Happy Halloween!

All I can say is it's been another week in paradise! I am having so much fun! Elder Halstead and I are seeing miracles like crazy! We were able to see so much happen!

Dylan is doing so great! We had a lesson with him on Sunday. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. One of the blessings we promised him if he read the Book of Mormon is he would see an increase in learning and he would do better in school. His girlfriend was telling us the day after our lesson that he was sitting in his EMT class and his teacher just kept firing questions to the class and Dylan just kept answering them. He just knew all the answers! She told him, "I told you it works!" He committed to come to church with us for sure this Sunday!

We also picked up a guy names Eric. He is dating a girl in the Valley Center Ward and went to a baptism. He said he wanted to get baptized and learn more. We taught him with the Valley Center sisters. It was an awesome lesson. We brought Tyrone Grantham with us and he killed it! He's an RM from Peru. They really hit it off and Eric wants to come to the YSA. He's fun to teach! He is very intelligent and "real" with us. We're hoping to see him this next week.

We had a really cool experience on Thursday. We got a referral from the Vista sisters for a guy who wanted to meet with us that night and wanted a blessing. His name is Anthony. It turns out he is actually a member. He stopped going to church out of high school and joined the marines. He just got off deployment and came home to a lot of problems with his recently married wife. He is looking towards divorce and wanted some guidance from God. He asked me to give the blessing and said he felt the Spirit for the first time in a while. He came to game night on Sunday and wants to start coming back to church and activities! 

I am also grateful for Stephen, Bear Valley's recent convert. Turns out I've had a rib out of place for a while and he's giving me free chiropractic care. He's making my life so much better. Very grateful for that man!

I love this mission so much! It's a bummer that as soon as I start somewhat knowing what I'm doing and stop stressing so much I have to start preparing to go home! I know so strongly this is God's work! I love it so much! I love the gospel and know it is the answer to any problem! Have a good week everyone! 

Elder Kapp

Pictures:

-Elder Wilson and Elder Halstead, the Elders I trained! (Elder Wilson is going to the MTC today so we wish him luck!)

-Bathroom selfie at dinner. We went straight from service  and decided it would be a good time to take a picture. 

- The rest are just service and other random pictures.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Hey everyone! This week has been so great. It was so hard, but absolutely packed with blessings! All I can say is I love being a missionary! We were able to get a lot done with our investigators. We had a guy named Elroy show up to church. We were able to teach him and set up a return appointment. It was awesome!

This last week my back was killing me! HOLY CHICKEN! It was so sore! On Saturday we contacted a recent convert from another ward who is a chiropractor. He readjusted me and said I had a rib out of place just inside my shoulder. Sunday it was hurting so bad. All the muscles in my shoulder, back, and neck hurt. I had a terrible migraine and I thought I would have to stay in. We got done with church and were planning for our lesson with Dylan. I decided to go to our bedroom closet and just pray it out with God. I just begged for help and I might have gotten a bit emotional (no witnesses have firm confirmation, but it's a strong possibility) but I just felt a strong peace. We left to dinner and then the lesson. After the lesson I realized I couldn't feel my shoulder hurting. I didn't even think about it in the lesson. 

It was an incredible lesson. We focused on the Book of Mormon. We gave him a hard cover copy and highlighted our favorite scriptures, his girlfriend's favorite scripture, and a few that would help him. We asked him if he would get baptized when he comes to know it's true and he agreed! What a blessing! 

I love this work. I love this gospel. I love my Savior! 

Elder Kapp

Pictures:

Went Caving this morning

Zone training meeting

Went to a pumpkin patch too!

Obedience Brings Blessings

Man, was this a fun week or what?! We got so much done and had a blast!

Alright, so here's the week broken down. I'll try to do Reader's Digest version so it's not too long. 

Wednesday we had our zone greet. Our zone is so awesome! We had a ton of solid missionaries transfer in. For the get to know you game we had to draw a picture to describe our companion and I drew a picture of Russell from "Up" because E. Halstead looks just like him. 

Friday was insane! We did MyPlan in the morning and weekly planned. We had a lesson with a guy named Craig. He was found by some Hermanas and they sent him to us. We met up with him at a park and he was super open! He took everything really well and has been reading the Book of Mormon. We have a lesson set up with him this next week!

We also did something super fun with a kid named Elijah who hasn't been coming to the ward. He does jujitsu and we asked him if he would show us some stuff. It was so much fun! We got all rug burned up and he said he would be down to come to FHE tonight! 

Saturday I got to meet up with Stephanie Lippman, my recent convert from Murrieta. She came down with Cole Huntley, her boyfriend from the Murrieta YSA! He was the Sunday School President and they started dating shortly after she was baptized. It was so great! She talked about how I need to come back when she goes through the temple. That right there is why I came on my mission. That made it all worth it.

We taught Dylan Coopman again this last week. He read a little bit of the Book of Mormon, but not much. We taught him the plan of salvation and promised him that if he read the Book of Mormon every day he would find more time to do what he wants and feel happier. He mentioned how he's really busy and has a hard time finding time to do things. I thought about myself and how I use that a ton. I learned, and then shared with him, that there is no time like the present. Be obedient and put God first NOW. He will cover the rest.

Edson Range was such a blessing. Recruit Lal, the guy we baptized a few weeks ago is doing so well. He headed back to MCRD this last week for his last 4 weeks. I'm going to miss him. A couple recruits brought like 6 nonmember recruits from their platoon. I got to teach 2 of them. The spirit is awesome. They both accepted to be baptized if they learn the Book of Mormon is true.

I just have to tell you all what I've learned about obedience. Just like God has set in play physical laws, like gravity and acceleration, he has also set in place Spiritual Laws. One is obedience. God promises us if we obey He will bless us. His hands are tied. He has to keep his end of the deal. The more obedient we are the more God will bless us. We have tried so hard to be exactly obedient. We try to wake up every morning at 6:00 and read the Book of Mormon. Yes, the miracles in the work has been incredible, but I cannot put words to the difference it has made in me. I feel so peaceful and confident in the gospel. I know I am where I need to be. I know Jesus Christ is there and He is my friend. He is my Savior. I love Him so much. The Book of Mormon is true. It just is. This is Christ's church. We have a prophet on the earth. The world can try all they want to disprove and criticize this church, but it cannot be destroyed. They can only destroy their own testimonies, because the priesthood exist here and Jesus Christ stands head of this church. 

I love you all!

Elder Erik Kapp

                                           Us in a tree house

Us knocking a door

Jujitsu training!

                  

Clear eyes. Full hearts. CAN'T LOSE.

Hey everyone,

We saw a lot of awesome miracles this last week. We've been continuing our "cleanse". We've been keeping our apartment clean, being super strict on music and other rules, and just praying for miracles. We have seen so much happen. Unfortunately we were unable to teach Dylan Coopman again, but we were able to pick up some solid PI's. We were told about a young woman in the Twin Oaks Valley ward who has a YSA aged boyfriend who wants to meet with us. We are looking forward to that in the upcoming weeks.

We also got to meet up with Franky Hunt. He's the kid I taught when I was a greenie. He's doing super well! It was awesome to see him. He's going to the fire academy right now so he's super busy, but he said we could come by again next week. I read in my journal the other day from 18 months ago and I said, "My mission goal is to baptize Franky Hunt. No matter what happens after that, my mission is a success." I feel like one day he will join the church and I will be there, but I'm just grateful I've gotten to know him so well!

Friday was kind of a gnarly day because of weekly planning and service. We were inside and not proselyting all day!!!! Ahh man, we were so depressed. So we finally get out and we were seeing nothing happen! There were no people to talk to, nobody was home... Nothing! At 8:30 we decided to head back to our apartment complex and try to contact people there. We walked around until 8:50 and were walking back to the apartment when we saw this guy walking in the parking lot. Elder Halstead says, "Hey! Do you think you'd be willing to hear the message we are sharing?" The guy says, "Yeah I would." It caught Elder Halstead and I so off guard he said, ".... What?" and the guy says, "Yeah I would!" We were still shocked, but it turned out wonderfully. His name is Orlando and hasn't been to church since he was a kid. It was a miracle!

We also had a trainer meeting. That was good! 

Oh, and the subject is mine and Elder Halstead's motto for the rest of the transfer. I remember my cousin used that for a youth conference theme, so we adopted it. We set a goal to baptize 3 people before I go home, and we are so dedicated. We got a clear vision, our hearts are full, so we can't lose.

Love you all! 

District pictures

(Elder Lebaron dies this week, that's why he's laying on the table...)

General Conference Week

Hey friends and family at home!

I cannot express how grateful I am for the prophet. Right off the back, I just want to say that God has a prophet on the earth and his name is Thomas S. Monson. His health may be declining, but his authority and priesthood keys are just as powerful as ever. He is the chosen mouthpiece for God in these days. The apostles have been called of God. They are commissioned to teach all nations and cry repentance to the world. I know this to be true because I have gained a spiritual witness of the reality of the restoration. Joseph Smith did kneel in the sacred grove and saw a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Through him, Jesus Christ restored His gospel and His church. I know it. I have read the Book of Mormon and know it could not be written by anything less than a prophet of God. This is God's work and His gospel.

This past week was full of miracles. I'm going to share two. 

We were able to pick up a new investigator at Edson Range a couple weeks ago. His name is Recruit Lal. The lessons have gone wonderful. He had already been taught at MCRD and was ready to be baptized. Yesterday he was able to enter the waters of baptism and be confirmed a full member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was also his birthday, so we gave him the Gift of the Holy Ghost ;) He was also ordained to the office of a priest. You would think, "How could someone learn the gospel in just a few weeks and then be baptized, confirmed, and ordained within one day?" It's because God's work is moving forward and His elect are being prepared. I have a strong testimony of how the gospel can change lives.

The second miracle is Dylan. We were told about McKayla Evans boyfriend a couple weeks ago and that he accepted to take the lessons. We were originally told he was doing it for more educational reasons. Just a couple days prior to the lessons, Elder Halstead and I made a commitment to eliminate all distractions and go on a spiritual "Cleanse". As we began to teach Dylan, we asked what his expectations were in regards to us meeting. He said, "I want to learn how to become converted." It took me a few seconds to get my jaw off the floor and respond. It was one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission. I loved it! It was so much fun. He accepted commitments and we have a lesson next sunday.

I love you all and hope you have a great week! God is good!

Elder Kapp

Pictures... from MLC