Sacrifice. Do it or lose it.

This week was a bit long, but it was good! Elder Wilson and I are starting to figure things out! We had a really great district meeting. I gave a discussion on Sacrifice. It was kind of scary because I didn't know President and Sister Thomas were going to be there...

Alright, my hands hurt so I'm going to try to keep it short so I can be spiritual at the end.

Elder Wilson and I saw a ton of success at Edson Range this last week! It's such a blessed place! We had the chance to teach 3 investigators! Recruit Hoppman is getting baptized next week! He's doing so well! He has been praying that he could get baptized, so it's cool he wants it so bad. He told us a cool experience he had with prayer and feeling strength during a hike!

Alright, spiritual part. So I learned a whole ton about sacrifice. It's important. And the crazy thing is it's all for us! During my discussion we read the story of the rich young ruler found in Matthew 19. It's pretty obvious that this guy was pretty above average. Besides his wealth and success socially, he is able to confidently say to the Savior that he's kept all of the commandments his whole life. That's a pretty incredible accomplishment. Then he asks Christ, "What lack I yet?" It is at this point that Jesus tells him that if he wants to be perfect, he should sell all he has, give it to the poor, and come follow Him. Sadly, he is not willing to do so. I, at first, thought it was pretty harsh for Jesus to say that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

But now it makes sense. The young ruler saw greater value in his riches than in the "treasures of the gospel." How can we really become like our Savior if we aren't willing to give up our own selfish, prideful desires. We don't get to take our worldly riches with us, so if we don't let them go we really will have nothing when this life is over. Here's a bit of my discussion. 

"Sacrifice is giving up temporal things for eternal possessions. It is paying the price for the greatest gifts this life can offer. It is trading in the natural man in exchange for the character of Christ."

We need to give of ourselves, especially if it's something we don't want to give. we need to give it ALL to God.

I am so grateful for that discussion. It taught me a lot about what I need to give up to God. I need to be a lot better and I'm constantly repenting and trying to be better. I do know if we give ourselves to God, we will become our true and best selves.

Elder Kapp

District Meeting

Elder Wilson saw this log and really wanted to take a picture with it.

                      Elder Wilson and I overlooking San Marcos

Service Project on Saturday

Back to the 'Dido

I'm back in Escondido! Things are going well in Palomar YSA. I'm with my new companion, Elder Wilson. He's a good guy! He is from Mission Viejo. He's here for a 3 month assignment. 

When we got to the area we didn't have a current ward list, a GPS, or a ward map. However, Elder Wilson and I pressed forward and figured it out! We had a lesson with Anthony, a former investigator. It went really well. Elder Wilson did a really great job and we picked him back up as an investigator! He wants to get baptized, but doesn't want to make it awkward for his family.

We also got to teach on Edson Range. That's the Marine Boot Camp on Camp Pendleton. We go there every Sunday morning now. It's so great! We saw a lot of success! We taught 3 investigators. One of them wants to get baptized in 2 weeks! We are going to teach him the commandments next week and get him his baptism interview. 

Elder Wilson and I got to go see a lot of the people from my greenie ward. We went to the McMasters on Friday. They were the fellowshippers for my first investigator, Franky Hunt. Now President McMaster is the Stake President. They are doing so well! It was great to see them.

On Sunday we went down to Del Mar for a Regional YSA Conference. It was awesome! It was fun because my last 5 wards were there because they were all YSA's. It was so great to see those people. I miss them.

Elder Wilson and I are going to hit the ground running this week. It's nice not to have all the responsibilities and worries of being in leadership. It's kind of hard to find stuff to do all the time, because I'm used to having a lot of my day taken for meetings, preparing for meetings/trainings, or set appointments. 

I love you all! 

Elder Kapp

Elder Wilson and I

Playing football in the rain this morning.

All the trainers and greenies in the mission!

Goodbye Murrieta...

Hello everyone!

Man, this last week was absolutely insanely crazy! But it was great. I'm getting transferred this week. I am being released as a zone leader and I get to train!! I am so pumped! I am going to be serving in Escondido in the Palomar YSA ward. (Yes... Another YSA ward. 5th one in a row). I've always wanted to serve there. President told me this is where I will probably finish my mission. I also get to go back and teach at Edson Range, boot camp on Camp Pendleton! I'm super excited for that. I am actually moving into the same apartment I started my mission in!

On Tuesday we spent a lot of time preparing our training for zone conference and stopping by people in both of our wards. Stephanie came back home the day before, so we met with her and got her ready for the baptism

Wednesday we went down to Carlsbad and did car inspections for zone conference. We finished up our training.

Thursday we were at Zone Conference. Our training went super well. They split everyone into 5 groups and the ZL's and STL's each trained on a commandment. We had the Sabbath day. We had to give the training 5 times, so by the last one we almost had it down!  It was a really awesome meeting and I learned a lot. 

Friday we picked up mail in Vista, did some weekly planning, Stephanie had her baptism interview, and we finished planning the baptism.

Saturday we went to the Demke's. It was sad to be at the ranch for the last time and to say goodbye, but it was good. 

Sunday we had meetings almost every hour from 6:30AM til 3:30PM. But most importantly.... STEPHANIE GOT BAPTIZED! It was a beautiful service. She had a ton of support. Her parents and her boyfriend were able to come as well!

I'm very sad to be leaving Murrieta. It's such a blessed place. I love the people here so much, but I can't wait to go to Escondido. I have prayed about it and I know that there are a few more people Heavenly Father has prepared for me in Palomar and I have a lot more to learn. I love my mission and I can't wait for the next chapter!

Elder Kapp

Pictures:

Zone Conference Training

The Demke Family on the ranch!

Pictures from the Baptism

Saying goodbye to the Youngs (WML and Fam)

Saying goodbye to Ryan Stricklin and Cole Huntley

Hey everyone!

We got a ton done this last week. We had exchanges, district meeting, and went on splits almost every day! It's sometimes frustrating, but the ball is beginning to roll my friends. We are anticipating a lot of work coming in the next few weeks. Transfers are next week, so I hope I am staying.

We are excited for Stephanie's baptism this next week! She gets home today and her baptism will be this Sunday! We are so pumped! 

We didn't pick up any new investigators this last week, but we made a ton of progress. We picked up quite a few potentials and started working with a couple part member families. 

This next week we are training at zone conference on Thursday. We will also be going to the other zone conference for car inspections on Wednesday. 

Spiritual part...

I was thinking quite a bit about trusting our Heavenly Father, testimony, and not needing to worry. I have been pretty uptight and nervous for the next few months. A lot of change is going to happen and I want it to work out right. But then it hit me. Heavenly Father already knows what I need, what I want, and what's going to happen. So why worry? I don't need to ask "What if...?". I read this quote this last week that said that 10% of our life is what happens to us and 90% is how we react to it. We have a lot more control than we'd like to admit sometimes. We can't make excuses. We can't ignore our problems. We can't be afraid. Life is supposed to be happy. I love the scripture in D&C 6:36, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." Until this week, I always thought the Lord was giving us 3 things we should do in that verse. 1) look unto him in every thought. 2) Doubt not. 3) Fear not. However, I feel like it's more than that. I feel like it's a promise with two blessings. If we look unto Christ in every thought, we will not doubt and we will not fear. When we make Christ not only a part of our life, but the focus and foundation we will have no room to fear or doubt. Because we will know our Saviour. We will have a relationship with Him. We will trust that when we ask for help, He will help us. I feel like any doubt, problem, or question could be answered by focusing more on Jesus Christ. I know that if you have any questions or struggles and you begin to focus time every day specifically to Jesus Christ, you will find answers and comfort and peace.

I love this gospel. It's true and it's real.

Elder Kapp

4th of July Party

Zone hike this morning.

Elder Gull, Elder Eddins, and myself are #Merica festive.

Temples, Trainings, Luaus, and Trips to the Emergency Room

This week must have been the top craziest week of my mission... (the exciting part starts on Friday)

Tuesday we had interviews with President Thomas. I just love talking to that man. I'm grateful to have him as my mission president. We also taught Mike Molina. He read Ether 12 like we asked him and had a great talk about it. He's been investigating for 7 years, so I thought it would be hard to tell him something he hasn't already heard. But we realized that we don't need to focus on what we want him to hear. But more, what he needs to feel. He felt the spirit very strong and I think we are making progress with him!

Wednesday we went to the temple! Wonderful experience. Brother and Sister Welch from Alta Murrieta took us down. It was what I needed.

Thursday I actually gave the training in district meeting. It was on using the Book of Mormon to answer questions and concerns. I took it a different way than normal. Rather than the typical investigator questions like "Why should I be baptized?" or "Why is the word of wisdom important?", I wanted to focus on the deep questions of the soul, like "How can I strengthen my relationship with my family?" and "How can I balance my family life and my career?". Those are a little harder to find scriptures for! At the beginning I had each of the missionaries write down questions they have or have had before on a sticky note. We talked about how we should use the Book of Mormon and apply it. Then I had them use their questions in the role plays and practices. It made it a little more real.

We also stopped by Sadie Taylor and Maria, an elderly member and her investigator friend. They were so much fun!

Friday was absolutely packed! We had MLC in Vista from 9:00AM-3:30PM. It was such a great meeting! Temecula and Murrieta are doing so well! We were able to brainstorm with Temecula ZL's and come up with some ideas to keep our zones pumped. We went straight from there to our YSA Luau. We have been planning it for weeks! It was a regional activity, so all of Riverside and San Diego county were invited. Our YSA bishop, Bishop Beck, is Polynesian and puts on luaus for his job. It was so cool! Elder Gull and Elder Eddins were able to come and help us with the ticket booth.

Late night at the ER:

I learned a lot from this experience... So Elder Gull's leg started swelling really bad and causing extremely bad pains on Wednesday after they played basketball. He doesn't remember any injury that would cause it to hurt, but he was hurting so bad he couldn't go do a temple session on Wednesday. Thursday it was still bothering him, but not too bad. Friday he was fine for MLC, but it started swelling super bad during the luau. By the end of the luau he was hurting really bad. We gave him a blessing and we then determined he needed medical attention. He was in a ton of pain. We followed them over to an urgent care. It was crazy how fast his condition escalated. When we left the church, he didn't want help walking. When he got out of the car at the urgent care we were dragging him on our shoulders. The urgent care said they couldn't do anything for him because of the amount of pain he was in and said we needed to go to the ER. We were just praying and praying as we followed them to the hospital in Temecula. We ended up spending the next 4 hours there. 

As we got there we carried him behind the front desk to this chair. I told the doctor over and over that he needed pain medicine NOW! Elder Gull is one tough kid, and he said he was a 9.5 out of 10. The nurse said, "No you don't need pain meds yet. You need to calm down. You need to slow down your breathing." I didn't like that... I was getting so frustrated. I about lost my mind when he handed me a breathing mask and told me to hold it on Gull's face. I thought, "Oh brilliant! A breathing mask! Yeah, Doc! That will make the swelling and pain in his leg go away..." I was very humbled when Elder Gull stopped hyperventilating, his pain declined. That taught me a lesson I will elaborate on in a minute. After we finished paperwork and waited for what felt like forever, he was taken back and they did some test. They couldn't find anything, so he was diagnosed with a severe muscle strain. They gave him pain killers (he wasn't responding to them. That's why we were there til 1:30.) and he walked himself out on crutches.

So here's what I learned... A lot of the time we think we know what we need. But more often than not, we don't. If I was in control I would have injected the most powerful pain killer in Gull's arm the minute we got there thinking that would solve the problem. But it wouldn't. The nurse knew that Elder Gull needed to settle down and do his part in order to solve the problem. I feel like we are the same way with Heavenly Father a lot of the time. We have a problem and we ask for them to go away. However, that's usually contrary to the will of Heavenly Father. He didn't give us trials and problems to simply take them away when we ask Him to. That would be absolutely counterproductive. However, that doesn't mean He is leaving us on our own to figure out and suffer with no help from Him. Just like the nurse, His full purpose is to help. The best thing we can do is 1) listen to what He wants to do, 2) be humble enough to accept that we don't know everything and He knows best, and 3) give our full hearts to doing God's will. Too often do people turn their backs on God because they don't like the answer they got. They felt abandoned and cheated. God doesn't abandon or cheat. It's not in his nature. He is unable to do that. We abandon God and cheat ourselves of opportunities to grow and develop. I know that Jesus Christ felt the pains and frustrations of our trials, so as we trust God and rely on the atonement of Jesus Christ we can accomplish all things! I love this gospel and am grateful for the chance I have to share it with others.

Elder Kapp

Temple Trip

Luau

We had to do our "tiki faces" in front of everyone there. 

Kevin Johnston (He's Dax's twin)

The big poly guy with is our bishop!

                                      ER with Elder Gull