February 23, 2009

HELLO!

Wow you have had an exciting week. Thank you so much for sending pictures. I am excited to have a new sister-in-law. I know I missed a lot, but I’m glad I at least knew them both before I left and have pictures to see what happened. I’m not going to lie, I don’t miss having to stand in the wedding line for two hours haha, but I would have done it if I was there. The car looks very creative, how did the ring service go. You'll have to keep me posted on missionary experiences that come from it. I pray that you find the right house every night. I know the Lord will answer our prayers, the right house just may not have come along yet. I hope it does soon though.

Wow the ward has changed so much. That is weird to think you all the younger kids in the priesthood and young womens. It makes me feel a lot older now haha. That’s ok though.

I have actually never heard of Pancake Day. I guess they don’t celebrate it in this area. I have had crepes. That’s actually all I could find for the longest time. It was kind of frustrating because they are like 'weak-sauce' pancakes. They just aren’t the same. I am still using my mix from costco right now. I make pancakes a couple times a week :)

Our investigators are doing well. Marnie is working towards a baptismal date on March 14, but has a lot to learn. He believes in Karma and Reincarnation still (he is from Sri Lanka). He is very open minded though. We are actually seeing Isabel and Alison tonight. We haven't seen either of them for a while now, but hope to see them more often. We have a new investigator that came to church. Her name is Annie and she is from Zambia. I am excited to see her progress.

Our week in genera l has been great. It has gone by so fast. We had zone conference Thursday and Tuesday was my first district meeting and exchange as DL. I was a little nervous, but it went well. I love you guys and hope your week is amazing.

Love,

Elder Kade Karges

February 16,209

Hello again,

It hasn't been long since I wrote my last email. Things are going well still, actually really well. Elder Church and I really get along and are having loads of fun and success. He has a very strong Testimony. He joined the church when he was sixteen because a friend invited him to take the discussions. As he did this and also decided to go on a mission, his family was very thrilled considering they are all Catholic. Now that he is out serving they have made a pretty big turn around and are very proud of him. He is only a moves ahead of me and was actually trained in Catford right before I got there. I saw him on my first day in the field. Elder Sorbonne took his place, being trained by Elder Martin. He has been in two different areas since then and has been a district leader himself. He was sick over the last couple months and it really affected the work, but is doing better now.

My district has three companionships. Elder Church and I in Portsmouth, Elders Hayes and Seidle in Chichester, and Elders Proctor and Kreiberg on the Isle of Wight. I am really looking forward to figuring out what to do because right now I'm just praying like crazy haha. They really don’t give you any training, just a list of things to do. The funny thing is that list comes late (through the post), like two weeks into the transfer cycle. Luckily Elder Church has his letter so I've looked at that. I am responsible for interviews and accounting with the Zone Leaders for my district. I talk to them all nightly and weekly. I also prepare the agenda for district meeting and give a presentation. Mostly I just look out for everyone and seek inspiration on how I can help them. Did Dad ever serve in leadership positions? or Kyle? or Ryan? I would really love to hear more about each of their missions. When I was back home I just didn’t understand what a mission entails.

I got your package this morning! Thanks you so much. I can't believe I’ve been here for 6 months already. It’s crazy. You sent the perfect things. I don’t even know how you knew to send them, but everything you sent is something I can use, and will. I love you all and hope you had a great Valentines Day! Mine was good. We actually helped set up for the stake party that night. We were supposed to have a teach at the church, but it got cancelled. We recognized that there was only one High Councilman there to set up all the decorations, so we pitched in. He was from Ireland and actually served here on his mission. He ended up marrying the bishop’s daughter of his last area (long after his mission) and now lives there on the Isle of Wight.

We have picked up a lot of new investigators lately and have a few that are sticking with it. Alison is having a little trouble. She is actually engaged to a member and has been taught in the past. We taught her once, but her father passed away last week. I don’t think he was very old and it was pretty sudden. We haven’t been able to see her since, but I think she'll come around. Marnie is really cool. He has come to church twice and loves it, but hasn't been able to stay passed sacrament. He is learning quickly though and likes the feeling he gets at church. The other one we are focusing on is Isabel. She is actually from Mexico! She is very strong Catholic and is concerned about being baptized again, but that’s why I'm excited for her to meet Elder Church. His mother is Mexican and he was brought up Catholic.

I hope I answered all your questions. It sounds like you are all doing great. I love hearing how everyone is doing. I am so excited to hear about and see pictures of the wedding and other upcoming things. I pray for you all everyday. Tell 12th ward I said hello and tell the Sanders that I DID have Stevie’s English teacher, that’s so cool that she is still using my paper as an example. Let me know how John's talk goes too.
I love you, have an amazing week.

Love,
Elder Karges

February 13th, 2009

Hello!

I have about 4 minutes left but ill see what I can do.

This week has been very busy. The snow was unexpected but a lot of fun. Portsmouth is pretty protected from the weather, but it still got more than usual. The rest of the country got a LOT more than usual, so that makes sense that it made the news. It is sunny now though.

I’ll just jump to moves day. I went to the temple to meet my New Companion. His name is Elder Church. He is form Las Vegas and is the only member of his family. He was baptized 3 years ago. He is an AMAZING mission so far. I’ve only been with him a day, but I’m excited for this moves. I am District Leader here in Portsmouth, so I have less time to myself. I don’t really know how to be a DL, but I’ll figure it out as I go. Elder Orme got moved to Plymouth. Elder church's mom is form Mexico. (Sorry this is kind of jumbled, but I have no time left.) Everything is going great and I’ll be able to write you more on Monday.
Oh and I met elder Greely at the Temple!! It was really cool to see him. We aren’t serving very close, but I might see him from time to time. I took a picture with him, but on the way back from the temple, I lost my back pack.... Nothing to valuable inside, I had my camera in my pocket, but the card reader to connect with the computer is gone. It might show up in the lost property dep. at the station, we'll see!

I love you all! Hope to hear from you soon :)

Love,
Elder Kade Karges

February 2, 2009

Hello Everyone!

It’s snowing here!! It snowed a little yesterday, but didn't stick and then when we woke up in the morning there was about 2 inches! Of course it is already melting, but I took pictures while I could, and if it doesn’t melt then we couldn’t ride our bikes. We have an appointment tonight that is pretty far way, so I hope we don't have to walk. This week has just flown by. Actually this whole moves (transfer cycle) has. Elder Orme were talking about it last night. A really common saying over here is that "the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days." That saying is really true. Some days are really long, but it seems like last PDay was just yesterday.

I sent a couple pictures already. One of them was of last pday. Elder Orme and I went to a nearby golf course and hit a few balls at the driving range. It was really cheap and its something Elder Orme has been really wanting to do. He used to go golfing almost everyday back home, either with his dad or best friend. He is really good, but I need some practice. I've been golfing a few times and to the driving range. I think my main problem was they didn’t have tee's and I'm not use to hitting off the ground. Oh well, it was fun. We got some video footage of our first swings. I'll have to find a way to send it home. I have a few other videos I've been wanting to send.

The middle of the week was pretty normal. We did a lot of finding towards the beginning and at the end, but in the middle we had a lot of appointments. From what I hear, Portsmouth (pronounced like Ports-myth) is usually really busy. Things are starting to pick up a lot more still. We are constantly changing investigators. People are always really busy and worried about 'the credit crunch'. In time I think it will actually lead more people to believing in God and to the church.

Wednesday night we had a few meetings and went out with some of the young men and their leaders for the second time. We were supposed to be going to visit less active youth, but there was only one to visit, so one group just went knocking. It was pretty funny to hear them say how nervous they were because they had never done it before, especially the leader. Thursday we had Zone meeting in South Hampton. That was really fun and is always a spiritual boost. Its funny how we sit in chairs all day for those kinds of meeting, but are still just as tired as if we had been out finding all day. The spirit can really drain you. We had a couple DA's this week as well.

I really do love you guys and hope all is well. My time is up so I got to got go, but have an amazing week!
Elder Karges

Elder Orme and I at the driving range last PDay. Elder Orme was a big golfer back home... he's a lot better than me.

Me walking down the street to email at the library this morning with a snowball in my hands.