Merry Christmas

Hey everyone!

I would just like to start off by wishing you all a late Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful day and were able to spend it with your family. Most importantly, I hope you were all able to take the special opportunity of having Christmas on a Sunday to put a little extra emphasis on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and the wonderful gift he was to all mankind.

We have had an eventful last few weeks here in the Utah Orem Mission. Transfers were a week and a half ago, and Elder Fairbanks and I had to part ways. I stayed in the area, and my new companion Elder Hemstreet joined me here. He's from Michigan and he's been out for almost a year now. We hit the ground running and have been making tons of visits since the transfer started. We haven't seen a whole lot of progress from those visits yet, but we know that as the Christmas season passes, people's hearts will be softened and they will be more open to hearing a message about the Restored Gospel. We are confident that the lord is currently preparing many people in this area who are his elect, we just have to have enough faith to find them.

On Christmas Eve, we got to spend some time with one of the Bishops in our area and his family. They had a lot of the same traditions as my family did back home, including acting out the Nativity with narration from Luke 2, as well as everybody getting a new set of pajamas on Christmas Eve. They also had another tradition, which they called the Christmas Chocolate roll. It was pretty much just ice cream wrapped in chocolate cake and served with caramel syrup. There was way to much sugar then there needed to be, but it was still really good.

As you all know, yesterday was Christmas! It was about 50 degrees outside on Christmas Eve, so we weren't expecting a white Christmas. Luckily, it cooled down a lot and snowed overnight, so it was a white Christmas after all! We had the opportunity to go to three separate sacrament meeting Christmas programs, each of which was amazing in its own way. After that, we spent most of the day visiting families and spending time with them. The highlight of the day was when we got to Skype home for an hour. We only get to do it twice a year, on Christmas Day and on Mother's Day, so this was a pretty special event. Since I've been out for about 5 months now, there wasn't too much different with my family, but there was enough to take up the whole hour. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to see them and speak with them. I'm especially looking forward to when we get to do it again on Mother's Day.

Well, that's about all I have for this week. I hope you all continue to have a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you all a happy new year! When I write again, it will be 2017! That's so weird to think about. Have a great week!

Elder Orchard

Keeping busy doing the Lord's work.

Hey everybody!

It's been a great last two weeks, and I have plenty to share! I'll make sure and hit on the highlights so that I don't write a book!

As many of you probably know, Thursday, December 1st, marked the start of the church's Christmas initiative this year, called "Light the World". This is a great program that promotes serving one another and trying to become more like Christ. Through serving others in small ways, our goal is, as the title says, to light the world with the Light of Christ. The 1st was an international day of service, where church members around the world committed to participate in service activities both big and small. As a mission, we all committed to each do 4 hours of service that day. We decided to serve in our district and started by helping an elderly couple move some furniture and carpet. From there, we helped a member take apart a sink and counter set. After that, we spent some time helping a sister with her dishes. I think that we probably spent more than 4 hours in service, but I am completely okay with that! It was great to be able to see the joy that was brought to peoples lives through the service that we provided. It was also amazing being able to perform another form of missionary work, and bring the restored gospel to peoples lives through service and example.

Throughout this last weekend and the weekend before that, we've had the opportunity to attend countless ward Christmas activities. We cover 21 wards, so there is no shortage of parties to attend! There were some days when we went to three in the same night! There are still plenty left too. I love being able to attend so many activities because it provides a great opportunity to meet the many members and interact with as many of the fantastic people that live here as we can. The worst part is having to turn people down when they ask if we want anything to eat. I'm sure the food is great, but I can only eat so much!

One of the more special events of my mission so far happened a week ago last Saturday. Our mission had the privilege of being visited by Elder M. Russell Ballard. He wasn't able to stay long because of his busy schedule, but the time he was able to spend with us was outstanding. One of the biggest things I took away from the message he shared was to not over complicate things. I like this because I have a tendency to do that very thing, and an apostolic message to keep things simple is very helpful.

This last Thursday was a very busy day. It started bright and early with Zone Conference at 8:00 in the morning. We had to make sure that our car was nice and clean because we had inspections this transfer. I guess we were able to impress whoever inspected ours, because we got a clean car award! Zone conference lasted until about 2:30, with a break for brunch sometime in there. Right after Zone Conference, we had to set up for the mission Christmas activity at 3:00. As I've said before, I love having activities that include the entire mission because I love being able to see the other wonderful missionaries that I get to serve with. We had dinner for about an hour, and then President Killpack told us all that we would get to go see "A Christmas Carol" at the nearby Hale Center Theater. This was awesome because it was completely unexpected, and I love being able to go to fun things like musicals. That lasted until about 7:00. After that, we had proselyting time for the rest of the night.

The last major event was the baptism that we had this last Saturday. We've been teaching this guy for the last 4 weeks, and he was super anxious to get baptized. He passed his interview last week, which meant it was a go. He's been around the church for so many years, and he's a super friendly guy. The service was huge. There were at least a hundred people in attendance. We had to hold the program in the chapel to fit all of the people, and even then the chapel was full. It was an awesome experience overall that I am sure blessed many people's lives.

Those have been the highlights of the last two weeks. As you can see, they have been pretty busy. Hopefully this kind of activity keeps up, because it makes it feel like time flies by! I'm so grateful for the love that I feel from everyone, and I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Elder Orchard

The baptism we had last week.

At the Hale Center Theater to see "A Christmas Carol".

Our group getting together for some service.

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Hey Everybody!

Happy late Thanksgiving to everyone! Sorry for not writing a post last week, I completely spaced it and didn't even think about it until it was too late. A lot has happened in the last two weeks, probably too much to write about, but I'll make sure and give you the highlights.

A week ago last Saturday, we had Stake conference in one of the three Stakes that we cover. We were able to go to all three meetings, and they were all very uplifting. We got up bright and early Sunday morning so that we could be at the 7 a.m. priesthood leadership meeting. In that meeting, the Second Counselor in the stake presidency had my companion and me come up to the front and share a two minute testimony about becoming God's gentlemen. I decided to share a metaphor that my mission president shared our first day in the field about seeing all of the white on a piece of paper rather than just the big black dot in the center. Everybody loved that, and it was brought up at least two more times in that meeting and then a few times in the general session of conference. Elder Fairbanks and I couldn't help but laugh because of all the attention it got.

Later Sunday night, we got invited over to a members house for waffles. We were visiting the family earlier that week asking for referrals, and they brought up that it was one of their sons birthdays on Sunday, and he always had friends come over for waffles. They invited us over, so of course we accepted. It was really awkward at first because they were all grown up and we didn't know any of them, but we got more comfortable as time went on, and we had a good time.

The beginning of this last week was pretty much the same. It snowed once on Wednesday night, but it wasn't cold enough to stick to the roads yet. There was plenty of snow on the grass though, and it was still there the next morning when we had our Turkey Bowl. I had been preparing for this all week. I love football, and having the chance to take a break and play against other missionaries was very appealing. Like I said before, it had snowed the night before, and it was still there when we got up in the morning to play. So we bundled up, and by bundled up I mean wore long sleeves and two pairs of socks instead of one, and hit the snow. We couldn't tackle, so it wasn't as fun as it could have been. We also weren't allowed to keep score so that it wouldn't get competitive. The most difficult things to deal with were the football constantly getting wet from hitting the ground and not being able to change direction at all without sliding around. Overall, it was a great time, and I had a ton of fun.

After the Turkey bowl, we started hitting dinners right away. We ate the first time at about 1:30, then again at 3:00, then a third time at 4:00, and then one last time at 5:00, just for dessert. We made another visit at 7:00, but luckily we weren't forced to eat anything. The day went by really quick, but we felt terrible most of the day because of the constant eating. I almost took a nap on one of the members' couches that we visited, but I stuck it out and didn't give in to the temptation. I know now how much I'll need to prepare myself when Thanksgiving roles around again next year.

After Thanksgiving, the rest of the week was pretty normal. It starting snowing early this morning, and has been pretty steady so far. By the time we were able to go shopping, it had accumulated a good amount, and it was kind of frightening driving to Walmart. We got in and out pretty quick, and then made our way to our zone activity. We played speedball, which is kind of a mix between soccer and basketball. It was pretty fun and kept us moving quite a bit. After that, Elder Fairbanks and I just stayed at the chapel and used the Family History center to write emails. That brings me to where I'm at right now.

It's been a good last few weeks, and I'm looking forward to the week to come. It's good to hear from everyone, and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Orchard

Our Zone after the Turkey Bowl. We all got matching shirts.

The view from inside our garage this morning.

Our Zone today after our Zone activity. The Sister being held up was here for two transfers and is going back to the Temple Square mission Wednesday.

One of the many families that we had dinner with last Thursday.

Life is Good!

Hey everyone!

This last week has been pretty exciting with transfers. We got to stay in the same apartment, but since we whitewashed two new Stakes, there were still plenty of changes. My companion, Elder Fairbanks, was made the new district leader. It's been interesting seeing him handle that change. All in all, it was a fun week, with a few exceptions.

Wednesday morning was the day of the transfers. Since we didn't have to pack anything up or move, it was pretty relaxing for us. For other missionaries, not so much. We drove the Elders whose Stakes we were adopting to the mission office because they didn't have a car, so we still got to see all of the transfer fun. It's always great when a lot of missionaries gather together in one place because you get to see some of your friends that you haven't seen for a while. It's nice getting to catch up with everyone before we all have to separate. The days following the transfer were pretty great. We have a car full time now, so we don't have to walk up and down all of the hills in Orem anymore. Also, we have restaurants in our area again. That, combined with a car to get there, is a big plus. Our favorite restaurant, Kneaders, which is practically Panera Bread, is in our area, so we can go whenever we want. The best part is that we almost never have to pay when we go. There are so many friendly members around here who are more than willing to help out the missionaries.

We found out early this week that the Elders had been scheduled to talk in one of the Wards that we picked up. Luckily, we didn't have anything going on during that time, so it worked out. I've actually been looking forward to the opportunity to talk in a sacrament meeting since I left on my mission. I was excited because whenever I'd had the opportunity to talk back home, I'd sloughed it off until the last minute and never really put any effort into it. I took the bull by the horns and really put a lot of effort into it. And by that, I mean I started working on it the day before instead of the morning of. Surprisingly, I was actually over prepared. All went well, and I feel pretty confident in how well I was able to convey the message and help the Ward feel the spirit. Someone was sweet enough to tell me that I sounded like I was three months from going home, rather then three months out. It was a great experience that I look forward to doing again.

The last few days of the week were a bit rough. I started to get congested, and that contributed to a nagging headache. I finally realized that I most likely had a cold, so I decided to take action. I pumped vitamin C into my body like crazy. I think I had about 8 packets of Emergen-C, each of them having an insane amount of vitamins and such. I'm starting to feel better now, so I think it's working. I'm glad I can get back to 100% and focus all my energy on missionary work.

I would say that, overall, it's been a good week. It went by pretty quick, and we've got a lot of teaching opportunities coming our way in the near future. I am constantly edified by all of the support and prayers. I love you all and hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Elder Orchard

Kneaders!

My companion, Elder Fairbanks

Another Exciting Week

Hey everyone!

It's been an exciting day with transfers coming up this Wednesday and every body trying to figure out what's going on. All I know is that there are a lot of changes that are going to take place all throughout the mission. For instance, Elder Fairbanks and I are both staying together and staying in our apartment, but we are losing one stake and whitewashing two others. Other missionaries around the mission will be working in just a few wards, while others in some places will be covering more than the average two stakes (such as us). We should have the car full time now, so that will be nice. Finally, this next transfer will be 5 weeks instead of the usual 6, and the one after that will be 7 to make up for it. The reason for the odd transfer lengths is that this next one would have ended the week before Christmas, and plane tickets for Elders going home would be a lot more expensive and the travel would just be a nightmare.

Today was also pretty fun because we had our zone activity. We decided to go hiking as a zone, and we were prepared. Having hiked all transfer, and those hikes being much harder then this one, it was pretty easy. We made everyone else look so slow. Eventually we had to get called back by the zone leaders because we got too far ahead and everyone else was ready to turn back around. We ended up playing a game called "signs", which was pretty fun. After that, we hiked down and went our separate ways. The rest of today was pretty relaxing.

The only other thing that happened this last week was the Missionary Musical Fireside on Friday. That was a lot of fun because we got to spend the whole afternoon together as a mission, and I got to see a lot of my buddies from the MTC as well as some other missionaries that I know but hardly get to see. Throughout the Fireside, there were several missionaries who had the opportunity to give a short testimony or story, and some groups got to sing a musical piece. I wasn't able to do anything myself, but I hope I get the chance at future Firesides. The keynote speaker was Kevin Worthen, President of BYU, and the guest singer was Dallyn Bayles. I got to shake both of their hands and even got a picture with President Worthen. It was an awesome experience, especially since everything was centered around the wonderful message of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth, and the blessings that have come because of that. The turnout wasn't as good as we had hoped, but there were still a lot of people there who were able to partake of the amazing spirit that was present.

Other than the Fireside and transfers, this last week was pretty mundane. Not a whole lot happened out of the ordinary. One interesting thing that did happen was we accidentally double booked our dinners for Sunday night, and we ended up having two appointments. I just hope the second dinner didn't think we didn't like the food because we were too full to eat. Other than that, it was really pretty much the same as always. It's good to hear from everyone and know that I have family and friends who support me in my calling. I look forward to writing again next week!

Elder Orchard

Hiking with the "Zone"

With President Worthen at the Fireside

Happy Halloween

Hey everyone!

It's Monday again, that means it's time for another mission update from everyone's favorite Elder! It's Halloween, and everybody is in the spirit! There were actually a bunch of people who wore their costumes to Wal-Mart and then at the restaurant where we ate lunch. Is that normal? We figured it was probably just a Utah thing. Either way, it was fun to see all of the costumes. We've been able to go to a lot of ward Trunk-or-Treat parties, so that's kind of been the norm this week.

In total, we went to about five parties. There was one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, two on Friday (we ended up having to go on splits to go to both), and then one more on Saturday. They were all pretty fun, and the food was pretty good too. I was pretty impressed with how much people put into their costumes. I wasn't there to see it, but my companion, Elder Fairbanks, saw someone dressed up as Hagrid. They stood on stilts or something of the sort, so they looked like they were about 9 feet tall. I wish I could have seen it!

On Friday and Saturday night we had the opportunity to go to this Halloween attraction that this family sets up every year in their front yard. It was pretty elaborate for a homemade thing and it was a lot of fun. It was also really special because the creator does it every year and never charges for it, but this year he is taking donations to help a man that has cancer. The fund raiser is gaining a lot of popularity and it is really inspirational to see what one person can do to help out someone in need.

Other then the usual Halloween festivities, not a whole lot went on this last week. We didn't get to go hiking this morning because the kid that always takes us had to work early this morning. It was kind of relaxing being able to sleep in though. Hopefully we'll get to go again next week before it gets too cold. Today has been the normal p-day activities of shopping, laundry, and email. It doesn't get much better than that. Usually p-day ends at 6:00, but since it's Halloween, we aren't allowed to go out proselyting after 5:00, and have to stay in a chapel the rest of the night. It's really nice being able to relax all day and not worry about filling the last three hours of the day.

Well, that's everything I've got for this week. I am continually grateful for the love and support that I receive from everyone. I look forward to writing again next week!

Elder Orchard

Doing Companion study the right way!

Getting into the Halloween spirit.

Elder Fairbanks doing some weekly cleaning.

A Force for Good!

Hey everybody!

Another week is in the books. Most of the week was pretty uneventful, doing the same things as always, but there were a few shining moments that really stood out from the norm. I'm thankful for these opportunities, and I'm grateful that I can share them with all of you. The blessings that come from missionary work not only have a positive influence on us and those we work with, but I know that they can be a force for good in everyone's life.

As I mentioned earlier, most of the week was the same as always. We had to give up the car again Wednesday, so we've been trekking to and fro trying to make the most of our time. We continue to get better at walking and biking up the hills. One thing I look forward to down the road is coming back to flatland and being able to take deep breaths again. It's one of those "you never know how good you have it until it's gone" things. Nonetheless, I know that the challenges and trials, physical and mental, are Heaven sent to help me grow and develop. I can't help but be thankful for the love Heavenly Father has for me giving me opportunities to improve.

In complete contrast to the rest of the week, Saturday was actually quite eventful. The morning started off great with the baptism of a young investigator from my old area. That's one of the great things about serving in Utah, it's incredibly easy to go back for the baptism of someone you've taught previously. The baptism was a small event with only a few close family and friends attending, and the spirit was very strong throughout. I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of it.

After the baptism, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a sealing. The family that was sealed was one that had been meeting with missionaries for a while, and I came in on the tail end of the lessons. We were able to get permission to go to the sealing, which was in Payson. The Payson temple is beautiful, and I was honored to be able to attend. The family that was sealed is an awesome family and I loved being able to spend time with them. They took us to eat at a place called Chuck-A-Rama and told us we were part of the family now. It was an awesome experience overall.

That is about all of the highlights of the week. I am continuously grateful for all of the love and support provided. I look forward to writing again next week!

Elder Orchard

Ups and Downs

Hey everybody!

So another week has flown by, and not a whole lot has changed. Pretty much just doing the same thing every day, trying to find people to teach, having more dinners then there are days of the week, and getting honked at by people we've never met. It has its ups and downs, but being a missionary never ceases to be a blessing in my life.

The week started off pretty good. On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to have lunch with one of the several bishops in our area. We went to this place called Galilee Grill, which had legitimately authentic Israeli food. It was a really good lunch, not only because it was really good food, but because the bishop we ate with is missionary minded and was very beneficial in helping us find more work in his Ward. We will definitely be working with him more often, and I'm excited for the progress that will come because of it.

After that, the week kind of went downhill. We already didn't have a whole lot of lessons planned, and a lot of the ones we had planned ended up falling through. It kind of bummed us out. Fortunately, we had a fair amount of unplanned lessons pop up here and there, so we were able to save our week. Even with those teaching opportunities we had a ton of free time, and we spent most of it unsuccessfully trying to contact any nonmembers in our area book that might be interested.

Sunday turned out to be a really good day. My companion and I decided that we were going to fast for opportunities to teach people, and it was definitely effective. We got to go to three different sacrament meetings, and one of them was a primary program. The last Ward we went to, we decided to stay all three hours. In the second hour, we ended up having a lesson with a lady that is trying to work back towards activity. We ended up having three more lessons that day, which is the most we've had in a single day since the the beginning of the transfer. We also had two dinners that day because we forgot we'd already planned one and set up a second one. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

This morning, we decided we wanted to go hiking again. I think we are going to make it a weekly thing. We had to get up and leave by 5:00 because the guy that we go with had to be to work at 8:00. It was tough because we're still out of shape, but it was worth it. Unfortunately it was too dark to take any pictures. That led into the rest of p-day, which is the same as always. It's been a good week, and I look forward to next Monday when I can write again. Until next time!

Elder Orchard

Hiking, Biking, & Blessings

Hey Everybody!

It's been a pretty good week. A lot has happened and I'm excited for the next week to begin. I know that even though some of our numbers were lacking last week, we are set up for a good week to come and our prayers are being answered in very obvious ways.

This last week started off pretty slowly. We didn't have a lesson until Wednesday, and then we had half of our weeks lessons in that one day.  Monday and Tuesday were pretty dull. Not much happened, and not many people seemed interested in listening to what we had to say. It was our last day with a car for a week, so we tried to make the most of our time. Unfortunately, like I said before, we weren't able to make much happen.

Wednesday was pretty eventful. We didn't have a car anymore, so we had to make do with biking and walking. I wish I could say it was easy, but with my area being mostly located on the foothills of the nearby mountains, it seemed like it was uphill everywhere we went. We've started biking for a bit in the mornings so we can condition ourselves and get used to the climb. It's been slow progress, but we're getting better, and by the end of the transfer our calves and thighs will probably be huge.

The rest of the week went pretty quick. We had a few lessons here and there, and we tried to contact as many of the more promising names in our area book as we could. With it taking us nearly half an hour to get from place to place, there was only so much we could do. But, we made the most of our time and actually got a good amount of work done. We met some more great families, there are no shortage of them out here, and they were kind enough to help us out when they could. I think the help of the members really made up for our lack of mobility, that definitely being an answer to our prayers.

Sunday was pretty eventful. We ended up going to three different fast and testimony meetings. We were sitting in one chapel waiting for the third to start when we got a text that there was a nonmember couple attending sacrament in the other stake, and the ward mission leader wanted us to go to their meeting, meet them, and bear our testimonies. We were about a 20 minute walk away, and we had 15 minutes to get there. We booked it over and made it just in time for the meeting to start. The best part is that the nonmember couple just decided to go to church. We hadn't taught them before, or even met them. I believe that they have certainly been prepared by the Lord to be taught, and their change of heart has been an answer to our prayers.

That brings me to this morning. We got up extra early so that we could go hiking with one of our member friends before the sun came up. It was a difficult climb, by far harder than we had anticipated, but it was well worth it. Not only was it a great workout, but it provided an amazing view, and I got some great pictures. After that, we came home, showered, and commenced p-day as usual. That's been the highlights of this last week. I'm always grateful to hear from family and friends, and I appreciate the thoughts and prayers dearly. I look forward to hearing from you all, and until next Monday, have a great week!

Elder Orchard