MERRY CHRISTMAS... Last week....

Congrats to my brother Dax Hansen who will be reporting to the MTC this Wednesday. I'm so proud of you. You are ready. There is work to be done. You are joining a team of elite soldiers fighting for truth and sharing life. You are more than qualified to be standing in the front lines. You will do amazing things. I love you, buddy!

Also Congrats to Stauney who arrived in Ohio. You will do amazing things!

So this last week was Christmas. That was quite the experience. It's been CRAZY but I will do my best to sum it up for you.

We have been working hard. I mean, we started from the bottom, now we are here... We started with no investigators. No clue what we were doing. And, really, not much hope. Right now we have 2 investigators, a part member family, and several less actives we are teaching. As a zone we contacted over 2,500 people this last week. Even on Christmas and Christmas Eve we contacted our goal. Some days we are contacting over 50 people. 

Not only are we contacting, but we are asking for referrals from EVERYONE. As a result, we have a list of over 20 people that said they might be interested in us teaching them. We are going to get a hold of all of them and try to set up teaching appointments. Moral of the story is hard work pays off. We are trying to work as hard as we can every day. 

So cool story. On Saturday we were going to less actives' houses and Elder Phillips stopped to figure out where to go next. I saw this guy up and across the street working on his car and I felt like I should talk to him. So I met him, he asked a lot of bible questions and I had to tell him, "You know what? I know there are answers but I don't know what they are. But I will figure them out for you." He told us he was meeting with some Jehovah's Witness sisters later that day, but he wanted to set up an appointment. We told him it was alright because we had plans to go teaching with the sister missionaries in our ward that night so we would give him a call. Turns out he was talking about our sister missionaries (who were teaching in our area?.... not cool) and 20 minutes later I was there knocking on his door to teach him. What are the odds I contact the guy we were supposed to teach. Because of that, he already had a small trust and relationship and we are planning on teaching him very soon. 

We have a mini missionary!! Basically he is a high school student from Murrieta who comes and serves with us for a few days. He is a cool guy. I will talk about how it goes with him next week

We taught in Sunday School this week. A talk EVERYONE needs to go read is "What is the Blueprint of Christ's Church?" by Tad R. Callister. I promise that it will strengthen any one's testimony of our church by reading it. Alright? Alright.

It was great to talk to my family and close friends. I love you guys!! 

There are some things on my blog that are not included in the general email, so check it out.

LOVE YOU!

Elder Kapp

Week Before Christmas

Alrighty kids. I have survived another week in California.... It's been awesome!

On Monday we got to have our zone activity, which was white elephant. That was fun. It is funny how as a missionary you don't go for the toys. I had a choice between nerf guns and a package with pens and office supplies. I got the office supplies.

Tuesday was zone training. Because I am new the zone leaders made me conduct. We learned how to be better missionaries and what not and it was a solid training.

Wednesday was just another typical day as a missionary. No cool stories.

Thursday we did exchanges. I went with Elder Glover. He is a zone leader and we went to his ward. That was an experience... We were looking for this potential investigator, Glenn, in the apartment complex and walked up to his apartment and his door was wide open. So we walked in and started talking to him. This guy was something else. Glenn as black as they come and he was super fun to talk to. He informed us (very openly) that he had some addictions and temptations... We tried to teach him the restoration, but he wouldn't even open the pamphlet. He was like, "Man. I'm filthy. I'm so filthy. I'm not worthy to open your book." I was just thinking, "Glenn. Buddy. It's a restoration pamphlet. Not the gold plates." Elder Glover took the lead in teaching a short restoration lesson and I was able to share my testimony and explain the Book of Mormon to him in a way he could understand. He expressed his appreciation for what I said for like 5 minutes. I'm not sure if it was because I really did that great of a job or if it was because he was drunk, but it was cool. Oh, and he said he would be baptized!

Anyways, before we left Glenn says, "Brothers, can we pray?" Of course, we are like, "Yeah of course Glenn. We can pray!" Then he jumps up and says, "Jesus says we gotta stand." This is the point where I started thinking WHAT??? WHAT'S HAPPENING?! So we stood in a circle holding hands and Elder Glover gave a great prayer. As he said amen, Glenn just starts going. He prays and says how he is going to give up all the stuff he's doing wrong. He says amen and says, "Sorry brother... Just had to add that in."

On Friday, We met Nolan Smith. He just got back from somewhere in the marines. He grew up LDS but hasn't gone to church for over 7 years. He was driving past the church at night and saw the doors were open and felt personally responsible to close them. He ended up talking to the guy cleaning the church for hours and got our number. We met him and he told us he had some traumatic experience and now is suffering with severe PTSD. We were able to talk to him about returning to church and gave him a blessing. He is leaving to Colorado soon. But it was a neat experience. Also on Friday we went by the Birch's. They are members in our ward and they are the greatest. They are ward missionaries and every time we go by their house they give us referrals and root beer floats. They also gave us a GPS.

Saturday we were able to meet our new investigator, Akilah. She is a young mother. She was referred to us by the Carlsbad Sisters. She was supposed to come to church on Sunday, but didn't. But we are teaching her this week! We also have a few other part member families and potential investigators.

I am getting along great with my companion. I am super happy and am having a great time. I have embraced the fact that I am a new missionary and am trying to enjoy the process of figuring out what I am doing.

Church is true. Being a missionary is awesome. Love you all!

🎄MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!🎄

Elder Kapp

                                                           ROOT BEER FLOATS

Week 2 in Cali

First thing, WELCOME HOME ELDER JAKE KAPP!!! Proud of you, Jake. You are a role model and a super hero to me. I love you and, even though you wish you could have stayed longer, you did the best you possibly could and Sweden was blessed.

Alright, so I have survived 2 weeks... I am doing SO much better. I was really struggling the first week and a bit the second week, but I am starting to do better. We are moved into our apartment and working, which is GREAT! The apartment is super nice and we have a washer and dryer and Walmart across the street. No complaints!

We are done organizing the ward list, area book, and ward map!!! HALLELUJAH! We still haven't taught any lessons and we have no investigators yet, but we have a ton of potential. We have a few part member families, less actives, and potential investigators we are trying to contact. The ward here is incredible. They are missionaries without the badge. The ward missionaries are the best. I am so grateful. They are constantly in touch and everyone shares the gospel. Hoping for a lot of success here!!

Thank you everyone for the support and uplifting emails and letters. It helped a lot. 

Elder Phillips and I  have done a lot better working out differences. We had a good talk, and we haven't had a single problem since.

Thursday was the last day I was really homesick. I was really sad I couldn't be there to pick my best friend up from the airport, but I got over it. 

So those of you who think it is all sunshine and daisies here, think again. It rained a few days. HARD. (Like for 10 minutes, off and on). But it also hailed and we were on bikes and it wasn't fun. We got caught in the rain last night and I was soaked. It was fun though. 

I am getting getting a lot better at contacting. Really, I am able to go up to any stranger and talk to them now, I just need to get more comfortable with it now. It will take time, but I am enjoying the process.

The big point I wanted to share is my gratitude for our loving Father in Heaven. I hit my lowest pretty hard when I got out here and without prayer and the blessings of the spirit I probably would be considering going home. But He is there!!! He answers prayers. As we give all we have to Him, He blesses us. I have received so much comfort and peace during my times of need over the last week (much is result of prayers from home, so thank you!) and I can't wait to share this knowledge of Him with the people of San Marcos California.

This is the work of our Lord and Savior. He lives. He reigns. I am grateful to be a part of it. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! thank you for the support! Have a good Christmas! 

(trying to get pictures soon)

Elder Kapp

                                          We saw this tree from literally over a mile away.

This house beats the one in Clinton by a lot.

MTC Week 2 - California Week 1

Hey everyone! So I completed the MTC. It was an incredible experience. I loved it. I miss my MTC district and hope they are all doing well.

I am now serving in the Carlsbad, California Mission, specifically in San Marcos and Escondido. It is different!! The missionaries often joke and call it Escon-ghetto... Most of the people we contact are Mexican. At least 1 out of 4 will say they don't speak any English. It is hard! I am serving with Elder Phillips, but not the same Elder Phillips from the MTC. He is very smart and obedient, but we don't have much in common.  The entire mission goes out and runs every morning for 30 minutes at 6:30. I like it.

Right now we don't have an apartment. We are living in the small upstairs with the Zone Leaders outside of their apartment. Elder Phillips and I are "White Washing", which means we are a new companionship in another area. In other words, neither of us knows a thing about the area. We have spent most of the last week contacting outside of our area and organizing our area book and ward list. We have taught 0 lessons. We have 0 investigators. We have 0 potential baptisms. So on the bright side, we have lots to improve on! We are ward sharing with sister missionaries. Today we move into our apartment. It's nice. I am excited for that. Right now we are going to member meals and having them drop us off in our area and then we walk home. Which isn't nice because it's an hour walk and it's dark and scary.

So I was contacting this young kid, maybe like 14 years old. He was just chillin' and we asked him if he would watch the new "A Savior is Born" video for Christmas. He pulled out his phone and we were watching it when one of his buddies comes by on a bike, stops, they exchange money and a container of baby formula. Then I realized... HOLY CRAP I JUST SAW A DRUG DEAL!!! So yeah. I witnessed a drug deal on like my third day.

So we went back to the apartment and were sitting upstairs of the apartment when I heard the door open and close. I was like, "Dude, someone is in the house." Phillips was like don't worry about it. Then we heard tapping and stuff so we thought it was the zone leaders messing with us. We went down and called them, but they weren't back yet. So I locked the door and went back. About 10 minutes later, Elder Richards and Elder Glover came up and were talking with us. They made fun of us for calling and said, "Oh yeah! Thanks for checking on us..." When all the sudden the front door SLAMMED!!... (Holy crap. Someone is/was in the house....)

So like men, we grab some lacrosse sticks, tip toe down the stairs (Elder Richards was pushing me saying, "Kapp go! You're new blood"). Glover checked the kitchen and was walking into the bedroom when all the sudden a man ran out screaming!!!! Elder Glover cocked back and swung and..... IT WAS THE ASSISTANTS TO THE PRESIDENT!!!! They came to check, saw the door was unlocked, and so decided to mess with us. Needless to say I was super freaked out the rest of the night.

We contact lots of Mexican people. We talk to EVERYONE. Yesterday I talked with a drunk for a while. He told me he thought "Elder Kapp was a fancy name" and that he wished he could give me a ride back on a magic carpet... Kids, don't do drugs. Really..

The ward is awesome. Very supportive of the missionaries. Most days We eat with members. But because we don't have an apartment, my comp told me not to buy too much food. I wish I didn't listen to him. All I bought was granola bars and top ramen and soup. I am out of food. I just ate my last bar and have 2 packs of ramen... Ahhh...

Oh, and it's "cold". It feels like it. I have already gone soft!!! It is like 50 degrees and I am freezing!!! We are pretty far from the ocean.

I like being in the ghetto area, but there are some nice homes!! I mean, Del mar is much fancier. (Del Mar ward is the #1 highest paying tithe ward in the entire world. Carlsbad isn't far behind.) Elders who serve in Del Mar talk about all the Lamborghinis and Maserati's they see there.

I am praying super hard for success. We have a Potential Investigator we are stopping by to teach today!!!! Hopefully that goes well.

I don't know if I can upload pictures at the library, but I will try. I love you all! Church is true!

Elder Kapp

                                                                  Living in ZL's attic

                                                              (The ZL's are hilarious)

                                              Elder Phillips(Comp), Glover, Me, Richards.

                                                               California

                                           This was taken at 3:30 in the morning.

                                                                        Leaving to Cali.

                                                                                 MTC

Elder Kapp2 - Week 1 in the MTC

Hey everyone,

So I have survived week one of the MTC. IT IS AWESOME! So I said goodbye to the fam, walked in, and we haven't stopped since. We went straight to class and it is constant work. We wake up around 6 and go to study. After that we are either studying, in a classroom, or eating. We get back to the room at like 9:30. My companion is Elder Phillips. He is pretty awesome. He is from Atlanta and played lacrosse. We have a ton in common. We get along super well. LOVE HIM! We have the room by ourselves, but everyone else in the zone has 4 to a room. You would think it was cool because we can use the pillows from the other beds, but the beds here are the worst. I have such a hard time sleeping. I think it was Friday I didn't fall asleep til about 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. I think it is a combination of the awful beds and the stress and nervousness. But I am doing better now

Elder Phil and I have started teaching investigators. We are teaching Lome from Fiji and Ny from Madagascar. Lome is 26 and is a G. He has been in gangs, kicked out at the age of 14, and went to "lockup". In jail, he read the bible and wanted to begin preaching to people. He is super interested in missionary work and moved to Utah for a new start. We teach him again tomorrow.

Ny is catholic. She is very accepting of what we teach, but I don't know how much she really believes. We are struggling to get her to express herself more, but she seems interested. We teach her again tomorrow.

Elder Phillips and I started out struggling teaching together. We would interrupt each other and the lessons would be scattered. We are starting to figure it out and we are doing really well!!

My district is like family. There are 10 of us. 4 Sisters and 6 Elders. Elder Phillips, Elder Nanney from Michigan, and I are going to Carlsbad California and the rest are going to Washington. I love them so much. We get along really well and have good fun. The sisters are the best teachers in the class. After we do practice investigators, they always come back and are like, "We committed them to baptism!!" and stuff like that. They are super humble. 

Something Madi will think is cool is I have seen guys from that Mormon boy band, Beyond 5. Zac Love and the Polynesian one are both here. I sat behind Elder Love in choir (Which is awesome). I have also seen Bryce Brimhall, Colton Pierce, and Jaxon Norman. They are all doing well. 

The food is great. I love it. I might be putting on weight. We leave to Carlsbad on Tuesday. Our flight leaves at 8:00 in the morning. Transfers aren't til 4:00, so we will just chill until then. Elder Phillips went to our mission before and met the Mission President and said he is awesome. I AM SO EXCITED!!! I love you all lots and hope to hear from you. 

Elder Kapp

                                                    Our disrict. this is left to right.

     Elder Putnam, Elder Phillips, Elder Allen, ME!!, Elder Nanney, Elder Oliverson, Sister Johnson,
                                                  Sister Barker, Sister Hill, and Sister Walker

      Elder Oliverson (Our district leader. he is hillarious) Elder Adams and I taking a last selfie.
                         Elder Adams left to New York Monday morning. He was in our zone.

                                                       Me and Elder Brimhall

                                                           Elder Phillips and I

                             Elder Oliverson wears a pizza one-sie to bed. He is so funny.

   The Elders from our district with Elder Bradley. He is our zone leader and we love him very much.

                                                              Provo Temple

                                                                    "The Crib"

                                                                    Oliverson, Adams, and I

Departure Day

Setting apart as a missionary