The Blessed, Blessed WATAC

Monday, July 30, 2012

 

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the WATAC!  The Blessed, Blessed WATAC. (Washington Tacoma Mission)  It's hard for me to imagine loving anywhere else in the world this much. 

 

And at the same time, I dont know what to write about!  I wish I could just film the whole thing and play it back as if you guys were here experiencing it with me. 

 

Most of our funniest moments aren't funny at all, I could write em down but it'd just sound dumb.  You just have to be here, haha. 

 

Shoot, I wonder what stuff would be good to talk about. 

 

Well, first of all, it kinda happened gradually but quickly, if that makes sense, but our teaching pool has grown so much!  I realized a few days ago that we are teaching more people now than I have at any time previously on my mission.  Almost more than I've had up til now combined!  It's awesome.  

 

Being with a new missionary is really interesting, Because I know exactly what my strengths as a missionary are, as well as my weaknesses, and they are all apparent, haha.  But I've really learned how to play off my strengths, and use my companions strengths where I am weak.  It's an obvious concept, but it's never been one I've really understood til now. 

 

Umm, there is a chance we'll have a baptism this weekend, but it really all depends on what happens on Tuesday, so I can't say for sure or not...

 

Oh, did I mention my boy is way good at basketball?  I've been having him teach me, I'm getting a lot better!  It's my favorite sport to play right now, besides ultimate.  So I'm gonna stop emailing so we can go practice.  We're gonna play all P-day! 

 

Love you to pieces mom.  Sorry for the short email, it's been a great week, I just don't know what to say!  

 

Love,

Elder Chase Lonas  

Sunshine and smiles all around :)

Monday, July 23, 2012

First of all, I am using a computer with a spacebar that barely works, its driving me crazy, and takes forever to type things....  so if this is shorter, that is why.

 

Second of all, I love my boy!  Having a good companion makes all the difference in the world haha, my life is so much better right now.  So yeah, it's sunshine and smiles all around :)  We get along great,  we make each other laugh a lot, and we're having a blast being missionaries in the beautiful WATAC, so I couldnt ask for anything more!

Being in Fruitland right now is awesome.  We have as much missionary work going on here as any of the best areas in the mission, including Bremerton and Tacoma.  :)  We are teaching tons of lessons each week, the missionary-ward relationship has never been better, Bishop loves us and we love him [[he actually called president this week to tell him how much he likes us]] and I feel like I'm just living some kind of missionary fantasy life haha.  I'm praying that Pres.  leaves us here for as long as possible.  I think we're going to continue to do well here for the rest of the transfer, and if we both stay, the momentum will carry over, and we'll break records next transfer :)  Furthermore, me and my boy both have similar rap influences, so we are definitely gonna do a collaboration this transfer. 

 

Oh yeah, and I've been coming up with a lot of new ideas for teaching!  We were teaching this kid Tony, he's 11, about the plan of salvation, and we forgot to bring paper haha, so I made up this thing with a stick of gum and mormon.org cards, its so cool :)  And when we teach him the commandments, I got permission from his grandma to set up a lifesize object lesson in the backyard.  It'll be fun, haha.  I might make videos of some of my teaching ideas, I'll send 'em home and you can give some feedback?  

 

Typing on this keyboard is driving me crazy, haha

 

DeeDee, the lady who was baptized a week or two ago, is doing excellent!  She hasn't missed a day of church, she loves meeting with us during the week, and we're gonna talk to her this week about working towards her patriarchal blessing.  Last week we showed her lds.org, which she thought was cool, but she has dial-up, so its very slow! But anyways, my point is she's way solid, and It's so cool to watch her!  Hopefully she'll be off to the temple in a year, and me and Elder B will be able to go with her!

 

agh, can't take this keyboard any longer.  

 

Love you so much!  

"Come to ours, of course!"

July 16, 2012

It's been a crazy week!

Haha,  I just realized I could (and probably do) start every email that way, I can't think of any week where I couldn't start out that way.  

Anyways, the point is a lot happened as usual! 

On Tuesday, we went to the New Missionary Meeting.  Get it? It's funny, cuz I was there just a few days ago it feels like, and now I was there again!  But not as a new missionary!  so weird haha.  I got to see some of my favorite people there which was a lot of fun, and afterwards we were eating lunch in the mission home.  So I'm sitting down eating and I get a call from DeeDee (whose baptism is in like 5 days.)  We had a lesson at 4 o'clock that day, which she cancelled because she said she wasn't feeling well.  Then she went on to say that her friends had been talking to her about why she shouldn't join the Mormon Church, and she should go to a bunch of other churches instead, and listen to what other preachers had to say about mormonism, and she said she didn't want to get baptized anymore, maybe she would consider it down the road.  So we reschedule the lesson for Thursday. 

 

So on Thursday we're trying to have this lesson, and Sister C (in the ward) is supposed to come as well

Except Sis. C is lost and we have trouble getting her there, so we're like 25 minutes late, and we call DeeDee on the phone and she's just like telling us about her day and how terrible it's been and everything she's going through- it was all so stressful!  But eventually we get in and everything falls into place. Sis. C and DeeDee click immediately, and throughout the whole lesson, she is just the perfect person to be there for her.  DeeDee felt the spirit really really strong, and definitely recognized it.  She said she still wanted to be baptized on the 14th and hoped it wasn't too late.  I told her it wasn't too late :) [[because I never cancelled it in the first place hahahaha]]

Her baptism was awesome, and I remembered to bring my camera, so I have a picture of it!  My boy (his new companion, Elder B, fresh from the MTC) got to baptize her, and I witnessed, it was AWESOME :)  I'm so proud of him, I may or may not write more about him later, but he's legit.  

DeeDee was baptized on the 14th, and I got to confirm her on the 15th and I'm so excited for her! She likes meeting new people, so Relief Society has been awesome for her, and a lot of awesome women have been welcoming her with open arms!  

Oh, also when we went to church, we ran into the bishop before sacrament meeting.  He told us that a nonmember was talking to his LDS friend, and this nonmember, Marius, asked what church he should go to.  The LDS friend told him to come to ours, of course haha :)  

So he showed up, by himself, at church!  We sat by him and answered his questions and such  (He was an active catholic, so he knows a lot about church, but had never been to an LDS service, so we talked about some of the similarities and differences), and we are going to meet again on Wednesday for the first discussion.  

But my favorite part is this- He was gonna meet with the bishop after sacrament meeting, so he goes out into the hall towards his office.  At this time, Elder B and I are talking with other people, so we aren't there, but as Marius walking down the hall, he passes some missionaries from the other ward.  They notice he is wearing jeans, so they are talking to him, and ask if he's a member, and he replies "No, but soon to be."   hahaha isn't that awesome?!?  One of the missionaries who talked to him was my friend, Elder H, so he told me about it about 5 minutes later , haha.

Welp, Love you a lot!

So it turns out that grammar DOES matter... :)

Hey!  It's Lonas!

That's how I open up most of my documentary videos haha.  Of which there are a lot, I'm excited to send them home!

Anyways, here's my life:  I'm a Dad now! (Dad = responsible for training a newly arrived missionary )   I got my very own little boy, and I love it!   His name is Elder B and he's a cool guy!  He's from SLC, likes sports and stuff, and we actually have a lot of random similar interests.  Like Avatar: the Last Airbender haha.  So, one of the great things about the WATAC is that Heavenly Father likes boys to baptize.   Therefore, miracles have been happening right and left in order to make that happen.  

 DeeDee was taught by missionaries about 8 months ago (possibly by Elder K) and she was taught everything, came to church, and just decided that she wasn't ready to commit (mainly she didn't want to quit smoking).  Then the apartments she was in were shut down for renovation, she lost contact with the missionaries, plus the original set were transferred, and that was the end of that.  We met her not too long ago, and on the doorstep she pretty much told us her backstory, and that she'd just been thinking about it a lot ever since she lost contact with the missionaries.  So in between the time they last saw her and the time I met her, she became prepared!  She was at church yesterday and loved it, we're re-giving her the lessons, and she is on-date to be baptized on July 14th!  Great way for my boy to start his mission :)  Being a missionary is so cool.
  
So, this is really cool too.   At church, we had 3 people approach us, and tell us that they had friends or relatives or whomever that they wanted us to teach!  One of my favorites was this lady who came up to us, and told us that she has this cowboy friend, and she made him promise to take all the lessons.  Furthermore, he has a lot of nonmember friends he works with, and she says there is a small classroom out by the ranch, so she wants to set up so we can teach them all at the same time.  How's that for the most golden opportunity ever?!?!?!  so she is telling us this, and then she says "Yeah, I've known this guy for a long time, but when I saw you guys in church today I just felt like you were the right missionaries to teach him!"  I think that was one of the best compliments I've ever received :)

    There is also a lady who pulled us aside to tell us about her non member grandson at church today, who wanted to meet with missionaries again :)  We met him, he's pretty cool, we're hopefully going to start teaching him this week!

     Oh, and Kendall!  She's from a part-member family, and has been someone missionaries have been trying to teach for the longest time.  My Boy's first day here, we get in and are able to teach her.  Her situation is complicated but she's on date for the 4th of August.

     There's other stuff too, but the point is that life is AMAZING right now.  The ward (which is incredibly missionary minded) is working with us and great things are happening, and I love that I have the opportunity to be a part of it!

    Oh and remember how Christensen is training, too?  His Boy is my Boy's MTC companion!

OH!  And I almost forgot to tell you!  We were knocking as usual, and this old man answers the door, and comes outside and says "Alright, here's the deal, I will listen to whatever you have to say, until one of you makes a grammatical error"  hahahahahahaha!  So we talked to him for about a half hour (my companion was silent haha) and the whole time I felt like I was on a sitcom.  I'm still reasonably sure that was the case.  In the end though, he wasn't interested because he had read a specific anti-Mormon book.  He asked if we had read it, I indicated that I'd read parts of it, but had never read it cover to cover or anything.  He asked what I thought, and I told him it was an unimpressive book about an unimpressive subject, and then bore testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I know he felt the Spirit, but he said he was "too old to change his ways"  Pretty sad :(   but the whole scenario still makes me laugh haha.  

So anyways, life is good :)

Parenthood and Personal Bubbles

Monday, July 2, 2012



Week 6 of the Transfer is almost over! The transfer felt reallllllly long because of everthing thats happened, but at the same time I still can't believe its over.  So on Saturday night we got Transfer calls!  My companion, Elder S, is going to a neighboring zone.  He's bummed out he's leaving, but he'll live.  My news is way more exciting-  I'm GONNA BE A DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know my boy's name yet, cuz he's still in the MTC but i'll meet him on Wednesday!  I'm scared to death to train, but i'm also crazy excited!  In other exciting news, My favorite companion Elder C is also getting his first boy this transfer!  One of my sisters, Sis. V, is also getting HER first girl, and as you probably already know, James is getting his first boy!!  we're all gonna be parents together, it will be so much fun! (I'm assuming that was self-explanatory... And this editorial comment should be in blue)

 
anyways, that is my favorite and most exciting news for the week.

 
Other news...  Well, (I think this was this week) we taught Mary the Restoration, and she loved it!  she wants to learn all about the gospel so she can raise her family in it, pretty awesome!  She is on-date to be baptized on July 14th, BUT that will only happen if she starts coming to church, which she is having trouble with because of her work, and her 4 little kids.  We were pretty depressed when she didn't come yesterday :(  We're seeing her tomorrow at 11:45 though, teaching the plan of salvation, and gonna figure out SOMETHING to help her come to church. 


 
Jennie +kids were doing SOOOOOOOOO awesome, and then this past week she just said she was too busy doing other stuff for all our plans and stuff, and she would just talk to us next week.  Fortunately, it is now next week, so we are gonna help her get back on track!


 
We had a good talk with J this week, and shared Alma 32 with him (about faith and how to increase it, etc) Because thats really the missing part for him, he's still building his faith.  We also found out that his live-in girlfriend is a member!  haha so that was good to know, we're gonna try and get em both at church now, and married. :)


 
 
We got dropped like 3 times in 2 days this past week, it was pretty dumb.  
But at the end of the day, we're here to find the prepared, not argue with those who aren't.


 
Hahahaha, on tuesday this last week, these samoans we met a few days prior ( I LOVE samoans) wanted to feed us.  They are members who live in our ward, but attend a samoan ward out in Tacoma.  Then they called us a few hours before to change it from eating at their house to meeting us at this teriyaki place.  So we are almost there, and they call and say they arent gonna come, but they called ahead and paid for us, so just eat anyways. 



Waiting for the food I got so confused as to how I got there... I was just at BYU a minute ago, and before that at home, and now I'm in this restaurant, my comp is trying to communicate with the girl at the register to ask her to break a 20, but she doesnt really speak english, and I realize that I'm here because I spend my life knocking on random people's doors, and they told me to come here, so i did?  My life doesnt make any sense.



So, I was thinking about, how everyone lives their lives in these like... personal bubbles.  and they have these houses/apartments which are theirs, and they have these... lives.  And everyone has all these social rules they follow, and respectfully avoid infringing on other people's bubbles.  And everybody has a general idea of what will happen in their bubble, because they're used to it, and they've been chilling there for awhile.  EXCEPT ME!  (Missionaries in general, but I'm really only philosophizing on my life right now)  I do whatever I want! I spend my whole life bouncing into random people's bubbles!  I knock on their door, and then I go inside and I'm in this person's life all of a sudden!  I have dinner with random people all the time, they just feed us for free!  Monday through Friday, they drop off food in a magic cooler outside our door, how cool is that?!?  I talk to everyone I see!  I make friends with random homeless people!  I live above a garage next to some members who I dont even really know!  I rap!  I read scriptures a lot!  I am really good at making friends with people, especially Polynesians!  I'm getting a boy!  I don't really understand anything that goes on in my life except the Gospel.

 
Anyways,  the point being... shoot, I don't have a point.  

 

Well,    
 
This upcoming week or two will be.. hard.  We have a few people we're excited to be working with, but we need a LOT more.  And that means a lot of tracting.  I feel kinda bad for my boy, who will be knocking an average of 3-4 hours a day for his first week and a half, but It'll be good.  Tracting isn't fun, but our Mission President has asked us to do a lot of it, and I know he's inspired, so I know that it's for a good reason, and we WILL find people who are to ready to follow Jesus Christ :)  Pray for me and my kid, we're gonna need it.

Baptism back-story and a bunch of other stuff...

Monday, June 25, 2012

 

Another week!  I'm about to give up on trying to understand the way time feels.  This week has been insanely long, and yet I feel like I was just here emailing a few minutes ago. 

 

 

SOOOOO, my previous companion, Elder P, is now in New Zealand!  pretty crazy!  The night he left, President and Sister Weaver took us both out to get a milkshake and talk, it was pretty fun.  That night I got my new companion up here, his name is Elder S, he's one transfer older than me.  He's my third companion this transfer, which is pretty crazy- but its nothing compared to HIS transfer.  I'm his SIXTH companion this transfer alone, and this is his THIRD area this transfer.  He's obedient and hardworking, so we are getting a lot of stuff done which I love, even though our personalities are different. 

 

 

We've been realllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy busy, but some cool stuff has happened.  I'll try and remember some of it to tell you :)  First of all, I dont remember if I ever really told you about Jenny and Spud and Kimmy?  we've been meeting with them, Jenny's life is so crazy.    This past week though, we finally had the chance to sit down and teach her the first lesson.  It went pretty well, It was my first time teaching with Elder S, but it wasn't too bad.  So afterwards, I'm talking to her kids, Spud and Kimmy, kinda distracting them so that Elder S and Jenny can have a grown up conversation, and for whatever reason, Jenny was then just ready to open up.  She cried for awhile, and S listened to her life.  She was out of town this weekend, but she wants to come next Sunday, and we have plans to show her the church on Tuesday, while Spud rides bikes with the Scouts.  we're way excited!  The thing I just dont know how to communicate to you back home is how much I love her and her little family.  I just can't explain it right, but there is something really really special about being able to share the gospel with someone who needs it so much.  It's pretty darn humbling. 

 

 

Oh, remember when I told you about Desiree's baptism, and that one guy who was gonna interrupt me with that anti-Mormon stuff, but didn't?  I was talking to Bishop, and I heard the rest of the story.  While I was giving the missionary message thing right after the baptism, Bishop says he was trying to talk and stuff, and he kept like jerking his hand and stuff, but he couldn't raise it or move his arms really.  Bishop says it was the first time in his whole life that he has ever seen the spirit physically restrain someone.  Afterwards, Bishop went up to him and said "you didn't ask your questions"  and the guy didn't say anything, and bishop told him (cuz at this point, all the missionaries in our district are in a circle talking and stuff) that if he wanted to, he could go over to us right now still and ask his questions, and he said, "it just doesn't feel right anymore." Pretty cool.  :)

 

 

Oh, we had our bike day, it was pretty fun.  by which I mean, kinda fun, but mainly really really really hard because my bike didnt work.  My companion is like at the top of the hill, I'm like 1/4 of the way up, just chugging along, saying "I think I can, I think I can I think I can..."  You could tell I was struggling, and it was a hot day.  Fortunately, some gentlemen passing by in their cars took it upon themselves to cool me down with their saliva, so that was thoughtful!  And I always thought that people didnt like us :)  

Clearly not so!  I'm pretty sure they're looking out for us.  For example, one guy informed me that Joseph Smith was a liar and a polygamist, so that's good to know!  

 

 

Oh yeah, so we were biking past the church, and we saw like 10 skaters in the church parking lot.  Elder S was like "Elder, they aren't supposed to be there...."  I laughed at him, and biked over to them.  I talked to them about skating for a few minutes, then invited them to come inside and check out the church!  4 of them did, and 2 of them are open to meeting with us again, and learning more.  So that was fun :)

 

 

Well, I'm tired of emailing, even though as usual, I haven't told you 1/10 of 1% of what happens in the week, for which I apologize.  but just so you know, life is good.  sometimes kinda hard, but it's good.  My mission is everything to me, I'm so grateful to be out here.  One thing I thought about a lot on Sunday, was that if I didn't go on a mission, I would never understand exactly what I was missing out on.  There's just no adequate way to tell someone what it's really like, and why it is so important.  But because I'm out here, I do know, and I know I wouldn't trade my opportunity to serve in the WATAC (Washington Tacoma Mission) for 2 years for anything, there is no where I'd rather be, and nothing I could be doing that would be more important.  A returned missionary gave a talk in Sacrament meeting a week or two ago, and was urging all the young men to go on missions as well.  To the young men who were still debating, I thought he put it well.  He said, "don't put a question mark where a prophet of God has put a period."  Amen to that.

 

 

Father's Day, Fruitland, and an anti-Mormon grandpa

June 18, 2012

First of all, Happy Father's Day!!!!!!!  It's too bad we don't get to call home on Father's Day, but I was still thinking of you Dad!  I have a letter for you I'll try and get out today.  Clearly I'm not a sister missionary, because then I would have had the foresight to write it a week ago, and send it a week ago, so it would actually arrive before Father's day... Oh well!  But I love you sooooooooo much Dad :)

Thanks so much for praying for me,  you probably don't realize how much it really does help out here.  This week has been a LOT better than last week.

Fruitland is a tougher area than Manette!  Tracting is so discouraging, everyone out here is so.... content.  I found a hidden trailer park the other day though :)  <3  I love trailer parks.  Within which, I found a family!!!!!!!! not much as happened with them so far, but I'll keep you guys updated. 
Our Ward Mission Leader is insane.  I've never met a better one.  And our bishop is so cool! Bishop Daybell is AMAZING, I want to do my callings like him when I grow up.  I respect him so much, and I know he loves us missionaries so much, and that is so crucial to missionary/ward relations.  So it's gonna be good.  I struggle with working with wards/members, because they frustrate me, but I'm going to try really hard for Bishop.  And out here in Fruitland, (as i'm sure it is in carlsbad) missionaries really can't succeed WITHOUT member help.

 

This week we had a BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!  The story leading up to it was pretty funny, but I don't really know how to get into the details of all that...  Anyways, the girl's name is Desiree.    She'd been wanting to be baptized for a long time actually, but had to wait until her 18th birthday.  What I didn't know until just a few days before the baptism actually, is that she still hadn't had half the lessons    So I got to give her both those, which was pretty fun for me, and I got to know her pretty well, so it didn't feel at all like a strangers baptism.   The baptism itself was incredible.  She'd been coming to church for so long that there was a ton of ward support there.  Also, pretty cool story behind the way the service played out.  One reason why the baptism kept getting postponed is because her grandpa (who is very very very much against the church) wanted to be there, so he could pass out anti-mormon stuff.  So he was there, and right before I got up to give the "missionary message" thing, he told the bishop that he was going to interrupt me, and give his anti-mormon shpiel, and try to ask me questions to make the church look bad and stuff.  The Bishop told him he could... haha, and didn't warn me.

Even without knowing that though, I was pretty nervous, because our Mission President decided to show up to our baptism, and he was sitting in the back.  So I get up there and start talking, and I teach about the restoration. The Grandpa doesn't say or do anything.  (I didn't know he was planning on it)  It was really spiritual, and then afterwards I just go sit down and the baptism service finishes up.  The Bishop comes and pulls Pres. Weaver and me aside, and tells us what the Grandpa was planning on doing, but didn't, because I guess he felt the spirit.  :)  way cool :)

OH, other news, on Friday I was on an exchange with the Manorwood missionaries, so I was on bike for the day.  It was a pretty fun day, but INCREDIBLY hard.  We biked 15+ miles, and my temporary companion beat me into the ground so hard.  today is the first day since then it doesn't hurt to walk, haha.  Anyways, the day is wrapping up, and we're biking over to our dinner appointment (they got us pizza.  <3)  and we get a call from President Weaver.  Our conversation goes a little something like this:

Weaver:  Hello Elder Lonas, How are you doing?

Lonas:  I'm doing great President, how are you?

W: Great, Great...  Well Lonas, Sis. Weaver and I want you to know that we think you are a great missionary, and we really love you..

L: Oh my goodness, what's going to happen?? (spoken with about 10% melodrama)

W:  I'm so sorry Lonas... But Elder Ps paperwork all went through, and it looks like he'll be going to New Zealand on Tuesday....

L:  AAHHHH, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY LIFE???  (Full blown drama queen) 

W:  I understand how you must feel... We are going to do our very best to figure out what will happen...

 (Elder P, his current companion, was in Washington only until his visa came through, but assumed he would stay the whole six-week "transfer" period.  Chase was unexpectedly transferred to this area and given this new companion just last week)

Conversation goes on for a few more minutes.  But basically, he has no idea what's going to happen to me.  He still isn't sure, and Elder P has to leave for the Mission Home tonight, hahaha.  So I might get a new companion (which would be my 3rd this transfer) or I might go join the Manorwood Missionaries, in which case I'd have 4 comps this transfer, and 11 total.  hahaha. 

Fortunately Pres. Weaver seems to like me, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten away with being a drama queen like that. haha

I got off the phone with Sis. Weaver just before I started emailing, They want to take me and Palmer out to dessert tonight, so that should be fun!

So, I have no
(and that really was the end of the email.  I kept hoping I'd get a "part 2" later on, but no such luck...)