Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 7 - Maddy's Baptism!

Hey everyone! Yesterday we had Maddy's baptism! We are very happy and proud of her!

We had a lot happen this last week! We taught Janet Butters. Her husband is a member and she is Christian. She comes to church a lot and she has taken the lessons before. We taught her the restoration and focused on how our church will help her strengthen her relationship with Christ.

We had a missionary broadcast on Wednesday. They changed up the missionary schedule and changed the key indicators we report. Basically P-day is longer and there is more flexibility in our daily schedule. And we don't do nightly planning, instead we do it in the morning.

After we went to the broadcast we taught Alex, a former investigator from the YSA. She seemed to be pretty receptive. We set a return appointment, but she bailed and we are trying to set another one still.

We also had to drive down to Vista on Wednesday to drop off and pick up some stuff.

We went to Escondido on Saturday. Elder Gantner speaks French and there are some French investigators down there. They ended up rescheduling the appointment once we were down there.

Transfers are this week. Elder Gantner and I are both staying, which I am happy about! It will be a good next transfer.

This week on Friday we have MLC, which is my birthday so that will be fun!

I love you all and hope you have a good week! 

Elder Kapp

                                                     Madison Neugart's baptism

                                                     Saying goodbye to Elder McClellan

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 6 - More Miracles!

This last week was awesome! VERY BUSY! We went to a bunch of meetings, but the work in our area is just taking off! We got a new ward mission leader in both wards and they are both on FIRE! We are teaching more people and finding more in our area than the rest of the zone combined! (There are 12 companionships in our zone.) So that's pretty good! Maddy is as solid as ever. She is pretty much an active member. Honestly, she is one of the most solid young women in the ward and she isn't even baptized! She has a ton of non-members coming to her baptism. We just have one last lesson with her on Thursday then the baptism this Sunday!!!

Our ward mission leader, Brother Murphy, found us ANOTHER FAMILY to teach. It's a less active part member family and the wife isn't a member. We had dinner with them at the Murphy's on Saturday and taught them the restoration and we gave the wife a Book of Mormon. She said she would read it! Their names are the Simmons.

We also picked up another part member family, the Roneys. Their daughter is like 16 and is active, but they have an 8 year old son and the dad wants to baptize him, but he isn't coming to church. They are super busy with sports. The wife isn't a member and she said we could come by and teach them this week. Bro. Roney wants to come back to church and get a temple recommend so he can do baptisms for his brother that passed when he was 11

We weren't able to get into the Butters this last week to teach Janet, so that was a bummer.

We taught Kindra again this last week too. She is friends with our recent convert, Mike. She is pretty strong Christian and hasn't formally kept commitments, so we just meet with her periodically at Mike's house. She said after she reads the Book of Mormon and knows it's true she would be baptized!

Our new Branch Mission Leader, Brock, brought a nonmember to church this last week and we taught the restoration to him in Sunday School!

I love this ward so much! It's been great!

Really quick, I had a cool self realization this last week I wanted to share. A lot of the times we forget that the other people in the world have lives of their own and that it's not all about you. It's kind of like we are the main characters of our own life story. We have the choice to be either the hero or the victim of our lives... Will we save the day or wait to be saved? The rest of the world is the supporting cast. They can be good guys or bad guys or not really have an effect on us or our life. The cool thing is we can write the script for what we do in our lives.

Well I came to the realization that when my life story is centered on me it really isn't that interesting or have any value to anyone else but me. But I thought about all the people who have a positive influence on me and have played "Heroes" in my life. In my book of life, there are some incredible people who have repeatedly made appearances and helped me out.
So here's the conclusion. If we put more of an effort to be the "hero" or the good guy in other people's lives our lives become more meaningful. There are - what- 7.5 billion people? There are more than enough people that we can influence for good. Like Paul says in 1Corinthians 13, the greatest of all is charity.

So I am going to work on that and focus on others. Sorry you had to listen to (well I guess read) my rant.

I love you all!

Elder Kapp

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 5 - Exchange miracles and Visitors at church

This last week was really good! A lot happened and we got a lot of stuff done! 

Tuesday: had a lesson with a less active recent convert in the YSA ward, Lawrence. It was good! He is working 2 jobs, but he is going to try to make more of an effort to come to church. At least to sacrament.Tuesday: had a lesson with a less active recent convert in the YSA ward, Lawrence. It was good! He is working 2 jobs, but he is going to try to make more of an effort to come to church. At least to sacrament. 

Wednesday: I was on exchanges with Elder Castleton in our area. That was awesome! We had service in the morning. We organized food that was donated to this organization. After we had a lesson with Mike, a recent convert in the family ward. He is doing good! He is such a smart guy and is reading the Book of Mormon for the second time. After we met with the Butters, a part member family. Janet, the nonmember wife, said she wanted to take the lessons again. She has some hang ups, but I think she is just confused with a couple things. We will teach her on Thursday this week.Wednesday: I was on exchanges with Elder Castleton in our area. That was awesome! We had service in the morning. We organized food that was donated to this organization. After we had a lesson with Mike, a recent convert in the family ward. He is doing good! He is such a smart guy and is reading the Book of Mormon for the second time. After we met with the Butters, a part member family. Janet, the nonmember wife, said she wanted to take the lessons again. She has some hang ups, but I think she is just confused with a couple things. We will teach her on thursday this week. 

We also got in with the Luceros. The Luceros are active, but their daughter Sarah is super less active. She is like 17 and is very against the church at this point. The Luceros asked us to come by ever Wednesday just to bring the spirit in their house.We also got in with the Luceros. The Luceros are active, but their daughter Sarah is super less active. She is like 17 and is very against the church at this point. The Luceros asked us to come by ever Wednesday just to bring the spirit in their house.

Thursday we had Zone conference. I really enjoyed it. Except I had to conduct the meeting. That wasn't my favorite. But that night we had dinner at the Murphy's. They invited a nonmember family of 4, the Lobles and we taught them the restoration! I don't know if they were really feelin it, but they were super nice and sounded like they might want to do it again!Thursday we had Zone conference. I really enjoyed it. Except I had to conduct the meeting. That wasn't my favorite. But that night we had dinner at the Murphy's. They invited a nonmember family of 4, the Lobles and we taught them the restoration! I don't know if they were really feelin it, but they were super nice and sounded like they might want to do it again!

Friday we had exchanges with the assistants. That was fun! I got to work with Elder Romney for the first half and then Elder Ruhl for the second. I learned a lot and enjoy working with them.Friday we had exchanges with the assistants. That was fun! I got to work with Elder Romney for the first half and then Elder Ruhl for the second. I learned a lot and enjoy working with them. 

Sunday was busy! Also, I had a surprise visit from Aunt Rebecca, Hannah, and Ella at church! They were at Disneyland for a race this weekend and they are friends with the Smiths in our ward. So they say they were there to visit the Smiths, but I still felt pretty special. It was cool! We also had a lesson with Maddy Neugart. Her baptism was announced in sacrament. She is solid! 

Monday we got in with a bunch of less active and part member families. Maddy Neugart passed her baptismal interview and we had a fun dinner with some members of the YSA ward and Liz. A bunch of us have birthdays this month so we celebrated.

I just want to say thank you for all the support I have gotten over the last month. I appreciate the letters, emails, packages, but most importantly the prayers. Being sick on and off over the last 6 months I have learned that it's okay to ask for help and the power of prayer. I've learned to be more patient with myself and with things I can't control. I hope I'm able to get over the pneumonia quickly and that I will be done with it! But I really appreciate each of you! Love you!

Elder Kapp

Pictures:

After church with Rebecca, Hannah, and Ella!

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 4 - ZTM and #MIRACLE

Hey everyone! Sorry last week we didn't have much time. Because the libraries were closed we had to do all our preparations for Zone Training Meeting on P-Day. 

So Wednesday we had the ZTM and that went pretty well. The AP's were on exchanges, so I was blessed to have Elder Phillips, my trainer, come to my first ZTM. Not going to lie, it was super stressful. I didn't feel ready, but as it started going I felt a lot better. I think it went really well. Our training on Repentance went really well. It was all about the new year and using it as an opportunity to change and move on. We used the talk "Remember Lot's Wife" by Jeffrey R Holland a lot. In the training we talked about forgiving ourselves and forgiving others. We had them write down what they need to forgive in themselves and others and we planned to have them tie it to a balloon and let them go... But the balloons didn't have a ton of helium in them and when we had the companionship tie their papers to the balloon, they didn't float... So only half the zone got to repent. Either way, I think it went well.

Thursday we actually went down to the temple with our investigator Liz and the YSA. We just sat in the waiting area with her but she loved it and it was really good for her. She felt the spirit and I think it was a big step for her. #Miracle

Friday we did weekly planning and brought a member from the YSA, Shane with us. It was really good! 

Saturday I went to the doctor... Again. I still wasn't feeling better so I went back in. Over the last 6 months I've felt sick and exhausted on and off regularly. It turns out I have pneumonia. It's nice to be on medicine. It feels like it's working and hopefully I will be able to get back to work. 

We also took Max Lundquist out with us. He's a super cool guy. We visited Shane Peterson. He is a professional baseball player. He just signed with the Rays. He was a really neat guy and fun to talk to him. We will probably help him and his brother work on a house they are building before he goes to spring training. #Miracle Our dinner cancelled that night and the Lundquist were having some nonmember family over and we got invited! It was cool. Sis Lundquist's father is from Switzerland and E. Gantner got to speak in his native language with him. #Foreigner

Sunday we had a ton of meetings and church all day. We had a lesson with Maddy Neugart after our first ward. We are planning her baptism more and getting everything figured out. #Miracle We also got a new ward mission leader in Butterfield Stage, Brother Murphy. He is awesome! He lived in the ward before and just moved back a couple weeks ago. After our first meeting yesterday, he said he had a nonmember family that he knew on our street and he wanted to invite them to take the lessons. We said a prayer that it'd go well with him and we went our separate ways. He called us that night and they accepted the invite to have dinner with us on Thursday! #Miracle I think he will do a good job as a ward mission leader :)

I love you all. Hope you have a good week. Make good choices. 

Elder Kapp

                                                     Dinner with Max and Royce Lundquist 

                                       The girl with the dark hair is our investigator, Liz.

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 3 - New Years

Hey Everyone. Sorry We don't have very much time to email. This last week has been a bit slow as far as work goes, but we have been super busy planning for Zone Training Meeting. We are excited for Maddy to get baptized later this month. We will have more pictures and stuff to talk about next week! Love you!

Elder Kapp

                                                           Photo with members of our ward

This is a family that is friends with the Whitings that live in Erik's ward.

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 2 - Remembering the Christ in Christmas...

This last week was so great. We had lots of opportunities to teach and meet with members of our ward. I am so blessed to be serving where I am. The people here are incredible. The members in our ward are so focused and willing to help us missionaries. We had a great Christmas! The members really took care of us and it was a blessing to talk to the family! Thank you to all that sent cards and packages! It means so much! 

The only downside to the week is I have been really sick. I have been sick on and off for the last 6 months. I got some new medicine that should help. It's definitely made it harder to work, but I feel like that's just the missionary life.

This last week I put a lot more time into learning about Christ, it being Christmas and all. I was frustrated being sick because it made it really hard to really get engaged in my studies. I was really bummed to be sick and generally just felt bad for myself and not being home, but I really felt the atonement play a strong role in my week. I have just been fed up with being sick for so long and I wanted to be healed now. As I prayed and prayed and got a blessing, I got exactly what I needed, not what I wanted. Funny how that ALWAYS happens. I received more peace and comfort and strength to help me deal with being sick and get through it. We can't expect Heavenly Father to change His will for our wants. That is absolutely contrary to our purpose of being here on earth. However, we do have a Savior. Jesus Christ was born so that we could make it back to our Father in Heaven. He made it possible for us to make it through our trials. Honestly, we will always be struggling with something. It's hard. A lot of God's children will live their entire lives struggling with one specific thing. A lot of the times we want to say, "That's not fair. Why do I have it like this and that person doesn't? Why do they have it better? It's not fair that life is this hard." If you ever feel tempted to say that, I want you to picture Christ (who was perfect) in the Garden of Gethsemane saying, "You're right. It's not fair." It wasn't fair that Christ suffered anything at all! But He did. Because He loves you. The first verse of the Book of Mormon says it best. Nephi says the word 'afflictions'. If you look at the foot note for that word it says, "Blessing; Gifts of God". THAT'S RIGHT! Your struggles are blessings because they make you better. And when it gets hard, you can turn to Christ. Because He already suffered it and knows how you feel and is willing to do everything possible to help you. Christmas is much more than acknowledging Christ was born. But we also need to think about what that means to us.

I love this gospel. I love Jesus Christ. I love my family. I love the blessing I have to be a missionary. This is Christ's church on the earth today! I love you!

Elder Kapp

Pictures

1. Christmas Morning...

2. Christmas with Ian

Butterfield Stage/Temecula Valley YSA Week 1 - New Area and MERRY CHRISTMAS

I have been in Temecula for less than a week now and I already love it. It is such a cool area! I am with Elder Gantner and we are covering two wards. We are over the Butterfield Stage ward and Temecula Valley YSA branch. It's hard trying to figure out 2 wards at once, but I love it! I am having so much fun, but I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. Especially with being a new Zone Leader and people asking me for help it's scary because I don't know a thing.

The work is so good right now! We have investigators in both of our wards.

On Monday I said some tough goodbyes to Carlsbad YSA. That was hard. I also hated packing. I got here Tuesday and we just stopped by some members and planned Zone Welcome. 

Wednesday we had Zone Welcome. We taught a part member family, the Butters and stopped by a lot of members. 

Thursday we had a ton of stop bys and taught Liz, our investigator in the YSA. She had a baptism date but she had some set backs. She is super cool! It was fun teaching her. We're going to try to get her back on date this week.

We also taught Maddy Neugart. She is 16 and has been active in church most of her life. Her parents are divorced and her dad wouldn't let her get baptized, so she has been waiting until she turns 18. This last week her mom got full custody so Maddy can get baptized! She wants us to come by twice a week up til her baptism later in January. She is super cool! We are excited for her to get baptized!

On Thursday we also stopped by the Lewis'. They used to live in our ward in Clinton and I was trying to catch Tyler.

Friday we taught Kindra. She is very Christian and friends with a recent convert in our ward. She is very strong in the Bible, but she is open and likes to learn. 

Sunday was crazy! Because our wards are at the same time we had to split so I went to the family ward by myself! I don't really know anyone yet, but it was really good.

I really love this area. There is such a great vibe from Temecula. It is a very Mormon community. It's like a Utah community in California. The members are incredible. I am super excited to be here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love Elder Kapp

                                            Spaghetti Carbonara
                                       Dinner Yesterday with the Goss family!