ELDER LOGAN CHASE VAN KATWYK
WEEK #80
12/28/15
Hey hey hey!
It was fun talking to and seeing all you guys! I still can't believe how big all those little ones look right now! But it was fun. And nawwww it was a fun time to get embarrassed. I embraced it cuz it's one thing to get embarrassed by family members. Especially by your mom ;) hahah But ya it was super odd having everyone hover around me. I honestly, didn't really like it too much... but it's all good because I was more focused on talking to all of you instead of what was happening. I still enjoyed all your company.
Anyways, since then not much really has happened. So this will be a very short email lol I guess since then, one thing that has been happening is I'm trying to strengthen and fix something in my District. OH! well which reminds me of something that happened. So on Tuesday I was on an exchange with Elder Lindsey in my area and during our studies, we talked about my District and the things that have been happening and kind of like the problems that keep surfacing that need fixing. So Lindsey had me write down all the problems of all the District as a whole and the problems of the missionaries. As we talked and counciled together, I realized something very interesting.... With all the specific problems that I wrote down on that piece of paper, I remember experiences where I had that same problem earlier in my mission. So it was very interesting to make that connection that the 'district' that I have is a mirror image of my mistakes and faults and problems that I myself had earlier on in my mission. Just split into 5 different missionaries.
At that same time, I realized that this is probably the reason why not one of us got transferred, which is very unusual. I still must be their leader because I can relate to them and how they are and the problems that they are facing in their own missions. Because I went through it all earlier in my mission I might be able to give some advice suggest ways that worked for me. I think with this whole experience I have a testimony on the power of personal experiences and how it brings the spirit.
So for District Meeting we had like a "bro-talk" where we all sat together as a District in a circle and I brought up what was going on, what I was seeing, and we had a discussion from there. It was very spiritual. And we had a great "bro-talk". What I really liked is how little I talked because the Elders were talking most of the time. It just went very well. And I hope it was able to help them see what they need to change and that the spirit will help them do it.
Well, that is all I have for this week. I love you all a lot and I appreciate what everyone of you do.Have a great week! Hope everything continues to be everything and keep on keepin on!
~~Elder VanKatwyk
12/28/15
Hey hey hey!
It was fun talking to and seeing all you guys! I still can't believe how big all those little ones look right now! But it was fun. And nawwww it was a fun time to get embarrassed. I embraced it cuz it's one thing to get embarrassed by family members. Especially by your mom ;) hahah But ya it was super odd having everyone hover around me. I honestly, didn't really like it too much... but it's all good because I was more focused on talking to all of you instead of what was happening. I still enjoyed all your company.
Anyways, since then not much really has happened. So this will be a very short email lol I guess since then, one thing that has been happening is I'm trying to strengthen and fix something in my District. OH! well which reminds me of something that happened. So on Tuesday I was on an exchange with Elder Lindsey in my area and during our studies, we talked about my District and the things that have been happening and kind of like the problems that keep surfacing that need fixing. So Lindsey had me write down all the problems of all the District as a whole and the problems of the missionaries. As we talked and counciled together, I realized something very interesting.... With all the specific problems that I wrote down on that piece of paper, I remember experiences where I had that same problem earlier in my mission. So it was very interesting to make that connection that the 'district' that I have is a mirror image of my mistakes and faults and problems that I myself had earlier on in my mission. Just split into 5 different missionaries.
At that same time, I realized that this is probably the reason why not one of us got transferred, which is very unusual. I still must be their leader because I can relate to them and how they are and the problems that they are facing in their own missions. Because I went through it all earlier in my mission I might be able to give some advice suggest ways that worked for me. I think with this whole experience I have a testimony on the power of personal experiences and how it brings the spirit.
So for District Meeting we had like a "bro-talk" where we all sat together as a District in a circle and I brought up what was going on, what I was seeing, and we had a discussion from there. It was very spiritual. And we had a great "bro-talk". What I really liked is how little I talked because the Elders were talking most of the time. It just went very well. And I hope it was able to help them see what they need to change and that the spirit will help them do it.
Well, that is all I have for this week. I love you all a lot and I appreciate what everyone of you do.Have a great week! Hope everything continues to be everything and keep on keepin on!
~~Elder VanKatwyk
WEEK #79
12/21/15
Hey hey hey!
Well I'll make this quick to still give us something to talk about on Thursday. Which by the way,.... Merry Early Christmas!! Excited to Skype with you all :) Josh, Todd, and Tiki are home!?!? Holy cow it goes by way too fast!
Well this week was crazy. But I will say that Sonia and Vanessa got baptized on Friday!!!!!!! WOOP WOOP!!!! Por fin!! But ya it was crazy!! We finished Weekly Planning on Friday and then right after we went to Walmart to buy shirts' for them to wear under their jump suits. So we did that and then we still had to go to the church to help set up for the Xmas activity that we were having later on that evening. From going to Walmart we were super behind schedule and we still needed to fill up the font AND set up for the activity. Long story short, we didn't end up setting up so we let our branch pres and his wife down :/ and we still had to fill the font and prepare everything for the baptism. So, to fill the font up faster, we found two buckets and the rest of my district were fillin them up with water and dumping in the font for it to fill faster. It was awesome! But the service went very well. Alonso got to do his first ordinance of baptism :) and Sonia and Vanessa have loved it a lot since then! Things are really going awesome over here.
Little side note, It's super cool that I get to see the fruits of my labors. Well, since being here and being in this calling, I've never seen the fruits of my labors as much as I have been now. The branch has been growing, my district is doing very well and things are just going great! It makes me feel super good especially being a District Leader :)
That is all I have... Well actually, Sonia and Vanessa got confirmed on Sunday and my district also had another baptism! SO we completed our goal for this month as a district of 4/3 :) Lets gooooo!!!!!!
Well I will leave it at that. Excited for Friday! Can't wait to see yall. Love you all and pray for you all. Have an awesome..... couple days! hahah We'll be seein' ya
~~Elder VanKatwyk
12/21/15
Hey hey hey!
Well I'll make this quick to still give us something to talk about on Thursday. Which by the way,.... Merry Early Christmas!! Excited to Skype with you all :) Josh, Todd, and Tiki are home!?!? Holy cow it goes by way too fast!
Well this week was crazy. But I will say that Sonia and Vanessa got baptized on Friday!!!!!!! WOOP WOOP!!!! Por fin!! But ya it was crazy!! We finished Weekly Planning on Friday and then right after we went to Walmart to buy shirts' for them to wear under their jump suits. So we did that and then we still had to go to the church to help set up for the Xmas activity that we were having later on that evening. From going to Walmart we were super behind schedule and we still needed to fill up the font AND set up for the activity. Long story short, we didn't end up setting up so we let our branch pres and his wife down :/ and we still had to fill the font and prepare everything for the baptism. So, to fill the font up faster, we found two buckets and the rest of my district were fillin them up with water and dumping in the font for it to fill faster. It was awesome! But the service went very well. Alonso got to do his first ordinance of baptism :) and Sonia and Vanessa have loved it a lot since then! Things are really going awesome over here.
Little side note, It's super cool that I get to see the fruits of my labors. Well, since being here and being in this calling, I've never seen the fruits of my labors as much as I have been now. The branch has been growing, my district is doing very well and things are just going great! It makes me feel super good especially being a District Leader :)
That is all I have... Well actually, Sonia and Vanessa got confirmed on Sunday and my district also had another baptism! SO we completed our goal for this month as a district of 4/3 :) Lets gooooo!!!!!!
Well I will leave it at that. Excited for Friday! Can't wait to see yall. Love you all and pray for you all. Have an awesome..... couple days! hahah We'll be seein' ya
~~Elder VanKatwyk
WEEK #78
12/14/15
Hey hey hey everyone!
Mannnn!!! Josh is coming home!!!!! Man, that means my mission is definitely coming to a close because I'm next after him.... Holy cow where did time go? Thanks Dad for all the pointers. I'll definitely keep them in mind to apply them.
So for this week..... This week has been VERY eventful so I'll just get started......
So Tuesday was District Meeting. And for DM, I gave like an inspirational training to help pump them up for this last week to go hard. Let's just say I learned the consequences of pumping up my District.... hahah :) The training I gave I used the story of the Title Of Liberty and then I wrote "For the salvation of Souls" (I'll attach a picture of the board) and we all signed our names. With it, I used the analogy of the speed and velocity of a sprinter runner and how it constantly progresses until he hits max speed. So I compared it to how we are in the last week of the transfer. We needed to coach our investigators to be the best sprinters to salvation that they possibly can be. And lets just say the district got super pumped and chairs started flying everywhere and tables got knocked over and all of our things were all on the ground :) It was pretty awesome hahaha
On Wenesday..... Sonia's and Vanessa baptism..... Didn't happen......
Thursday, Had an exchange with E. Birrell and we had a lot of fun. The story with this one is that E. Birrell wanted to go see the border at the look out point in Roma, so I took him there to see it. When we got there we saw people crossing the river. We got super excited and we really wanted to take a selfie with them. And so we saw that they stopped and looked at us but we waved our arms to head them over towards us (probably wasn't a good idea. But.....) we then ran away to try to meet them and help them but as soon as we turned the corner we saw the Border Patrol truck sitting right there. So we quickly ran back to where we'd been (They we just about climbing the hill underneath us) and we started waving our arms trying to tell them to go back and we were telling them "No Pasen! No Pasen! La Migra esta aqui! La Migra esta aqui!". And then they understood and headed back to Mexico. So.... probably wasn't a good idea at first BUT we did save their lives hahah
On Friday, we went by Sonia and Vanessa's and we talked to her about baptism and such. She basically told us that she felt pressured.... Honestly, I didn't really know what to do at that point so I got on her level and I talked to her about it in an understanding manner and things. It ended up going very so we then proceeded to talk to her and help her understand.
Sunday came, and I gave my first interview in Spanish! It was fun. E. Birrell and Juarez are teaching this couple who are doing really really good and they passed the interview. Then later that day, we went by Sonia's again. She told us that she saw a lot of signs today at church with the first and second hour and she knew that it was the Holy Ghost. So now!..... She wants to be baptized this Sunday! All the fasting and prayers worked. Now I hope I'm still going to be here to baptize her.
That was basically my week thus far so I will close for now. I love you all and pray for you all. Keep on keepin on and have a great week! Hope everything continues to be everything.
Elder VanKatwyk
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WEEK #77
12/7/15
Hey Tanner!
I've been doing pretty pretty good. Just doing the same old same old over here. Jazz band would be sweett!!! That'd be fun to see some of your performances. Hahah nope I haven't really had the time to air drum really. I haven't had to the time to drum, period unfortunately :/ But in Brownsville, I saw that a Rock Band 4 is coming out so.... Maybe :p but I'm hoping my drums skills have kept up with me.
Hey hey hey!
Things this week have gone pretty good! Sonia and Vanessa's baptism got pushed to this Wednesday. Her brother got deported to Mexico and so yesterday they went to Mexico early in the morning to prepare everything to receive him "or else the bad people will take him away". Sooooo I took it as a pretty valid excuse. So right there we quickly planned the baptism and decided for it to be on Wednesday after mutual since everyone will be there. But, everything so far with the Word Of Wisdom is good and everything is all set :) So now it'll just have to happen.
Being here in this area is honestly a very peculiar place. The branch is struggling so bad and the members are just something else. A lot of pride. So, I'm trying my best to reprimand the members, keep my missionaries taken care of and make sure everybody is doing what they're suppose to. A lot, a lot of work that needs to be done but it's definitely a working progress and I'm seeing improvement little by little. I really do love this area though. It holds a very special place in my heart because of it's peculiarity. I'll be honest, it's super-duper hard to choose which area I enjoyed the most because I've had all kinds of experience in every area. One thing I liked in each of my areas... hmmmmmm.... well, in Alice I felt like it was definitely a good starting area to get me rolling in the mission. Laredo was a hard area with great, great members. Harlingen was where I've grew the most to my Recent Converts and that's where I trained Elder Maluia and we played Pros-Ball like crazy there. In Brownsville I was with Pulsipher again and I just loved all my members that I had; a lot of humble members and just overall great people. And then here in Rio Grande, I've been growing a lot being in this capacity being as a District Leader and keeping this branch going the best I can. Keeping the faith in the members and the branch. I also love the place of my area being right by the border because each day is never a dull day hahah
I had a cool experience of listening to the spirit again this week. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is blessing me with these experiences because my whole life I had the question, of "How I can distinguish between my thoughts and the spirit", and even in an interview with president where he told me to just act on my thoughts and that I wont ever know if it's the spirit unless I act. It's cool because I feel like I'm starting to understand what the spirit sounds like when speaking ever since I've been a District Leader.
SO, the story goes that I felt like I needed to have a comp study with this one companionship and I planned to have it at the end of the day Saturday night. Saturday morning came and I planned for the companionship study and I just basically put down everything that came to mind. The few keys points of that comp study was Justification and Obedience to the little things. So to start out I asked them how much they trusted me as their leader. They proceeded to tell me something that they felt I could work on, which is what I like. Then I told them what we were going to talk about and went from there. Long story short, it went VERY well. I pretty much went super hard on them and jacked them super hard. I used the story of David and Bathsheba and how he lost his exaltation and it all started with him justifying in his heart which progressed to other sins. It was a very powerful experience. During the comp study I was promising them super hard blessings and apparently for one of the Elders, I quoted one of his mission goals, why he was here, and a little bit of his patriarchal blessing. If that's not the spirit I dunno what was hahaha But it was a suuuuuuper super cool experience.
Well that is about all I have for now. I love you all and pray for you all. Hope everything will continue to be everything and you guys have the greatest week ever :) Keep on keepin on!
~~Elder VanKatwyk
12/7/15
Hey Tanner!
I've been doing pretty pretty good. Just doing the same old same old over here. Jazz band would be sweett!!! That'd be fun to see some of your performances. Hahah nope I haven't really had the time to air drum really. I haven't had to the time to drum, period unfortunately :/ But in Brownsville, I saw that a Rock Band 4 is coming out so.... Maybe :p but I'm hoping my drums skills have kept up with me.
Hey hey hey!
Things this week have gone pretty good! Sonia and Vanessa's baptism got pushed to this Wednesday. Her brother got deported to Mexico and so yesterday they went to Mexico early in the morning to prepare everything to receive him "or else the bad people will take him away". Sooooo I took it as a pretty valid excuse. So right there we quickly planned the baptism and decided for it to be on Wednesday after mutual since everyone will be there. But, everything so far with the Word Of Wisdom is good and everything is all set :) So now it'll just have to happen.
Being here in this area is honestly a very peculiar place. The branch is struggling so bad and the members are just something else. A lot of pride. So, I'm trying my best to reprimand the members, keep my missionaries taken care of and make sure everybody is doing what they're suppose to. A lot, a lot of work that needs to be done but it's definitely a working progress and I'm seeing improvement little by little. I really do love this area though. It holds a very special place in my heart because of it's peculiarity. I'll be honest, it's super-duper hard to choose which area I enjoyed the most because I've had all kinds of experience in every area. One thing I liked in each of my areas... hmmmmmm.... well, in Alice I felt like it was definitely a good starting area to get me rolling in the mission. Laredo was a hard area with great, great members. Harlingen was where I've grew the most to my Recent Converts and that's where I trained Elder Maluia and we played Pros-Ball like crazy there. In Brownsville I was with Pulsipher again and I just loved all my members that I had; a lot of humble members and just overall great people. And then here in Rio Grande, I've been growing a lot being in this capacity being as a District Leader and keeping this branch going the best I can. Keeping the faith in the members and the branch. I also love the place of my area being right by the border because each day is never a dull day hahah
I had a cool experience of listening to the spirit again this week. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is blessing me with these experiences because my whole life I had the question, of "How I can distinguish between my thoughts and the spirit", and even in an interview with president where he told me to just act on my thoughts and that I wont ever know if it's the spirit unless I act. It's cool because I feel like I'm starting to understand what the spirit sounds like when speaking ever since I've been a District Leader.
SO, the story goes that I felt like I needed to have a comp study with this one companionship and I planned to have it at the end of the day Saturday night. Saturday morning came and I planned for the companionship study and I just basically put down everything that came to mind. The few keys points of that comp study was Justification and Obedience to the little things. So to start out I asked them how much they trusted me as their leader. They proceeded to tell me something that they felt I could work on, which is what I like. Then I told them what we were going to talk about and went from there. Long story short, it went VERY well. I pretty much went super hard on them and jacked them super hard. I used the story of David and Bathsheba and how he lost his exaltation and it all started with him justifying in his heart which progressed to other sins. It was a very powerful experience. During the comp study I was promising them super hard blessings and apparently for one of the Elders, I quoted one of his mission goals, why he was here, and a little bit of his patriarchal blessing. If that's not the spirit I dunno what was hahaha But it was a suuuuuuper super cool experience.
Well that is about all I have for now. I love you all and pray for you all. Hope everything will continue to be everything and you guys have the greatest week ever :) Keep on keepin on!
~~Elder VanKatwyk