Training again!

Transfers were this past week.  Hyrum is staying in Thousand Oaks, but will now be a Trainer instead of a District Leader.  So, this past Wednesday, he got a brand new missionary that he will train for the next 6 weeks.  He was super excited to be training again.  He loves his new companion.  He is a hard worker, loves to work out and will go running with Hyrum.  Hyrum says he does about 100-140 pushups and sit-ups each morning.  Wow!  He's going to come home all buff!!

Hyrum's District

Transfer process, but Hyrum isn't in the picture

Next transfer, we will be in a car share with another set of missionaries. That means that half of the time we will be biking. WooHoo! For the last three days the temperature has been near 100! Yesterday was especially bad in suits. Our area is full of hills. This car share will be a great experience for a new missionary. I remember being on full bikes my first two transfers. It was great for me. Plus, being on the bikes will give us more opportunities to meet people as we go.

Madelene, is set for baptism on July 9th! We were able to get into a home with twin 13 year old boys. They sent us off with a carton of fresh eggs from their chickens and as we were leaving, the family said "see you soon!" Although they did not set a return appointment, it sounds like they expect us back. . . They know some members of the ward.  I love this area so much. Even though the area is geographically small, biking is going to be a challenge. There are a lot of hills and we live out of our area. Still, being visible on bikes will be good.

Here's a picture of a dead rat some other elders put on our car.  Not cool!

Hyrum spoke in church on Father's Day.  He spoke about the similarities between his earthly father and his Heavenly Father.  It must have been really good, because one member took notes and then typed them and emailed his talk to us!  Another member sent me a text and let me know how much she enjoyed Hyrum's talk and that he is a wonderful missionary.  Hyrum told them about our family tradition of shooting prairie dogs on July 4th.  I guess that got a laugh from everyone.  He did clarify that we do it because they eat the pasture the cows need and make holes the horses could step in and brake a leg.  I think that was a totally foreign concept for the California people :)  They loved his stories about his dad.

Hyrum at a District Leader Training

  

100 Days Left!

Monday, June 6 means Hyrum has 100 days left until he returns home!!  It will feel so good to be in the double digits.  Hyrum's letters continue to be short, but wonderful.  We love hearing from him.  A few weeks ago, on a Preparation Day, Hyrum, his companion and two other missionaries went mountain biking with non-member and had a great time!

Andy, the man who took Hyrum and three other elders mountain biking, let me borrow a mountain bike.  Andy gave us a few tips and we were off.  Long story short, mountain biking is rougher than I thought.  There were lots of rocks which made it difficult to keep traction and balance.  One elder brought a hybrid bike.  The wheels were kind of narrow and not make for trail riding.  This was his first time too.  The other elders had some experience with mountain biking, so they went ahead.  The elder with the hybrid bike struggled to stay up, so I stayed back with him.  For once, I was the kid who everyone waited for and who doesn't get a rest.  Overall, I really liked the experience.  I had no problem physically, strength-wise, but I lacked technique.  Mountain biking is something that I think I could really enjoy.

Elder Ruby's District while he served as District Leader

Here is a poem President Felix sent to the missionaries:

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin
When he smiled I realized I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile then I realized it's worth,
A single smile, just like mine, could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected.
Let's start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!

At the end of May, Hyrum wrote:
The days are long.  We seem to be walking the streets trying to talk with everyone, but we are yeilding little results.  What keeps me going are the little miracles that come from nowhere.  At 8:50pm we ran into an Asian man waxing his car in his garage.  We bore our testimony of the blessings that have come to us because of the restored gospel.  He really liked what we had to say and gave us his personal phone number and asked about church.  He said he had to talk with his fiance about coming to church first.  Yesterday, we ate dinner with some members who invited some non-member friends over.  We watched the beginning of the Sunday morning session of General Conference and listened to President Monson speak.  Tonight, we called a member up to set up a short visit with their family and they told us that their girls have friends who are interested.  All these moments make the long days worth it.

I know this is God's work.  I know He loves us with all his heart, might, mind and strength.  I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior.  I know that Joseph Smith was the prophet called to restore Christ's church and priesthood authority upon the earth.

Transferred to Thousand Oaks

Boy, these last two weeks have gone by so fast.  That always happens when I am busy.  This time is was Haven's graduation.  Two weeks ago Hyrum was transferred to Thousand Oaks, CA to be a District Leader there.  Here is a little from him on his most recent assignment as a District Leader and some pictures too.

Our ward mission leader brought me to tears, good tears, the second day in the area. After dinner at his home, he shared the ward's vision and mission plan. Brother Whitman had, and has, so much faith. I couldn't help but feel the confidence that God had in this ward and in us as missionaries. I learned that nothing is impossible with Christ. We haven't yet set anyone with a date, but I am confident that we can do miracles if we believe.

We helped out a recent convert family the other day on their yard. As we did, we asked about their conversion story. They told us that their daughter had a member friend who invited them to church. The first time they went to church, they didn't really like it. However, after many invitations and her children wanting to go back, the parents eventually opened their hearts and felt the truth.  We shared this story with many members this week to encourage them to continue inviting.

Being a district leader has been very new to me. I feel inadequate sometimes.  I heard good feedback from the district about district meeting, so I guess I didn't do too bad. :)

I feel like I have been serving in this ward for a long time already. They just feel like family. Of course, they could never replace you, but they make me feel at home.

Today we are going to Mountain bike with a non-member whose wife is a member. Hopefully that will soften his heart a bit. This will be my first time. Don't worry, I will go slow.

It was a tough week. We have four investigators all of whom would not meet this week. We did have wonderful splits with the ward on Thursday. We discovered a few neat connections with the members and investigators/less-actives. #miracles. This week we have done a lot of street contacting, but we haven't found many who would receive us. It has helped me understand that I can't do this all on my own.

I am learning to be even more of myself. I am learning to speak my mind more and trust that the Lord will give me what I need to say.

This past week we had the missionaries over for dinner.  Right after they left, I got a text from a wonderful member in Thousand Oaks who had Hyrum over for dinner that same night.  She sent me two pictures of him.  It was so cool!

Elder Ruby and Elder Hunter

Elder Ruby with smoked pizza

Where did they arrive from?

I apologize.  We have been having tons of problems with our internet, so I haven't been able to post anything for Elder Ruby lately.  He has been doing really well, as you all know.  This is his last week as an Assistant to the President.  He will receive a new assignment that will start Tuesday May 10.  I will find out the new assignment when we talk to him on Mother's Day.  I am so excited to talk to him!!  Hyrum asked us to prepare to visit with him about our favorite scripture and why we chose it.  He said he can talk for 30-40 minutes.  I know it won't be near long enough.  I will treasure every minute.  

Here's a little from his email today:

Guess what! Mark (a young man he baptized a while ago) just submitted his mission paperwork to SLC. He put his availability date August 9th, the day of his confirmation! This means that he attend the temple while I am still on a mission. If that is the case, then I will be able to go with him if it's at the LA or Fresno Temple. I am just jumping for joy right now! This is why he said he is going:

"1. I've discovered an overwhelming love for Jesus Christ, and I think that it would be selfish of me not to spread that love to other people.

2. Since I've been a member of the Church, I have received so many unexpected blessings, it's impossible to count them all. I've always been really blessed, but my experience at school with the Church—the people that I've met, the support I've received from them, the opportunities that I've had to grow as an individual, etc.—has been something that I can't take advantage of without giving something back

3. Four of my best friends here are going to serve a mission after this year, and I think that by serving along side them, in all corners of the globe, we have an opportunity to grow closer as friends than we ever could have been without the experience.

4. For the last 14 years of my life, I've been focused entirely on school. It's a noble, but entirely inward focus. I think that by serving a mission will aid me in an effort to become outward focused. and more conscious of the people around me."

I am so happy for him.

We almost achieved all our goals last week! It feels so good to accomplish what we hope for. And achieving those goals gives us more hope. I love it. We really enjoy working in our area. Contacting people on campus has shown to be the most successful. We are also involving the members in missionary work and encouraging them to invite their friends/acquaintances to church or activities. The members love it. We took members contacting on campus and they seemed to know everyone. It was great!

I am learning to trust in God more. For my entire mission I have prayed to be led to those who have been prepared to receive the restored gospel. Despite my prayers, I don't feel like I have been led to as many as I thought I would be. Recently, I my mindset has changed a bit. I have chosen to give everyone a chance to receive the gospel, but if they do not accept it at this time, I just move on to the next. I have learned to clearly state our purpose and invite them to learn more. This has brought more peace to my heart and I expect to find someone eager for the truth sometime soon. Sadly, many people have hardened their hearts against the truth and the Spirit. I often feel like Jeremiah, Lehi, Alma, and many, if not all, the prophets did as they went out preaching to everyone that would hear them.

I tried to copy a few pictures from the California Ventura Mission blog, but the pictures wouldn't copy for me.  So, I will refer you to the blog's post of the Mission Tour to see 4 pictures of Hyrum.  He is in 3 at the beginning of the post and also the group photo of the Ventura Zone. 

Here are some statistics of his mission right now:

Where did they arrive from?

After the two missionaries who will be arriving (mid transfer) on Monday, April 18, we will have 146 single missionaries and 5 senior couple missionaries. This breaks down to:

Spanish Hermanas  22

English Sisters  28

Spanish Elders  21

English Elders  75

Below are the areas the single missionaries are from and how many came from that state or country:

Arizona 3
Brazil 1

California 1

Canada  6

Colorado 5

Georgia 1

Hondorus 1

Florida 2

Iowa 1

Idaho 19

Indiana 3

Kansas 2

Kentucky 1

Mexico 1

Maryland 1

Missouri 1

Montana 2

North Carolina 1

North Dakota 1

New Jersey 1

New Mexico 1

Nevada 3

Ohio 2

Oklahoma 3

Oregon 2

Pennsylvania 1

Tennesee 1

Texas 8

Utah 62

Virginia 3

Washington 3

Wyoming 3

All of the Senior Couples are from Utah.

Tiwi

Time flies when you are having fun.  Elder Boyce and I are loving the mission, but we don't' want it to end so soon.  Thankfully, I have a long time. . .  Sometimes we struggle and have tough days.  Here's some advice for current and soon-to-be missionaries: If you want the time to go by faster, you should work harder, smile and think about serving others:)

I loved General Conference!  I always do.  I'm not sure if it was just me, or what, but I noticed a theme of marriage and fulfilling our roles and magnifying our callings.  I liked Elder Renlund's talk.  Here is one quote from him, “The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.”  Since then, I have tried even harder to come closer to God. 

Our mission has been focusing on the Christlike attribute of humility since Zone Conference.  That is the same topic Elder Snow spoke about!

Hyrum mentioned that his new vehicle didn't have a Tiwi.  So I asked him what a Tiwi was.  In your last letter you asked what a Tiwi is.  It's a cross between a tangerine and a kiwi.  Just kidding!  He still has a sense of humor:)  Tiwi is a device installed in all mission vehicles that uses GPS to help coach us while driving.  It tells us to "check your speed" and give us violations when we go over speed bumps too fast, accelerate too fast, brake too hard, or go around a curve too fast.  The church records these and sends a weekly and transfer report on each driver's driving.  So far, I have been a green driver (verses a yellow or red)!

Right now we are cooking some halibut in the oven.  Our neighbor, Cindy, gave it and some freshly picked oranges to us.  She is super nice.  We are eating much better now that you sent me some recipes and with our crock pot.  Having prepared meals makes dinner at the apartment something to look forward to.  Some more advice: start learning to cook quick meals and be creative before serving your mission.

If you make the best of your week, it will go by fast! :)

Finished the Book of Mormon in Three Months

Zone meeting went great.  President Felix is so inspired.  We presented a new Christlike attribute: Humility.  Our scripture that missionaries will recite every morning is Doctrine and Covenants 112:10.  It turned out that two elders had been highlighting humility in their Book of Mormon for the last two transfers and another sister had been prompted to study the song "Be Thou Humble" at our last MLC.  These instances just help confirm that the attribute and scripture President Felix chose was right.

Our mission has been highlighting the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end) in the Book of Mormon for the last three months.  I finished it by reading about 6 pages a day.  I really loved how engaged I became with the Book of Mormon.  With every page, the people became more real and the Book more true.  I also underlined or highlighted every reference to Christ.  If a person will do this, you will come to understand:

1. Your purpose
2. Your Savior
3. How much the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ

Transfers have been exhausting.  We started on Sunday at 6pm.  We calculated about 32 hours of transfer planning and travel arrangements.  This time I was not so stressed about how the travel was going to happen.  There were only 10 companionships in the mission who stayed together.   We had 73 missionaries moving to a new area!  Everything went pretty smoothly.  We had one set of missionaries who arrived at the transfer location 25 minutes late, so that was frustrating.  But, other than that, it was a smooth transfer.  President Felix let Hyrum know that this is his last transfer as an Assistant to the President. 

A few Sunday's ago, we felt prompted to visit an active member who is preparing to go on a mission to Brazil soon.   We texted her to set up the appointment.  Before the scheduled time with her, we were driving to visit a less-active person who we hadn't seen for a while.  I had the thought to stop by another less-active person on the way there, so we did.  (A thought is inspiration until proven otherwise, right?)  The father, a pretty fit younger, black guy answered the door.  The person we were looking for wasn't home, but the father was willing to talk.  We stood at the door talking with him for about 30 minutes.  He wasn't quite bashing, but he sure liked to debate.  We testified and corrected his misunderstandings.  That was interesting.  It was one of the few times when I didn't bring my Bible with me and he just tore us apart about that.  We invited him to study the Book of Mormon to find out for himself that it is the word of Christ.  We read 2 Nephi 33:10 with him.  After our discussion with him, we drove to the house of the girl about to leave for her mission.  She told us all about the missionary work she had been doing with her friends.  We proposed that she ask her friends if she could "practice" teaching them in preparation for her mission.  She loved the idea.  "There can be miracles when you believe" (Watch The Prince of Egypt).

We look forward to the Mission Tour with Elder James J. Hamula of the Quorum of the Seventy this week. We will have a special MLC with him and two zone conferences. We have to do a presentation/ lead a discussion on our mission's key indicators and how we can improve. After the conferences, just President and Sister Felix, Elder Boyce and I will be meeting with Elder Hamula. Oh, boy.

 

It has been a great week.  I'll keep in touch:)

Dairy Queen :)

We had this really neat idea for Zone Conference which is Tuesday through Thursday this week.  We want to do some training on planning, goal setting and accountability.  Elder Boyce and I will be training on Planning.  Our idea was to show a live planning session and project our daily planner so that everyone could see.  Sister Felix has this Samsung tablet that comes with a pen, so it is really precise.  We took a picture of a blank planner and we could write over the top of it.  Today, after emails and studies, Elder Boyce and I drove to President's house to figure out how we could project what was on the tablet.  We had a horrible time trying to sync the tablet to President's computer so that we could project it.  We started at 11:30am and we left the Felix's home at 2:00!  Eventually, we found an alternative.  Instead of writing in our plans live, we will just type them in.

We were hungry, so we drove to the mall where we heard there was a Dairy Queen.  Dairy Queens are not common out here in Cali.  We both had gift cards.  We stopped and talked with a couple guys at the mall who had previously met with missionaries.  We got one of the guy's number and he may come to the Young Single Adult ward.

When we arrived at Dairy Queen, our cards wouldn't work.  The old Asian lady that took our order did not know English well.  She took FOREVER with our food.  We were probably waiting there for 15 minutes.  No joke and no one else was ordering.  Yes, I was impatient, but we also had a lot more to do.

We had three more errands to run after we shopped: mail a package, drop off some pants and shirts at the Goodwill, and get a car wash.  For some reason I could not make the right turns or I couldn't go the way I wanted or planned.  Oh, the care wash and vacuum were lousy.

St. Patrick's Day

I have learned that meal planning is a really good idea.  This week we made something called Aztec chicken in the crock pot.  We got this recipe from Sister Floyd (our mission secretary) after she made this dish for MLC a while ago.  The members still don't feed us much, so it's hard to get fat off of sandwiches, noodles and rice.  But we are doing some meal planning ourselves and eating better.  What kind of meals will you be planning this week?

We are getting a brand new 2016 Nissan Frontier truck tomorrow!  The truck that I drove up in SLO is getting high in miles, so the mission is selling it.  The SLO elders will get our truck and we get the
new one!

I have grown a lot spiritually, emotionally and mentally these last few months.  This assignment has been really good for me and my confidence.  Wow!  Eighteen months down.  Six months to go.  Those 6 months will be gone before I know it.  I will be sure to give all my heart, might, mind and strength to serving Christ and representing Him.

May the spirit be with you!

Scenery coming back from Santa Maria