had questions on faith, and how she could make it stronger. Then God in his miraculous timing throws up this road block in her way, resulting in her having to exercising the most faith she probably has ever had to use. I love God's Irony.

As we continued to help Tasha, i received the prompting to share the story listed up at the beginning of this email. As I rehearsed the experience, the Spirit came upon me very strongly. It's funny because it's doing the same thing right now, even as i write this email. You should have seen Tasha, it was obvious she was feeling the Spirit. Needless to say, she came to church. And wholly acting on faith. BTW, Her Dad to my knowledge still hasn't talked to her. The sacrament meeting talks were self molded for her. They were on Joseph Smith and the First Vision, and faith in Jesus Christ. She loved church. I'm grateful for Tasha's faith, and the desire she has to make her life better, even if this results in her parents leaving her. I hope i will have that same type of faith when God calls me to use it. I know that He loves all of us, and that
He does know best. I know as we have faith in God's commandments, and hearken unto the Holy Ghost, we will be blessed. I know this to be true because I have felt His love, and seen the blessings. I love you all.

Till We Meet Again...
Elder Butler

Updates from Elder Butler

Hi All:

Things have been going great for Elder Butler.  These letters are from his emails home.  We have enjoyed hearing from him.  He has also sent 2 letters; to Kimball and Jim for birthday's and his first box arrived last week with notes informing us NOT TO OPEN UNTIL MAR 2012.  He is loving his mission and is serving his Lord as he serves the people he is with.  We are so proud of him.  He would enjoy letters or special notes from all his friends and family as the holidays are near.  

11-8

Thanks for the letters this week. Elder L and I are loving our service together, and continue to find hidden blessings as we serve the Lord. Yesterday we went back to contact a referral. The woman had been studying and researching various churches on her own, and had some deep doctrine questions about the LDS church and wanted answers. So she invited us in and we tried to help her as best we can. She had come to some conclusions on her own that were very obscure and did not have much validity. So we'd go back and forth asking questions, reading scriptures trying to help with the confusion, keep in mind that she had never read the Book of Mormon. Plus along with all of this mumbo-jumbo, I had this tremendous feeling that the adversary was in that room. I could not feel the Holy Ghost at all, and when that sort of thing happens I shut down. I could do nothing but just sit and listen to my companion and her debating about subjects that had no relevancy to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in my mind at least. And so through this whole situation I felt powerless and weak. And that's when I had a prompting to sing in my head the primary song "I Am a Child of God."  And had I only got done with the first verse when i had this sense of calmness come over me, and it made me feel sooooooo much better. Needless to say we aren't planning on going back over again anytime soon. She didn't accept any of the commitments we left her (church, baptism). But once we left the house and got back into the car, I offered a silent prayer to Heavenly Father thanking him for the Holy Ghost and the feelings I felt. I'm so happy for that special feeling i get when I'm doing what’s right. I hope I can always live to be worthy of it.

10-25

First of all I'll just tell you that my new comp is amazing. His name is Elder L. He's from Monroe Utah, and has an older sister. His parents are not members. He got baptized when he was 12 and his sister followed. His reason for becoming a member was the friends he had in Utah. They always invited him out to activities, and were always happy and welcoming to him. He is a great example of what can become of constant fellowship outside of church. I know if we can do this then the lord will bless us in our efforts of bringing his children into the fold.

Anyways, thank you guys for everything always keep the missionary work in your prayers :)

10-18

WOW!!!!! This week has had so much going on. I'll try to fit it in the email.

So 1st things 1st, I'm training. I don't know who he is yet, but I will tomorrow. Pres called me Saturday and asked me if I was up to the challenge. I told him that there were a lot better missionaries fit for the job, but I accepted. I'll email back about him next week.

This is Elder H's last week. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve learned how important it is to finish strong, in whatever we do. When we do, the Lord will bless us with strength to do so.

I had the privilege to listen and study a talk given to a group of LDS young adults. It was titled the Belief Window. It was given by a man named Hyrum W. Smith. Brother Smith talks about many different ideas and topics but the most important thing he states is that, the most important thing that we can have as a child of God, is our self worth. He goes on to explain a model that we can use in our lives to understand our self worth, and control how we act. I'd explain, but i don't have my notes and if i tried right now it wouldn't make sense. You should listen to it.

9-20

So this week has been pretty bland. My comp and I are building up the area here. It’s a bunch of farm land so we drive a lot. What’s weird though is that I bump into a lot of people from my last area. I'm technically I’m in a bordering area, there's just a big river between them. My Comp Elder H goes home in 5 weeks. So he's a gray hair missionary. He's very obedient; has been his whole mission. It's a big change of pace cause my first 2 companions were different. But we have fun. He graduated high school at 16, and is starting medical school when he gets home. He's very smart, and knows it. It gets hard to study some time when he starts going off on tangents about some random doctrinal topic.

We only cover 1 ward now. It's called the Elliott Lake Ward.  We are trying hard to gain the trust of the members. We have a great Bishop, and good auxiliary leaders that are willing to help. We just have to show them what missionary work is. I will keep you in touch about this situation.

9-13

Greetings from Kennewick...

So, this is a lot different than Pasco. We're in a very rural area and we drive a lot. Plus we're building up the area. We're trying hard but times get discouraging. It’s very fun though.

The first day we were there we did a lot of getting moved in. Because we got doubled in (two new missionaries transferred into the area), we did a lot of getting to know the area. Luckily we were having dinner with a really cool member because I really had the dear in the headlights thing going on. And after dinner we figured we'd go try and see some potentials the other missionaries left for us in the area book. We pull up to this trailer, and the address belongs to a R M. The name seemed familiar, but I didn't know who it could've been. So we knock the door and this little 8 year old kid answers the door. It was P, I taught his family back in Pasco. His mom was a recent convert back in 4th ward, and I guess her grandma lives in my new ward. What was even cooler was that we had taught her mom a couple times back in Pasco, so I already knew her. The missionaries before us never we're able to meet with her. I guess she was just busy or something. I was just glad to see the Lord's hand in our work. This week has been hard, but Elder H and I are going to make the best of it here.

8-30

Wow!!!!!! This Friday I will have been out 6 months. That shouldn't be happening. It's definitely true when they say "the days in the mission are long but the weeks are very short."

This last week has been full of great things. We had interviews with Pres. Greer on Thursday. During the interview Pres. asked if there was anything that He could help me with. I told Pres. that I was striving to be more humble. I felt like I needed to be more teachable to the Spirit. Pres. told me about right before I came in there were a lot of stud missionaries leaving. Pres said he was worried for the mission. So he prayed, and asked Heavenly Father for answers to his questions. Pres. said that Heavenly Father assured him that new missionaries were coming to take the place of those great missionaries from the past. He feels like I am one of them. I never saw myself as an example. But Pres. was serious. He said that  soon I will be needed.

Next week is transfers so I will get to find out if I'm staying or leaving. Everyone says I’ll leave. I’ve been here 6 months. So I’ll tell you guys next week if I'm leaving or staying.

8-23

Ups and downs...

Well first off I will tell you that L. Tom Perry is a man among boys. He is someone I wish to be like. He was very nice, enthusiastic and gentle. He really has a love for the gospel. He talked about an experience he had on his mission. He spoke about a companion he had. When they were first put together neither of them had been out for more than 2 months. He (Perry) had just come from the MTC. So they had little to no experience. But, they did know how to work. So that’s what they did. They followed the rules and they were hard working and strictly obedient. They ended up serving for 10 1/2 months and had many successes. Even after their missions they stayed together. They both had joined the marines, and were blessed to stay together. For almost 50 years they served together, and not once did they forget to have some sort of companionship study. I know when we follow what God wants us to do He will bless us. Because of this I want to re-commit myself to the work. On Saturday, when Josh was supposed to be baptized, we were informed that Josh's Dad wouldn't sign the baptism form. So Josh never got baptized. :( But, he still wants to. So He came to church the next day, and we are planning to go back over to his Dad's house and figure out his concerns. I will keep you informed on that.  

Love you all. Elder Butler